Jean Thibodeau wrote: |
On maille cuts by swords would mostly be blunt trauma injuries or temporary incapacitations that might leave the recipient open to more effective cuts. Not sure how effective thrusts are against mailles with the more cut specialized swords but I would see more use of thrusts. |
I tried fighting in my gambeson and mail in the SCA. I did it once and won't do it again because even with rattan swords getting hit even once hurts. Getting hit repeatedly with a real sword that concentrates the force on a much smaller area (the edge) will break bones even if no cut to the flesh is made. Most people prefer to use plates in the SCA for our own personal well being. We are using 15th century technology to protect ourselves from 12th century weapons but we are all assumed to be in mail.
I think that if anything is unrealistic in the SCA is the one good hit policy and your dead. I think in in a real battle with mailed opponents you make that first hit to stun them and then go to town on them. We do occasionally do tournaments were it is 3 successive hits and your dead. Problem is people loose track of how many times they have been hit so they are not done often.