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Post by kjakker on Jun 5, 2021 1:09:07 GMT
Cool, I'll have to look that up. There was a Matt Easton video on it I can't find. I bring him up cause he had a nice collection of photos lol This one? |
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Post by durinnmcfurren on Aug 26, 2021 1:10:57 GMT
I'm pleased to report that William Short, of Hurstwic, has done extensive research into this and found the hammer grip the most plausible grip for using viking swords. His new book on the topic is being released in a couple of weeks.
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Post by snubnoze on Aug 26, 2021 22:31:07 GMT
Watching that video right now, he concludes that the hammer grip gives you a more powerful strike based on their testing. It doesn't necessarily state that their are sources that led him to that conclusion. Also, powerful doesn't exactly always equate to better for combat purposes.
Good interview though, I'll check out that book when it releases.
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Post by durinnmcfurren on Aug 27, 2021 16:24:24 GMT
Watching that video right now, he concludes that the hammer grip gives you a more powerful strike based on their testing. It doesn't necessarily state that their are sources that led him to that conclusion. Also, powerful doesn't exactly always equate to better for combat purposes. Good interview though, I'll check out that book when it releases. Correct, but in the rest of the interview he talks about why he thins that viking combat was power focused, which certainly accords with what Saxo Grammaticus said about it.
After all, without detailed records of combat, we don't really know how weapons were used. Sometimes, just because something is effective in experimentation, doesn't mean that it was done historically, or done very often!
So yes, we won't know for sure, but I was glad to see Short, with much more research and experience, had this conclusion.
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Post by snubnoze on Aug 27, 2021 16:29:58 GMT
Correct, but in the rest of the interview he talks about why he thins that viking combat was power focused, which certainly accords with what Saxo Grammaticus said about it.
After all, without detailed records of combat, we don't really know how weapons were used. Sometimes, just because something is effective in experimentation, doesn't mean that it was done historically, or done very often!
So yes, we won't know for sure, but I was glad to see Short, with much more research and experience, had this conclusion.
Fair point. It's a shame we'll never know with certainty. It's also possible that it was up to personal preference for them in their day just as it is for us today. I think their is this desire to have uniformity in the past when it may have not been there. Same goes with opinions on Viking hairstyles and clothing. |
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Post by durinnmcfurren on Aug 27, 2021 16:39:00 GMT
Correct, but in the rest of the interview he talks about why he thins that viking combat was power focused, which certainly accords with what Saxo Grammaticus said about it.
After all, without detailed records of combat, we don't really know how weapons were used. Sometimes, just because something is effective in experimentation, doesn't mean that it was done historically, or done very often!
So yes, we won't know for sure, but I was glad to see Short, with much more research and experience, had this conclusion.
Fair point. It's a shame we'll never know with certainty. It's also possible that it was up to personal preference for them in their day just as it is for us today. I think their is this desire to have uniformity in the past when it may have not been there. Same goes with opinions on Viking hairstyles and clothing. No doubt there were many different personal preferences in how to grip the sword, especially since it's not like they had any centralized formal training or anything. I guess what Short is saying and what I personally hypothesize is that hammer grips were by far more common than Warzecha's preferred grip. This also accords with the artistic evidence in the Stuttgart Psalter...
In another part of the interview, Short talks about how the different 'feels' (nimble vs 'heavy') to viking swords lend themselves to different combat styles that were probably up to personal preference of the individual viking. So I think he would agree that there was quite a lot of individual variation and preference.
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Post by Mad Jim on Aug 31, 2021 0:08:17 GMT
I like to have the pommel partially in my hand as I find it gives better grip, plus when you extend your arm the pommel doesn't dig into your hand!
Same when using my Albion Sempach (type XVII) I like to have the pommel partially in my left hand.
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