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I will have to make a video on disc guards. We have a decent amount of evidence pointing to flat and spine parries in period sources instead of edge parries.

I was in church yesterday for a service of dedication of the local branch of the British Legion's new standard. The Bible reading was from Isaiah chapter 2 which includes the line "And they will beat their swords into ploughshares...". All I could think was "Matt's not going to be happy".

The landsknecht main opponents fought with polearms, I think the sword are backups by placing the flat of the blade against the polearm shaft. The side rings are push up against the shaft allowing the blade to easily lock. As the blade edge is parallel with the shaft, one just needs to glide the flat along the shaft to cut the polearm fingers.

About the landsknecht sword, maybe that guard is influenced by the fact that it’s a backup weapon, so I’d assume it would more often be used against an opponent’s primary weapon, such as a pole weapon, and rarely against another similar-sized sword; the guard could be optimised for binding with a shaft, in that case you’d put the flat of the sword so that the edge doesn’t bite in the wood and your sword doesn’t get trapped. In summary, against pole weapons, such a guard may offer binding abilities and protection. (Just my theory, also I’m not a native so sorry if there are any errors)

Fun stuff. I do hope there'll be a Kopis/Falcata episode someday, they're such a unique looking sword

It's hard to ignore the visual symbol of the Christian Cross, when looking at the extended crossguard. Aesthetics and symbology undoubtedly played a role in sword design. I wonder if the increasing influence of Christianity throughout Western /Northern Europe had an impact on the guard in that period. I suppose its impossible to say for sure. But I think I've heard mention of this symbology before. And you didn't mention aesthetic when discussing design. Easy to just focus on practicality sometimes and forget that humans care a lot about fashion, even against practical use

In regard to the design of the katzbalger guard (no pun indended), I believe that skall recently speculated that it might have to do with their role as an anti-polearm "chopper" and the side-rings were to protect from halberd/hewing pike blows to the gauntlets...but IDK

In the shortest layman explanation of how to use a sword, I cant help but recall the Mask of Zorro. "Pointy end goes into the other man."

Just a speculation. The general consideration about guards is that they offer hand protection which makes perfect sense. When you look at Asian swords with disk guards, you mention that they seem to appear earlier in Japan and then on the mainland. You also discuss using the flat of the blade in defense as a justification of a disk guard or nagel. Just as a counter intuitive idea, consider how Japanese swords are forged. They typically tempered and quenched in a differential pattern that yields a hard (brittle) edge, and a more flexible, resilient spine. That edge is potentially prone to damage if used to defend. That won't mean that doesn't happen, but might not be preferred. I work wood and some time ago acquired a set of chisels that were too hard on the edge. They were sharp, but after a very little use the edges chipped and literally crumbled. I had to grind off a considerable amount of metal and alter the edge geometry t make the chisels useful. So, my speculation is that one factor driving the adoption of the disk guard in Japan might be the preservation of the blade edge. It protects the sword after a fashion as well as the hand.

I had a thought regarding the katzbalger. Since it was primarily used against pikes perhaps flat parrying would be advantageous as the edge of the sword would not bite into the pikes wooden shaft. As a result the user would not have to free their weapon before closing in.

I think you mentioned that you used to do kendo but what you went through might have been different but the school I attended in how you used the tsuba. Pretty much the primary strike from chudan, the vertical strike to the head with the shinai quite forward where you meet the opponent's strike with the mid or lower portion of the blade on the flat and return the strike while pushing the opponent's blade off to the side to bring your blade down on the inside of their strike or thrust between their blade and body applying force to maintain contact. If you're successful, their blade slides down your flat and onto your tsuba. You general didn't need to worry about it sliding off of your tsuba and hitting your hands because if it had enough momentum to jump clear of the tsuba, it'll be clear enough to be out of your way for a return strike and that strike will clear your hands to safety. It was so fundamental a stroke that often both kendoka would perform it exactly properly and result in a high edge on edge bind about midway up the blade and both would be looking for one of two primary follow ups, either to again push forward along the opponent's blade and go for the head sliding along the flats conceptually similar to your thrust in your curved guard example except with a strike, or draw back and release the bind and perform a quick follow-up vertical strike as the opponent's blade unbalances forward since they were maintaining force into the bind. Either way, the protection along the flat of the tsuba was very much utilized and an intrinsic part of the technique, so much so that I originally was confused as to how western guards were supposed to work when I first encountered hema trainers.

