Prime Robert, whoever reads the books knows he has more feats of single combat, reach advantage strenght advantage and weapon advantage... this is armoured 1v1, dayne is the favourite if somehow Bob agrees to have a sword duel... warhammer on the menu and it's bobby b's fight to lose... h2h Robert murderstomps hard
Dayne is the best swordsman, he wins against other swordsman... but there's more and deadlier weapons
Dayne. High difficulty. One shot and Dayne is done, but by Martin's word he is Barristan's equal, meaning by most anyone's standards, he has to be placed among the top 5 most skilled warriors in ASoIaF history. Gearwise, Robert generally has a reach advantage, but Dawn depletes that considerably and is also lighter and far more durable than anything less than Valyrian steel. Furthermore Dayne was incredibly strong (though still not as strong as Robert, obviously) in his own right.
he was no slouch in skill or speed (trained by an arms master almost from birth), covered in armor, and wielded a massive warhammer thats specifically designed to crush armor (usual tactic is aim for the gaps). if arthur even gets close, hes in trouble.
when people talk about the top fighters in ASOAIF, its usually about nobility and jousting as much as it is about pure fighting ability. sometimes a huge advantage in offence, physical size and strength can be enough to beat speed and skill
@ussj3071: This is all true, and yet Rhaegar Targaryen, who was very far behind Arthur as a fighter, gave Robert the fight of his life. Robert won, yes, but he was gravely wounded.
Dayne wins here, but not without very high difficulty, and not a large majority at that. I could care less for jousting and all that honestly, it has nothing to do with it.
he was no slouch in skill or speed (trained by an arms master almost from birth), covered in armor, and wielded a massive warhammer thats specifically designed to crush armor (usual tactic is aim for the gaps). if arthur even gets close, hes in trouble.
when people talk about the top fighters in ASOAIF, its usually about nobility and jousting as much as it is about pure fighting ability. sometimes a huge advantage in offence, physical size and strength can be enough to beat speed and skill
Just want to point out that being trained from birth is nothing special in relation to Dayne. All knights(and most warrior cultures in general) are trained from a very young age. I agree with the warhammer part.
As fight itself. I don't have a quote so don't take me for my word, but I believe GRRM stated that without Dawn, Dayne and Prime Selmy would be the top swordsmen. I got the info from an offhand source at Westros.org so don't quote me. Honestly swords in general better as secondary weapons on the field. The Sword of Morning however is a different story. As per The Battle of the Seven Stars we know that Valayrian Steel can slice through plate armor and Dawn is described as sharp as it, so I think I would favor Dayne in this round up.
It's far from a stomp. It's a hard-earned slim majority.
@kilius GRRM said that with Dawn, Dayne is superior to Selmy but without it they're equals. He didn't say anything about them being the top swordsmen to the best of my knowledge, but it does kinda go without saying anyway. I also doubt that Valyrian steel can cut through plate armor, that's kinda fallacious, it's not Adamantium. Maybe in the hands of someone like Gregor Clegane it could, but even that is very questionable. The Battle of the Seven Stars is EXTREMELY ancient history, it doesn't have very credible documentation. Even if it's true, the armor that they used at that time couldn't have been near as good and durable as the one used currently.
GRRM said that with Dawn, Dayne is superior to Selmy but without it they're equals. He didn't say anything about them being the top swordsmen to the best of my knowledge, but it does kinda go without saying anyway.
I belive that people started putting them on certain level based on this quote:
"..I learned from the White Bull and Barristan the Bold I learned from Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, who could have slain all five of you with his left hand while he was taking a piss with the right. I learned from Prince Lewyn of Dorne and Ser Oswell Whent and Ser Jonothor Dany, good men every one.."
Jamie's reputation as top swordsman and few other accolades probably influenced people opinions aswell. Weird, I thought that there was a direct statement.
Jonothor Darry*
And well even without statements, Selmy has the most impressive feats in recent history (and he has quite a lot of those), and Dayne is always considered his peer in terms of raw skill, along with feats like killing the Smiling Knight and many statements, for example Ned describing him as the finest swordsman he had ever seen.
Dayne. High difficulty. One shot and Dayne is done, but by Martin's word he is Barristan's equal, meaning by most anyone's standards, he has to be placed among the top 5 most skilled warriors in ASoIaF history. Gearwise, Robert generally has a reach advantage, but Dawn depletes that considerably and is also lighter and far more durable than anything less than Valyrian steel. Furthermore Dayne was incredibly strong (though still not as strong as Robert, obviously) in his own right.
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