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All that ornate stuff on the top was made for rich people. People didn't go to the battlefield with some ridiculously ornate sword inlaid with gold and preciou
by dale_glass 4y ago
All that ornate stuff on the top was made for rich people.
People didn't go to the battlefield with some ridiculously ornate sword inlaid with gold and precious gems. That thing belonged to some rich nobleman and was an object of luxury. Though I imagine it could still cut if it came down to that, but that wasn't the main point of it, the point was showing how much money you had.
A sword in general wasn't what you battled with either, it's more of a backup weapon. But most people with a sword would have something very plain looking.
The average guy went to fight with something a lot more utilitarian looking, and simpler. They'd have spear consisting of a pointy metal tip on a wooden stick, because that's cheap and works great.
- tmtvl 4y agoYep, from the ancient Greek Dory-wielding Phalanges to 17th Century Pike and Shot, the long pointy stick has a long and formidable career as weapon of war.
- delta_p_delta_x 4y agoAnd it sort-of lives on as the bayonet.
- blagie 4y ago> They'd have spear consisting of a pointy metal tip on a wooden stick, because that's cheap and works great. "Cheap" wasn't always the major factor. Some spears were cheap, but others were pretty darned expensive. In wars -- where trained people fought in groups and formations -- spears just worked better than swords. The Greek phalanx, the Roman pilum, the lances of the medieval period, early modern pike-and-shot, etc. all showed the effectiveness of a long sharp, pointy stick. Swords have many niches, like closed-quarters combat in cities, terrain (e.g. forest or mountain battles), etc., but the spear almost always dominated for mainstream war.
- AstralStorm 4y agoAlso poleswords and poleaxes. Often with a pointy end too. Many weapons had the ornaments detachable or had a replaceable hilt for war, especially when it comes to jewels. So that ornamental weapon could be used in both conditions, since they were really good weapons oftentimes too.
- wodenokoto 4y agoAlso, when you are fighting for your life, an expensive spear isn't the most expensive thing on the line.
- ctrlp 4y agoSo what? Beautiful objects were often made for rich people. In what sense does that invalidate their aesthetic qualities rather than confirm them? Average people famously have little sense of beauty. Average people don't make art.
- detaro 4y agoIt invalidates the arguments made in the article about how in the past people cared much more about craftsmanship based on those objects.