My assumption on the katzbalger is its specialization is to fight mass polearm equipped enemies similar to how a rondel dagger is specialized against a heavily armored man at arms. The side rings are designed to exploit the open hands on a polearm by allowing the edge to slide while binding assuming the fight gets that close of range. The lack of protrusions allow the blade to not get stuck in just one enemy or clothing and the short blade allows for cuts while avoiding friendly fighters. If many katzbalger equipped fighters work together at close range they could cut down a large force of polearms if the polearm fighters do not have enough time to ready their sidearms.

The name of the "Nagel" (nail) for that particular type of guard also kinda implies that it was an ad-hoc invention on the field - people simply driving a strong nail into the side of the handle to protect against an increasingly occurring type of injury. While a nail would not stay there for long, and most likely get pulled out after one blow to it, it would definitely prevent that one blow immediately incapacitation your hand. Once that modification became a commonly known solution for the issue, blacksmiths would be picking up on it ( being asked by customers to add something like that) and start implementing it as a permanent solution...

First ! A video on cavalry sabers of the Indian Mutiny please ♡

I would like to hear a bit more on arming swords, longswords, and greatswords with side rings. Also, it would be interesting to learn more about two handed swords (like swiss sabers and some long swords) with more complex guards.

As a countervailing example, consider the model 1786 spadroon. As I learned from you, it often has a small loop on the on the outside of the guard, protecting the top of the hand. This covers the same area as the nagel, but looking at the sources of it's time and place don't show a preference for flat parries on the outside flat. Instead I think it shows an understanding of what part of the hand is vulnerable while parrying in quart and terse.

What is curious is that despite the nagels, rings and other hilt augmentations becoming more popular in later medieval period, many swords still have simple straight crossguards by the year 1500. It is possible that since many of them weren't ever used in combat, many people did stick to the classical cross-shape, both for practical reasons and for that iconic ''sword look''. I recently got myself a beast of a longsword and I can greatly appreciate being able to lay it flat on the table, which would be much more difficult if it had any additional rings.

Three things about smaller/less complicated guards/hand protection. 1 - They are easier to wear/carry. Nagels will catch on stuff constantly, and side-rings/disc guards will either press into your side uncomfortably, or make you at least have to carry the sword in a way that protrudes far behind you. 2 - They are easier to grab. In the heat of the moment, it can be surprisingly difficult to draw a weapon, and more parts makes it more likely that you grab the wrong thing, or get your hand blocked by something. 3 -They are less expensive. The bells and whistles cost more, especially if they're not a standard option.

One thing that I noticed in season two episode one of The Witcher was that Geralt assumed a stance where he kept the guard close to his body, thereby protecting his hands. And when I pointed it out, I just got a massive eye roll in response.

Regarding the Katzbalger its interesting to note that there are other versions with not as strongly formed S or 8 shaped guards and that some of them seem almost like they were heavily inspired by Messers. I could imagine the cutting arc being different or/and in the very close quarter combat where there is not much place for parrying, the guard helping with passively protecting its wearer from blows of other opponents while the wearer is trying to strike at his opponent/s. Maybe formations were even thighter than in the middle age because of the long pikes in combination with other arms or people tended to get much closer before getting into really close quarter combat as the name of the weapon tells us.

