Medieval Battle

Medieval Battle
How many people did the avg swordsman kill in a Medieval battle?

I am talking about the battles where 2 sides charged each other with swords, spears, arrows and other weaponry. How many people would a soldier kill? Is it like the movies where everyone is just battling anyone they come in contact with?
The bravery of these men who had to charge into something like this has to be almost unmatched. At any moment during the fight you could be stuck with or hacked at with a sword or any weapon from any direction.

Ignore the films and the stupidity. Battles lasted hours – almost all of that time was moving , shouting and waving weapons. On average the normal soldier killed maybe 1/10 of a person – most deaths occoured in the rout not the battle.
It is strange I know but pre-powder it took a lot of time to nerve the soldiers up to go into contact.
They were individually and collectivelly terrified – that is why drill and training and repetition are used.
Swords were heavy – not rapiers real swords – designed to hack through armour – you cannot hold one at arms length for more than a minute in reality.
So it came down to nerve – in many battles resolution came when one side lost it’s nerve and backed of without contact.

Medieval Battle


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