End him rightly...? Pommel throwing in Gladitoria MS KK5013
Apr 27, 2016 1:32:11 GMT
Post by themagicalmark on Apr 27, 2016 1:32:11 GMT
So if anyone has looked up sword techniques on youtube chances are you've seen references to "pommel throwing" and "ending your opponent rightly" in the comments, this was introduced by youtuber Skallagrim making a video about the 15th century German manuscript Gladatoria MS KK5013.
All jokes aside i'm pretty interested in the practical use of this method.
The Gladitoria was a fighting manuscript based around armored one-on-one combat with a few different type of weapons, including longsword, spear, buckler, and dagger. On folio 7r on the manuscript theres a rather interesting technique described on this page as follows:
(translated from German) "...If you want to end him rightly, hold your spear and sword together on your arm, unscrew the pommel of your sword and throw it at him vigorously. Close in with the throw and use your sword or spear, whatever suits you best. When he throws his pommel at you, keep your buckler close to you and watch out for the throw. Hold your spear in your right hand and prepare to thrust, to stop him from closing in if it is his intention."
As you can see on the page, the knight on the left has unscrewed his pommel and is preparing to throw it at his opponent who is readying himself to defend himself against the throw.
The manuscript is basically telling us that throwing your pommel at your opponent is a functional fighting technique.
One can see a few obvious problems with this. Chucking ones pommel at an opponent doesn't seem like the brightest of ideas.
Pommels in general are good blunt trauma but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to remove said pommel and throw it away.
Its written in a way that tells me that its more of a distraction method so you can close in with your sword or spear and finish him off. But theres a big margin for error so if you mess up your throw you might not be able to use your sword anymore. Theres a good chance the sword would just fall apart once you remove the pommel.
Since this manuscript is centered around armored fighting, would it even be possible to to achieve a strong throw in full plate? The knights are shown with they're helmet visors down which also would make aiming nearly impossible (but i imagine that's just an artistic choice).
Also how long would it take to unscrew said pommel in the middle of a fight? i think it would have to be an opening move with the pommel removed beforehand for it to even have a chance of working before you opponent gets to you.
The manuscript also describes the defense for this move using your buckler to block it and advance on your opponent. Which makes me wonder, if this manuscripts techniques were well known at the time would pommel throwing be much of a surprise in a fight?
While it seems silly, i am curious if this could actually work? Or did the author intentionally make a joke?
(Me personally i don't really think this is serious but i do wonder why the author would choose to put a joke in the middle of his fighting manual rather than the beginning or end of the manual, so i'm open to the possibility that it could be serious.)
Its the butt end of most sword jokes (pun intended) but i could see it being such an outlandish move that it just might bewilder your opponent enough for you to get the upper hand. Maybe.
I'm curios to know what more experienced members of the community think.
(Skallagrim's video)
All jokes aside i'm pretty interested in the practical use of this method.
The Gladitoria was a fighting manuscript based around armored one-on-one combat with a few different type of weapons, including longsword, spear, buckler, and dagger. On folio 7r on the manuscript theres a rather interesting technique described on this page as follows:
(translated from German) "...If you want to end him rightly, hold your spear and sword together on your arm, unscrew the pommel of your sword and throw it at him vigorously. Close in with the throw and use your sword or spear, whatever suits you best. When he throws his pommel at you, keep your buckler close to you and watch out for the throw. Hold your spear in your right hand and prepare to thrust, to stop him from closing in if it is his intention."
As you can see on the page, the knight on the left has unscrewed his pommel and is preparing to throw it at his opponent who is readying himself to defend himself against the throw.
The manuscript is basically telling us that throwing your pommel at your opponent is a functional fighting technique.
One can see a few obvious problems with this. Chucking ones pommel at an opponent doesn't seem like the brightest of ideas.
Pommels in general are good blunt trauma but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to remove said pommel and throw it away.
Its written in a way that tells me that its more of a distraction method so you can close in with your sword or spear and finish him off. But theres a big margin for error so if you mess up your throw you might not be able to use your sword anymore. Theres a good chance the sword would just fall apart once you remove the pommel.
Since this manuscript is centered around armored fighting, would it even be possible to to achieve a strong throw in full plate? The knights are shown with they're helmet visors down which also would make aiming nearly impossible (but i imagine that's just an artistic choice).
Also how long would it take to unscrew said pommel in the middle of a fight? i think it would have to be an opening move with the pommel removed beforehand for it to even have a chance of working before you opponent gets to you.
The manuscript also describes the defense for this move using your buckler to block it and advance on your opponent. Which makes me wonder, if this manuscripts techniques were well known at the time would pommel throwing be much of a surprise in a fight?
While it seems silly, i am curious if this could actually work? Or did the author intentionally make a joke?
(Me personally i don't really think this is serious but i do wonder why the author would choose to put a joke in the middle of his fighting manual rather than the beginning or end of the manual, so i'm open to the possibility that it could be serious.)
Its the butt end of most sword jokes (pun intended) but i could see it being such an outlandish move that it just might bewilder your opponent enough for you to get the upper hand. Maybe.
I'm curios to know what more experienced members of the community think.
(Skallagrim's video)