Disc guards might also suggest a point-forward guard, like a modern kendo guard, very flat, where the disc is like a modern foil guard and stops people sniping your hand with thrusts and forces some angular action, if your forearm is held quite flat to the grip. //Edit: Meyer is contemporary with the Landsknechte (not the early ones, but hey) and is well-known for thumbing the flat, striking with the flat, and frequenting a flat-forward guard to easily use wrist-powered cuts with the false edge. You might be onto something, the flat stuff is very German more broadly. I still think your suggestion of fashion and practicality is the more likely one.

Love these kind of overview videos 👍

I feel like forms of disc guard are the most..."obvious" form of guard for passive defence in the sense that, from one direction, they give your hand very good coverage. I think cross guards and the later, more developed guards are more associated with "active" use such as with binding and winding, or in adopting guards with forward positions. The geometry considerations with simple cross guards are actually really quite interesting by themselves imo

I think you touched on it - shields or their lack is behind a lot of the hilt design - samurai aren't typically shown using shields in combat, so the need for the disk, giving all around protection arose (especially in later Japanese fencing systems which were largely for sword on sword, unarmored). Similarly, the professional soldiers of the early 15th century, landsknecht, would typically not be wearing plate gauntlets, so if they were forced to abandon their primary weapon (matchlock, pike, halberd), their hands would need the all-round protection of the katzballger. So essentially, are they carrying a shield? If no, are they wearing plate gauntlets? If no, need additional protection. Similarly, messers were often for unarmored combat - street brawls etc - so you need that additional protection - but why not more around like a katzballger? Perhaps to be carried more vertically with civilian clothing?

I have a couple of older pulwars, I can tell exactly how they were held and swung by looking at the wear on the pommels right where they join the guard and where the guard meets the hilt - exactly where index finger rests.

One of the best yet, utterly fascinating.

Excellent! I've been waiting for this video, and part 2 to come. For years!

Thanks for the video! I would love to hear your thoughts on jians, with their minimal "winged" guard. As you said, little hand protection suggests the use of shields, yet in oriental martial arts sword techniques often use only the sword, or sword and scabbard, without a shield.

I have a very interesting info about the early devolment of crossguards: in the migration era the romans were using mostly gladius type swords with (basically) no guards. The huns, however (archeologic finds prove) did use swords with definetly usable handguards/crossguards. So in my humble and insignificant read, there is a great role of cultures outside of Europe in the developement of crossguards. ( Since the huns and other migrating nations bring cultural elements from one continent to the other)

I think these two videos are my favorites on your channel. Really interesting information that is conveyed in a very clear manner. It’s fascinating what you can learn by studying something as deceptively simple as a sword guard. Cheers.

Really enjoyed it. Can't wait to see the next part, as my sword has a 1600s-style crossguard with both the Katzbalger-type side rings and a thick crossguard like a 'zweihander' but shorter and more in the proportions of an arming/longsword.

Theories: economics. Small guards require less materials for fabrication. Catching/binding at the flat can help protect the edge and help keep it sharp. The round cat-thingie guards at the end also have one small advantage... stuff that sticks out, like traditional guards can get entangled more easily. As a side-arm defensive capabilities, ease-of-carry and reliability and cheapness would be the most import aspects. And you could never get anything to satisfy everything to the max. Hopefully we get to those huge two-handers in part two.

Cool video, but this time I was expecting to see something about the Portuguese crab sword. No one ever talks about this cool looking and awesome sword. It was probably the first "Contact" of an European sword with a Japanese one (For the knight vs Samurai drama ahahah), as far as I know. Once again, this was an awesome video, love it.

I think the most important thing guards on swords convey that it was highly expedient to retain grip on all that metal. You don't want to keep it stuck in an enemy (pommels) but you also don't want to see you hand glide over the blade because when the metal pointy end starts penetrating the enemy body, it gets slowed down and your hand on the grip does not immediately. And thanks to Schola Gladiatoria, I have seen plenty of alternating grips on swords for all sorts of reasons. Dueling to the first blood gives a different approach and between cutting and stabbing a different grip helps.

