The Medieval Warrior in Combat - Modern Myth and Historical Reality

The goal of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive view of the combat skills and competencies of the European medieval warrior, using both written and archaeological sources and modern research of the recent years. The main reason for the choice of this theme is the general ignorance of the warrior past of our ancestors and especially the underestimation of European medieval fighting as something crude, non-technical and barbaric. This thesis attempts to refute such myths, among other through the comparison of 13th century fencing and Renaissance martial arts. Key words: Combat - Middle Age - Fencing- Swordplay - Wrestling - I.33 - European martial art