Listen up, you uneducated peasants! By the grace of God, I have been chosen to take on this heathen in combat. May God see justice served in our battle!
Yup, as there seemed to be a few people in the Spartan vs Knight topic who seemed doubtful this medieval soldier could take a Spartan hoplite in single combat, I decided to extend a challenge and @killerforhire gracefully accepted. In this battle he and I shall have a duel in our own, repping the soldier of our choice:
I, cpt_nice, have chosen as my champion a knight from the late Middle Ages
VS
And KillerForHire has chosen the famous Spartan hoplite
Rules for the CAV
* No debating between people other than the participants
* Keep it friendly and civil
* If you want to be tagged for voting, reply with t4v.
* Give at least one reason why you are voting for the person of your choice
Rules for the battle
* Composite versions for both, using real world feats only. No fiction
* Both fighters with standard gear for the time period. The knight is on foot.
* IC and determined to win
* Win by death or total incap
* Starting distance 20 feet
Location
A Roman gladiator arena, time is noon and with a clear sky.
@cpt_nice: Question, are you guys gathering feats from different medium or like... historical textbooks?
Everything is allowed, as long as it is non-fictional. I might pull up some historical accounts, although actual feats are of course a bit hard to come by as opposed to movie characters.
Time for me to introduce my champion. In my opener I will give some insight on the training and gear of the Medieval European knight.
The Knight
"A knight is sworn to valor. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked."
Introduction
One of the most legendary types of warriors from a bygone age, the Medieval knight was usually a man from lower nobility who served a liege/vassal lord and swore his sword to him in exchange for favors such as land holdings. Basically born to fight, knights were elite warriors who were fierce in battle and often out for personal glory. Towards the height of the Middle Ages they started living by a personal and official code of chilvary, although some of them could care less about protecting the innocent as long as they were respected.
Stats and training
A knight's training began at the young age of 7, when he was send way by his parents to train at a different lord's household, usually a different vassal of the same lord. Here he would get a formal education, learning about subjects such as math, etiquette, how to read and hunt, and how to take care off animals. They would also, however, already start practising the fighting skills they would later need as soldiers. Fighting fellow pages and their mentors with wooded swords was standard practice for the 7 years they spend as a page. They would also learn to ride a fake wooden horse, pulled by other people, while they had to balance a lance at a target.
At age 14 (usually), the page would 'graduate' and become a squire. During this period, they would accompany knights (also on the battlefield) and take care of their lord's horse and armor. They would also be further trained in the art of swordmanship, jousting and the rules of the court. Knights usually graduated at age 21, although exceptional bravery or achievements on the field of honor could see them granted the title of knight at an earlier age.
A common mistake is thinking that knights never trained in anything other than sword fighting and jousting but this is not remotely true. Pages and squires were expected to be in excellent physical shape and had to do strength and agility exercises, such as lifting stones for strength purposes and balancing themselves.
While not comparable with modern day martial arts, knights did practice a form of hand to hand combat with a focus on grappling and throwing down their opponents. They were strong and skilled and this ensured that any opponent trying to get in close to stab them, would reconsider their life choices really soon.
All in all, the Medieval Knight was a well rounded and superior fighter, well trained even before going to war for his lord. During campaigns they were often the first into battle, bloodlusted and out for glory and fame. The best of them had the experience of dozens of battles under their belt and were rightfully feared and known by commoner and rival knights alike. During times of piece they kept honing their skills by practicing with friends and competing in melee tournaments and jousting events.
Gear
While non-Western European armies had their own advantages as to make the life of invading armies hell (such as mounted archers), the walking tanks which were the Europeans knights were rightfully feared on the battlefield. The reason? Full plate armor.
Developed by specialised weapon smiths, these suits of armor covered the wearer from head to toe and left next to no openings. While it was heavy (weighing in at about 30 - 60 pounds depending on the type), because the weight was spread around the body and the armor was usually custom made for the wearer, it made sure he could jump, run and dodge without issue. Trained knights could wear these for hours on end during battles without being fatigued.
In this armor, a knight was virtually invulnerable to weapons such as swords, spears and arrows, and it also delivered decent protection against blunt weapons such as hammers or flails. By wearing chainmail and/or leather under the plate, any openings at the joint would still be protected from most conventional weapons. The only weapons that could consistently puncture steel plate armor were high powered crossbows and guns.
A special shoutout goes to the gauntlets. A marvel of engineering, these babies would allow the knight to fully bend his fingers and get a good grip on his gear, while still giving maximum protection. Although using these to punch an opponent was considered a cheap tactic, it would be a guaranteed knockout (or worse...) if things came to a brawl.
A lot of knights in the Late Middle Ages prefered to use two handed weapons such as a two-handed long sword, but the use of blunt weapons and crossbows meant that many knights still used a shield up until the early to mid 1400's. We can later take a look at great sword tactics, but for now let's take a look at the knight's arming sword and shield.
The heater shield was developed as a smaller and more lightweight version of the kite shield. This shield saw widespread use from the late 12th till the 16th century and was easy to cary and gave great additional protection. It was either made out of a light wooded core with layers of leather on top or wood braced with steel and/or iron. The flat top allowed for a way to rest a spear or sword on top, for saving energy and for quick and deadly blitz attacks. The only disadvantage of this shield as opposed to the kite shield often used by the early templars was its inability to properly protect the legs, a minor issue as knights would have ample armor as protection.
On to the offensive.
Knights used a whole range of weapons, up to personal preference. The poleaxe, two handed axe, warhammer, flail and lance (while on horse) were all popular. We will stick with the basics though.
A dagger (the trusted side arm, as it were) was not regularly used but could swiftly be taken when needed in a pinch.
Who could possibly picture a knight without a sword? The one-handed arming sword had a blade length of about 30 - 35 inches and was made by expert smiths using cold, hard steel. The sword was light (usually no more than 2,5 pounds) and therefore fast and easy to use in the hands of a trained fighter. These swords were sharp enough to cut right through flesh, clothing and even armor such as leather and chainmail, and the pointed tip was perfect for trusting in the gaps of more armored opponents.
Initial thoughts
While I do not pretend to be an expert on Ancient Greek warfare, it seems clear to me that the Spartan is just simply outmatched here. Centuries of technological advancement make sure the gear gap between our two fighters is insurmountable for the Spartan. My knight's armor is some of the best of its time and will no sell pretty much any incoming attack, as it was made to defend against steel weapons and your Spartan will have a bronze tipped spear or iron. The Spartan on the other hands has no way of blocking cold hard steel and one good chop by the knight will cut right through him.
The Spartan has never fought someone nearly as heavily armored as the knight. Heck, he does not even know what steel is. He will be totally powerless trying to poke at an enemy he can't hurt. My knight however, has plenty of experience fighting men-at-arms with spears, this specimen is just arguably better trained and way worse equipped.
As soon as the knight bridges the gap, the spartan is done for.
@cpt_nice: sorry bout that, I lost power & when my computer goes off It doesn't like to reconnect to my wi-fi so I've been off line the last couple days.
"A knight is sworn to valor. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked."
@cpt_nice: You are not nearly as active as you used to be like a year ago, are you?
True, I used to comment like 50 times/day in my 'prime'. But both lack of time + less interesting threads on the site have taken away some of my interest. I even went totally away for a few months. Nowadays I do check the site daily.
You are actually catching up to me in post count, I remember when you were a wee newcomer ;)
Oh yeah. I'm addicted, and 80% of it is Avatar. I occasionally take breaks for like a few weeks, or a month to get back. Build my interest again. This year's being really hard for me anyways. And it's only getting started *gulp*.
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