Looking forward to part two and this does and doesn't change my thoughts a lot. Context depending, of course. There's a lot to be said about weaponry that you can only realise, discover with a weapon in hand. So perhaps one day I can visit and try some of these things out.

20:01 A version of Bilbo Baggins' sword Sting has been finger guard in the 1977 Rankin/Bass The Hobbit...assuming the design of that cinematic blade is actually practical. There are numerous videos extant that show the contrary...swords as they are depicted in some movies aren't at all practical.

I already wrote a comment under main katz-sword video. I think the form of blade and guard means katz were used on knees. Soldier could crawl on all fours with sword in hand under the line of pikes. The guard protects hand when it touches soil.

I an interested layman would assume the swords use from the guard. You Matt, a professional with very keen interest, knowledge and experience definitely presumes their use from the guard. That’s why I watch this channel, education, experience and practical use gives you a very solid basis for everything you say.

That's hilarious. Now I realize why the algorithm suggested this while I was marathoning Jazza videos.

Ty very much for this interesting video. Especially beacause you had an answer to the ancient question how to parry (flat or blade). Really looking forward for part2.

Yes! New series on Matt's channel!

Wow. This is quality content 100%. Absolutely love it.

Hey Matt! I will not claim to be an expert on this topic. But I have studied both East Asian history and some styles of Chinese and Japanese martial arts. In studying history as an academic topic, most of our directed focus was on the macro scale of history, even if studying military history, we rarely touch on the development of the practical use and techniques of weaponry as individuals, but how they shaped armies. In studying the martial arts that I've been exposed to, a great emphasis was on maintaining continuity of style and cultural tradition, with often less focus on how a technique connected to why's of something, as opposed how doing other-than-taught was undesirable. However in looking at things holistically, my observation has been the following: There is considerably far less emphasis on blade binding in Chinese and Japanese sword arts that I studied. In fact, in some styles, it's actively discouraged as something not to do. It's certainly not emphasized to the degree that it is in HEMA. What I was taught is that binding as a technique is a reflection of the user's lack of control, can commit the user to loss-of-balance, and that heightened control of the blade is through redirection and circular movement combined with flanking footwork. It was also mentioned with certain blades, that notably edge-to-edge contact is a huge faux-pas and that deflections, parries, and blocks are to use the flat or spine of the blade, specifically because those are metallurgical strong points of the blades, particularly in sanmei and wumei construction, and will preserve the cutting edge for attack, while the flat and spine are better used for defense. Your notion of the messer doing something similar sort of confirms my suspicion on that as the reason why side protection is more valued than angular edge protection in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese swordsmanship. It certainly seems a logical reason for the dominance of the disc guard during the periods when many martial systems and schools were flourishing and/or in demand. It sort of corresponds with the teaching in certain Kung-Fu styles that incorporate both unarmed and armed techniques, that the armed techniques are simply outgrowths of the unarmed foundations, the idea that the weapon is simply an extension of the hand and arm. In unarmed techniques, hard direct blocks are discouraged; again because we are told that it can greatly injure the practitioner to perform a hard block, but also because the ideal block is a circular redirect from outside the path of attack that deflects and immediately sets up a path to counterattack when combined with the proper footwork. When we learn dao, jian, and even spear techniques to pair with our unarmed foundations, the concepts are the same, merely extended in reach and scope to be used with the weapons. Everything I can recall is that side-angle deflections and blocking techniques carry over as a foundational instructional tool, building muscle memory and technique to always avoid direct impact/contact, and maneuver for the spiral or circular defense that takes the least amount of physical force, receives the least amount of impact force, and preserves the body and limbs for future defense or counterattacks. Hope you find the comment insightful and helpful!

'Binding and winding and thrusting in the face'. Life lessons from the Schola...

