How long does battles last, before the introduction of firearms? I have the impression that lunging a spear around, while in armor and with a shield, is going to be get tiring really quick.
Are there any difference in the duration of battle for different historic age, says the times of the Romans compared to the medieval period?
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True, you’re going to get tired quick, but think how much longer it will take to actually kill someone. I did get the impression, though, that many battles were relatively quickly–whoever was faced with an overwhelming force would start running away first and have their rearguards slaughtered while the rest high-tailed it out of there.
I would be interested in a more definitive answer, though.
According to this site, the Battle of Hastings lasted about 6 hours, from 9 AM to 3 PM.
According to Wiki, the main fighting at the Battle of Agincourt took about 3 hours.
A chilling phrase was used in a History Channel program about Hannibal’s victory at Cannae. After the famous “double envelopment” was complete, and the Romans were completely encircled, the Carthaginians still had to physically kill them. A historian they quoted said something very like “And then it’s just a question of how long it takes to slaughter seventy thousand human beings. And the answer is, about six hours.”