Free Hank Reinhardt's The Book of the Sword by Hank Reinhardt Page A

known to give me the point of his saber instead of its edge, I should not have been here to tell you about it." —Whit Williams
     

4: Wounds and the Effects of Swords
    The carnage of modern war is horrible, but make no mistake, the carnage of medieval battle was no less so. Although bows, crossbows, javelins and a few other missiles were used, the majority of the combat took place hand to hand. The weapons used were spear, sword, axe, mace, and variations of the above.
    Until plate armor dulled the effectiveness of the sword (pun intended), it was the most popular of weapons. But axes, maces, and polearms were also much in evidence. The sword, however, due to its versatility, was the preferred close-quarters weapon.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
    There are three major sources for information dealing with the cutting power of the sword. One is archeological evidence. Although it is rare that one can say for sure what weapon caused a particular kind of wound, when taken in conjunction with literary sources, the second source, one can make safe assumptions. The third is experimentation. Now, while it isn't moral, legal or practical to go out and chop on people, one can test the sword against other objects, up to and including sides of beef.
    Surprisingly enough, archeological evidence is fairly plentiful. There are skeletal remains that show the effects of combat, and I feel sure that many of these were inflicted with a sword.
    On July 27, 1361, Waldemar, King of Denmark, attacked the city of Visby on the Isle of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Visby had long been an important way station for trade with the east and was very wealthy. With avarice worthy of his Viking ancestors, Waldemar launched the attack, quickly overcame the city's defenses, and sacked the city.
     
    Reproduction Viking sword. HRC410.
     
    It is doubtful that the defenders were trained warriors. Contemporary chronicles considered them poorly armed and largely peasants. Considering the percentage killed over the number taking part in the battle, it must have been a terrible slaughter. Close to 2,000 defenders were killed, and it is doubtful if they had fielded more than 4,000 in all.
    After Waldemar gathered up his treasure and left, which probably took two or three days, the inhabitants started about the mournful business of burying the dead. It was July, and warm, and after a few days the bodies were not in the best of condition. This may account for why so many were buried in their armor rather than being stripped. (There were a few who were cleaned and buried properly, but it is uncertain why they were singled out.)
    The mass burial sites were excavated in the early part of the 1900s and the analytical work continued for several years. As graphic and distasteful as it may be to many, the information it has provided gives a very good picture of the horror and berserk fury that must have been a routine part of medieval warfare.
    There is one skeleton of a man who has had both legs severed, and it appears to have been done with one blow! The blow landed on the right leg below the knee on the outside, and then struck the left leg slightly below and on the inside. Since it appears to be unreasonable that someone would stand still with one leg hewn off, that one blow cut off both legs below the knee. As can be seen in another section of this book, that is not so astounding after all. There are several skeletons where a foot has been severed, and there are many with cuts to the lower leg. Indeed, this seems to have been a major target. A rough estimate is that close to 70 percent of the blows detected at Visby were aimed at the lower leg. This is quite understandable, as the lower leg is hard to protect, even with a shield. When you consider that these fighters were not well equipped with leg defenses it explains why they were targeted.
     
    Reproduction Viking axe. HRC257.
     
    The head also took many blows. There are several skulls from Visby that received so many blows