Closer to the end I felt like I wanted to hear more on this topic and I'm so happy there will be a second part :)

Fantastic video on the evolution of sword guards. It makes sense now that the shape of the guard can tell much about how the sword was used. Brilliant! Please keep these videos coming!

Time is funny. We have paintings showing the Katzbalger but have no idea why it developed as it did. I read something yesterday that talked about Cleapatra’s archeologists examining the pyramids. They were already ancient then. Can you imagine what archeologists in another 500 years will think? When all they find are caches of blunt swords we use for sparring are they going to think we forgot how to sharpen them?

The Spartans were famously taught to return from battle only "with your shield or on it". Archilochus, an Ionian poet and mercenary circa 650 BC, took a dim view of that idea. Here's one translation of his rebuttal: Some lucky Thracian has my noble shield. I had to run. I left it in a wood. But I got clean away, thank God. So hang the shield! I'll get another just as good.

Noting also that with Bronze Age swords they often have small handles requiring the index finger on the ricasso indicating that the shield would be used for parrying and controlling the opponent's weapon and protecting your sword hand with the sword only being used for offence, if possible. Although there is edge damage on BA swords from blade on blade contact, as well as blade on shield edge contact. Defensive damage seems to be from the 'strong' with the opponent's offending weapon being directed away from the hand via deflection. I.E. a point of impact with 'ripple' damage toward the point. Offensive damage, understandably, is around the point of percussion. However the implication, as you point out, is that BA to late medieval swords were usually combined with shields used in a very dynamic and offensive way. As ever a really interesting and thought-provoking presentation. Thank you and all the best.

Not sure if this helps, but kendo schools seem to discourage turning your edge off-line. They tend to parry/beat with the "flat" or catch the blow on the side of their guard before swinging along the same plane of their opponent's previous attack.

This may be my favorite video of yours yet! Looking forward to part 2!

I used to practice the katori shinto ryu (est. 1447) and during practice session with boken we were instructed to always Parry with the flat of the blade, and to disengage your blade using a lateral twist of your wrist and your edge geometry. Disc guard are essential to protect you in case of screw up. Ours boken didn't have those and it hurts. A lot.

One reason I've always felt could be a reason for the development of "Gadhjalt" ("spike-hilt") guards could well be that the "spike" (guard) could have been used OFFENSIVELY. To deliver an ultra close quarters blow to the enemy. Possibly to the face. In the press of melee, where sword movement would have been severely limited, delivering a "fist-punch" with the end of the guard (painful!) would have been a very available option. However, I think there is another, probably more likely explanation for the development of the "Gadhjalt" (pretty much the first sword type to develop long crossguards). And I think it has more to do with cultural values than combat. When northern European countries became Christian, and especially after the time of the First Crusade (1096), I believe I am correct in saying that the sword began to take on connotations associated with the Christian crucifix. The sword became, as it were, "an instrument of God", and as such took on the look of a crucifix in some examples. As originally "Viking Age swords" had short, thick, stubby crossguards (generally), the transition to a more crucifix-looking sword would necessarily have been the extension of the crossguard. Hence (I believe) the Gadhjalt type, leading on to the even more crucifix-looking swords of the medieval period. This would go some way to explain (other than purely aesthetic considerations) the later Saint Maurice of Turin style sword you are displaying. As the Gadhjalt has quite a proportionally thin crossguard which in the context of a "crucifix" shape is a little difficult to make out. So in your example (an many others) the crossguard was flattened and flared out towards the terminals in order to make the sword, as a whole, look more "cross-like". It's just a theory. There is no proof. But I believe the available evidence backs up the theory.

My thoughts on sword guards: There are some optional guard variations for duelling. When I was churning out weapons for LARP, it quickly became what is the minimum effective guard that works for general battle. Different weapons and guards had different uses. I made some custom stuff that most people preferred. But I could never mass produce.

