Why the long skinny swords in swordfights? No Armor?

[TheMadEngineer]

@Hypno-Toad

The Mad Engineer brings up a good subject. Fencing with “skinny” swords is partially a result of the rennaisance ideal of science. The rennaisance men were trying to apply scientific methods to fighting (specifically dueling). One conclusion that they came up with is that the thrust was better than the slash for the killing blow. Slashing still had uses such as harassing your opponent to ruin his attack or wear him down. But for the big finish, it was all about thrust. Thrusts are faster than chopping allowing you to get the first blow. And a thrust is (generally) harder to block than a chop. Thus the long thin blades. The thin blades were fast and precise because they were light. Since they were intended for civilian dueling rather than military combat, they didn’t have to be strong enough to pierce armor. Just clothes. Some guys were known to wear light chainmail vests under their clothes but this was considered cheating. Or smart, depending on ones view.

Why all the dueling? Because although the middle ages were over, men were still expected to defend their honor. Especially gentlemen of high station.

Others have mentioned using other items in dueling. Some used bucklers which were small shields. They could be very handy against a light weapon like a rapier. Some used a dagger which could block and attack. A specialized item was the Main Gauche (Left Hand) which was essentially a sword-sized grip, crossguard and pommel but with a dagger-sized blade. Many main gauche were created from rapiers whose blades had broken. Some duelists would drape their cape over their left arm and use it to entangle their opponents weapon arm as an errsatz shield.

Rapiers don’t feel quite as agile as a well-made longsword, their length would mean lots of weight at the back end of the blade and this adds mass. Furthermore, a plain-ol’ thrust (one that is not the finishing part of a series of moves, or in the middle of a series of moves) is actually the easiest attack to defend against. A cut is more difficult to defend against for a variety of reasons, which I can explain if you wish.

Again, a rapier is a fashion statement. The length of the blade looks pretty and that is its main purpose. Again, if the rapier were a superior military weapon, then armies would have adopted it.

A side note: Bucklers were NOT used as typical shields. They were used to protect the sword-wielding hand’s wrist. Every cut with a sword and buckler has your wrists glued together to prevent an opponent from stepping out of the way of the attack and cutting your wrist - something that is VERY easy to do.