"The Bastard Sword" Topic

"The Medieval Bastard Sword was also known as the Long Sword and in later times as a Hand and a Half swords. Bastard swords often had a more tapered, narrowly pointed blade. The Medieval Bastard Sword generally had a long handle which allowed for two-handed use and a longer blade. The Medieval Bastard Sword became popular due to is extreme reach and cutting and thrusting abilities and was predominantly used by the Medieval Knights. The weapons, armor and horse of the Knight were extremely expensive – the fighting power of just one knight was worth 10 ordinary soldiers…"
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Amicalement
Armand

The fighting power of just one knight was worth 10 0ordinary soldiers.

Tell that to the Scots or the Swiss!

But the Scots and Swiss were far from "ordinary" soldiers.

And the Bowmen of England weren't "ordinary" soldiers either. How about landsknechts? Or Flemish burghers? And can you raise, equip and train 10 knights for the cost of raising 100 of any of those?

But one of the great things about playing miniatures instead of the board games of my youth is that there is no such thing as abstract "fighting power." There are movement rates, "to hit" numbers and morale and discipline tests which vary a lot and encourage me to pay attention to the unique features of every element of my army.

I really like it that way.

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

All that talk and no pictures of a bastard? Disappointment early in the morning.

On "One Knight is the equal of ten infantry": That is a Verbruggen assertion, evidently arrived at by weight, since a man on a warhorse weighs as much as c. ten infantrymen.