I love how clear it is that the katzbalger is an arming sword with the quillons twisted

Excellent and informative!! Although I know you have already passed by the subject of bronze and iron age sword handgaurds, I'd be very interested to hear more about those used with and without shields 🛡

I really liked this video. It was highly informative and I will definitely be back for part 2. Keep up this great content, and good luck with the drawing-it’s looking good!

I was actually just contemplating a redesign of the guard of the sword I am designing, then this crops up and is very timely inspiration - so thank you for using your psychic powers for good and not evil.

I study Kenjutsu. I'm a beginner, and I'm only practicing one specific school, so take this with a grain of salt, but one thing we are taught is a strong emphasis on avoiding to parry or block with the edge, in order to protect it. Whenever possible, we try to use the flat of the blade (and sometimes the spine). The reliance on the flat for defense could be part in explaining the disc guard, as you surmise.

10:52 I do think an important and under-appreciated purpose of early crossguards is to protect your hand from impacts, including (as you said) opponents' shields, helmets, etc., but also comrades' shields, comrades' bodies and, importantly, your own shield. I think that's particularly important with boss gripped shields because if you want to brace it with both hands, you can basically just punch into it. Without a short crossguard and pommel, you would have to do it a lot more gingerly, or risk breaking your fingers. I'm not saying this is the one and only reason - reasons to do with locking the wrist, acting as a handstop and making it easier to draw are all solid too - but I think it's an important benefit worth considering.

What a interesting topic. Well done sir!

Absolutely love your videos. I wrote a historical fiction novel set in 13th century england and norway! I use your videos as research material so i can make it as authentic as possible. I thank you for passing on your knowledge

When you showed the Messer and were talking about jobs that would preclude the use of gauntlets, it struck me that demi gauntlets would be totally useable with it and give a real high level of hand protection while not impacting the agility of your fingers much.

I DID enjoy part I and am looking forward to Part II. Good stuff!

The katana disk guard really speaks to its status as a backup weapon or fashion accessory. Won't get caught on things. Lightness and ease of carry over function.

When you were talking about the Normans and the rise of cavalry,, an important factor in how the sword is used is the fact that you have to take into account that there's this bloody great horse you have to allow for while you're whallopng about with your sword. You're not going to be making across body sweeps because of the horses head. You're going to be making hacking cuts downward in the zone that is from parallel to the horses body to perpendicular or at a right angle to your horse's body either against another rider (who will have the same limitations as you) or men at arms on foot who will have some kind of helmet. A guard like that would do some damage if it hit somebody in the face on the downstroke.

Part 1 was exciting. It was intense! The highs! They lows! The Context! I'm looking forward to Part 2 and to seeing what becomes of our heroes.

The ancient Greek xiphos often had a cross guard as wide as many medieval swords- far broader than the guard of Roman and early medieval/Norse swords. I agree with the notion that the broad hilt is not needed when the shield is your primary means of blocking attacks and the hand can shelter behind it. The hilts on Greek swords may have been required because hoplites could fight very close together, and in that spacing, the use of the sword to parry becomes crucial. This may have bearing on why the kopis has such a complex knuckle guard, but the hooked rear of the kopis is a feature of many chopping weapons and still seen on modern machetes that ensures it does not slip from the grasp.

Never underestimate "that looks cool" on the influence of design.....even on swords. Cool was as important to young men of means 1000 years ago as it is to young men today, fashion trends spread across the known world then just like today.

Based on the types of soldiers who used the Katzbalger, could it have possibly been their side-arm for use indoors?

I love the long videos and I hope for more of them!

really love your videos! pleas keep doing such good stuff!

Yes please do a video on the Kopis/Falcata and where to get a good repica.

