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Today, weapons that fire hot lead across thousands of yards, destroy cities in a single blast of insane fury, or disable a man without harming him at all are the bread of butter of conflicts the world over. But even though they no longer have a place on the battlefield, there is something noble about the melee weapons that once ruled the battlefield.

Of all melee weapons, the sword is the one that has captured the hearts of the public. The weapon of duelists even in places that preferred other weapons for way, there is something inherently special about the sword that makes it a staple of popular culture.

Be it gracefully curved katana from Japan, or brutally efficient zweihander’s from Germany, their is no denying that the sword is the single most dominant melee weapon in popular culture. Even in movies filled with firearms, it is never a surprise to see a suitably epic sword duel between the hero and the villain.

The sword isn’t the only melee weapon to talk about though. The spear in particular needs special mention; a weapon regarded by many to be superior to the sword in every way except for being easy to carry. There is an old saying: To defeat a spear user takes three times the skill it would take to defeat a similarly talented sword wielder.

For this reason, polearms have served as the primary weapons of the vast majority of armies since the dawn of human history. The relative ease of making simple spears, combined with their high efficiency, makes it hard to find a weapon more suitable for the armies of ages past.

The last of the popular melee weapon types is bludgeoning and bashing weapons. Maces, morningstars, flails, even some bladed weapons such as axes fall into this territory. While these weapons have their own flaws, their simple efficiency means they cannot be ignored.

And when facing a man wrapped head to toe in steel, a bashing weapon often serves better than any sword could hope to! For this reason, maces were often the preferred sidearm of western knights, overshadowing even the sword in certain time periods.

I feel that I should give shields a mention here too. Though they aren’t technically weapons, and they are completely unpopular with the public, shields are a valuable tool for any melee fighter, and often the man with the best skill with his shield was the last one standing.

A top class shield wielded by a skilled fighter can serve to defeat almost any attack, and can even be used as an effective bludgeoning weapon. Though using two swords may be more popular in movies and games, I’ll take a shield in real life any day.

Hopefully you’ve learned a little about melee weapons from this. Though they are no longer practical in today’s world, we can’t just forget about the weapons that have defined our history for thousands of years.

If you still want to learn more about ancient weapons, you should to check out my article about Roman Swords and other weapons of the legionnaires. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

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