Comparing the Load of a Modern Soldier and a 14th Century Armored Knight
Let’s take a brief tangent. While my job is to write about firearms for you guys, I have many other interests; one of them is Medieval history. It’s a pretty cool thing to be interested in these days, as YouTube is practically bursting with awesome channels that go into an incredible amount of depth and detail on Medieval-related topics, including everything from swords, to armor, to clothing, and everything else.
Now, one of the best of those channels is the fairly new “Knyght Errant” created by Ian LaSpina, a former US Navy Lieutenant and SH-60B Seahawk submarine-hunter helicopter pilot who recreates Medieval history in his spare time. LaSpina not only talks about Medieval armor (among many other things), he spends a lot of time actually living in it, too. If that subject interests you, his channel is one you should check out for sure.
Now, how does this connect to modern firearms? Well, recently LaSpina released a video I found absolutely fascinating, in which he compared the load of modern US Army and Marine infantrymen to the load carried by a 14th Century knight in full plate armor! You can enjoy this video for yourself, embedded below:
Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
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Do not discount the value of Guerrilla Warfare. Islam hasn't. I suspect it will be very important in America's future.
In medieval warfare between equally well equipped armies, like in England's Wars of the Roses, most fighting was on foot toe to toe, and combat often lasted for most of the day. This led to dehydration and exhaustion as one of the main causes of failure in battle. The most lethal weapon was the billhook (think medieval version of a sickle), which could be deployed one or two ranks behind the enemy's front rank. Richard III died with a blow from one of these. These wars were marked by increasing rancour, as enmities became entrenched, and divisions between northern Englishmen and southerners became increasingly bitter. There was true hatred displayed in the massacres of the losing sides by the victors. These were very strong soldiers, habituated to long periods of warfare by extensive lifelong training and the wars in France. A fascinating but appalling period of history, and few participants emerge with credit.