The katzbalger seems to be akin to the falchion in terms of mass and probable use against largely unarmoured opponents (probably a breastplate and skullcap only). Most combat occurring between polearms and early blackpowder guns and not wanting a hilt that will catch on your primary weapons this seems sensible. It reminds me of the later cabbage chopper

Thats a cool Messer, Matts videos always make me look for new swords to buy lol

Hi Matt, in kenjutsu, at least the one I studied, indeed you don't generally meet your opponent's edge with yours at 90 degrees, this makes lateral protection useful. Also, either the hand is back or the point is forward, you never lead with the hand. Now, the rounded guard of a katana, katzbalger, smallsword, spadroon, forte epee, has, imo, the advantage of not getting caught in things, which is an advantage in civilian life but also when you are operating a pike or musket in formation.

This question is for Matt. I’ve noticed from “Records of the Medieval Sword” that some mid continental, say Germany, Belgium and Denmark swords have very thin and elongated cross guards and most if not all of them are dated to the end of the 11th century to the very early 12th. I would like to hear your thoughts.

I believe the basic cruciform guard in horseback fighting is essential to dealing with spears. Since the shield only covers one side of the body the sword would need to be used in striking at enemies polearms. Contrary to what is often seen in fiction it really isn't easy to cut through a hardwood pole to decapitate a weapon outright, this means it would mainly be a matter of deflecting the spear point away from the body, swatting it aside, and this is where an extended hand guard comes into play. Especially when the horseman is moving the spear will slide along the blade, eventually reaching the grip, and what then? Without the guard the spear may slide along the arm and still hit home, since there is a limit to how far sideways a sword strike can push a spear thrust, especially closer to the hilt. The guard solves this problem, arresting the spears movement down along the blade.

The guards tell us that they used to be an adventurer like us, then they took an arrow in the knee... 😄

4 potential reasons why the guards for norman-age swords had an open cross 1 - it's cheaper/simpler/faster to make than a complex basket hilt (and probably sturdier) 2- A nice open grip is convenient to grab (the sword would have been a secondary/emergency weapon on the battlefield) 3 - an open guard means the sword can be 'flipped' around in case one side loses its edge 4 - a cross guard could symbolize religious piety (faith in the holy cross)

Maybe the bigger handguard came up, because on horseback your kiteshield is mostly on your left. If there is a blow incoming from your right, it's hard to react with that large a shield and the horses neck in the way so you need protection on your sword hand as well

Re: longer cross guards in the 11th century, I would hypothesise that the longer quillions are related to the combination of horseback combat with long tailed shields. The shield will not adequately protect the hands when a strike is thrown to a target on the right, as you can't move the shield across the horses body far enough to cover the hand.

As someone who does Reisläufer reenactment, I can tell you in full confidence that puffy slashed clothing and traditional quillons do not like to play nice with each other. I'm actually quite adamant that this is the main reason for the Katzbager guard shape. I also believe the same logic can be applied to the Swiss style Baselard grip.

I'd love to see You try out some greatsword drills (or with a long pole as an equivalent), while wearing katzbalger and then, while wearing a cruciform sword, just to see how often would the greatsword/ pole get cought up by the crossguard

Increased use of cavalry in the "Norman era". Well, in the Ancient times we had a lot of types of shock cavalry in different cultures. The case is they did not use swords as they main weapon but neither did knights. It was always some type of a pointy stick from the horseback. If you look only at some certain cultures and region then maybe yeah... However what about Roman spathas and other ancient cavalry swords. If only it was so simple...

disk guards and other short guards with side protection were great for shorter range fencing as opposed to cross guards from the more grand style of combat. I think this was a sort of "in the trenches" weapon used in very close quarters. I also think they were employed by main force infantry and cavalry who may not have had extensive training in swordplay. (Archers and early musketeers) where the primary training was in other weapons, but they needed a "sidearm" which could be employed in a pinch. The added slight protection around the sides of the blade meant they could parry out of alignment without worrying too much about thier hands. in the Asian ring or disc guards the style of fighting was not quite the same employed mostly sweeping cuts and direct thrusts which meant the long cross guard was not as necessary and having a bit of side of the hand protection was a good thing.

