Destichado said:
13 Spider Bloody Chain said:
Historical Note:
Apparently, bastard sword's weren't supposed to be used like you guys are saying:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastard_sword

looks like I'm going to have to clean up that article, then.
The guy had good intentions, and knew about
fechtbooken, but he only read the ones that were about
harnesfecten (fighting in armour) -completely ignoring (or never hearing about) the ones for
blusfechten (fighting in plainclothes), which (depending on the school) was entirely different.
There's
so much diversity in this time period that classification is a nightmare, not nearly as simple as wikipedia makes it. But it *is* a good start -encyclopedias generally are.
I must admit that I am not certain about the etymology of the term "bastard sword". Longsword is indeed appropriate -as distinguished from arming/riding swords, and "grete swaerds"/swords o' war
(epee du guerre)/"too-hondet swords"... but I could have sworn "bastard" was period. I'll have to check.
I'm also realtively certain that "Bastard Sword" is period, and the origin of the term in your earlier post as well. On a side note, the "Long Sword" is actually a much more ambiguous title than the Bastard Sword. Whether or not it's agreed that "Bastard" is period, it is generally accepted that the term refers to the hand-and-a-half swords that could be wielded in one hand to allow a shield and also be used with both hands to allow for more forceful strikes and faster blade control. However, "Long Sword" has been used to refer to dozens of styles of blade, from swords akin to a longer version of the short sword, thinner versions of a broad sword, all the way into the late 1600's when many english fighting sailors used a very saber-like sword referred to as the "Long Sword".
Now, for the subject at hand, I've always hated that people PUT bastard swords in games, and made them exclusively one or two handed (usually two, from my experience). If you don't want to go to the effort to make the sword do what it exists to do, then don't do it at all. I think it would be really cool if you could equip a bastard sword and a shield for fighting mounted, or fighting several opponents, but then ditch the shield if you're knocked off your horse and have to fight cavalry or a few straggling troops. I'd say for stats, it'd be one of the slowest one handers, but the reach, for a one hander, would be sickening, and the damage would be pretty heavy too. Conversely, when wielded in two hands, it wouldn't have nearly the reach true 2-handers do, but it would be blindingly fast in comparison, probably 25% faster than it was as a 1-hander. Oh, and since hilt and tip ballancing have been mentioned already, it might be good to point out that the bastard sword pictured in spider's link is hilt-balanced, as are all of the replica bastard swords I've ever seen. I believe this is an integral part of the design, enabling the weilder to use the sword competently in one hand, and blindingly fast in two. Honestly, one of the selling points (by this, I mean reasons a player would want to buy the bastard sword in the game) would be that, wielded two-handed, it would likely be one of the faster weapons in the game. Certainly not as fast as the scimitar, but faster than even a long sword, I'd say.
A note for the guy who doesn't think 5 lbs is a lot to swing around. First, the leverage of the sword works for you in terms of damage, but physics always works both ways, and the leverage works against you for endurance, those 5 lbs turn into 50 really fast. Also, battles took hours, in armor, in the sun, swinging, blocking, and running. Some lasted all day and into the night (though chivalrous, and I use the term loosely, commanders would normally break off before sundown). Today, highly conditioned boxers swing little more than their fists, without leverage working against them, several pounds of metal and/or leather draped over them, or the hot sun baking down, and are out of breath and soaked in sweat in minutes. Swinging a sword in a battle is no easy task, friend.