I have some detailed thoughts - and of I ever start a channel it will be one of my first videos - on crossguards and how they're not that great on their own for passive defence but are good for *active* defence (with the curved up ones being more specialised for this) I think that after crossguards were put on people started more and more pushing their hands out to catch the opposing blade. It's AFTER that that you start seeing complex hilts show up, and it's because people fight differently now and hands are exposed. This is why most Asian swords, or ancient swords won't have them, not because they didn't think (oh maybe I should do something about the hand being hit) but because they were using the swords differently and the tool is designed around its intended use. (either shields or the hands being held back. You wouldn't stand around in longpoint with a Jian for example).

Thanks for the video ⚔️

forward curving guards are also found on various post medieval Indo Persian hilts

Curious how much that last one reminds me of the iconic "musashi" double ring tsuba. It even has the same little divets on the same plane of the blade.

I've watched several of your videos, always informative and typically fair in their overall assessment of a fight scene. Whether good, bad or somewhere in between, you are usually pretty even in your breakdowns. I'm curious if you have ever done any commentary videos on any scenes from the 'Highlander' movies or the TV series. If you have, can you leave a link, I'd love to get your impressions.

Matt, it would be really useful to know more about sword weights and where they balance. I made a sabre like sword based on one that you showed, it's my first, it's 2.1 kg with a basket like hilt and a 36 inch blade (I have to double check that). It was made using only an arc welder, a 3 ring burner for cooking and a hammer, so she's fairly rough but for my next project I'd really like to nail the weight.

The noggle means that you're often defending against cut reverse cut that is you will go to defend against a chop and then your opponent will spin the blade 360° and will cut with the back of his blade rather than holding you in a bind cuz holding a bind is dangerous. The reason for the Nugget is because if you guard it the back cut with the other quillian you would present your wrist as well taking your blade offline

There are the occasional binding techniques in Japanese swordsmanship at least in the koryu system I trained in, though it was a like a couple in a few dozen. So they have them but its tend to be taught out of the necessity, the vast majority of block, parrying and deflecting techniques are done with flat.

I was thinking on this today while watching some old footage on English long sword techniques. Perhaps the evolution of sword guards evolved from the different “systems” of the sword which began to focus more on blows leveraging the opponents blade, and cuts that wrapped the blade to strike in a line close to the wrist of the opponent. If that is the case, then the addition of a wider cross guard would allow the development of countering techniques to trap these methods. While the guard does protect the hand, I wonder if that was truly it’s primary design purpose. IMO it was developed out of experimental swordplay, where - just as in chess - pinning and forking the opponents weapons is a foundational tactic.

Just speculating, but perhaps the falcata/kopis had the hand protection so cavalry could use them in situations where you couldn't realistically use your shield to protect your sword hand?

Food for thought. The blade is weaker in the direction of its flat, as that is the direciton to which there is less material. It's like the construction I beam. If you get hit on the flat of the blade, it may bend, it may break (if there's a fault and it's already close to snapping anyway), and there is no edge to bind with the opponent's edge, causing the blade to be far more likely to slide, and possibly slide somewhere where you very much don't want it. With all that being said, parries with the flat of the blade are more risky and tricky to master in general. So, the idea that they prefered to avoid it, even with the nagel in, makes a lot of sense.

A friend of mine who studied Asian sword fighting was trained to never parry edge on to avoid huge nicks on the razor edges of his blade. Maybe the round guard on the last blade you showed was intended for a similar type of defense. It would reduce damage to the blade’s edge.

The katzbalger obviously has that schmancy guard to impress all the ladies, not to mention the opponent. A disc-like guard allows for safe blocking with the flat of the blade. It might be preferable to block with the flat as you are less likely to damage your sword's edge. Also, blocking with the flat usually means a slight bend in the wrist, which means that you can facilitate quick ripostes using your wrist to 'flick' the blade back out