Samurai and Knight equipment.

[Rodolfo Martínez]

Recently i was reading about japanese swords and i got quite confused about the kind of weapons weilded by Samurai warriors. Not only Katanas were used by them, Wakizashis, Tantos and Naginatas too. But there were other weapons that i don´t know, like a strange straight sword userd by the earliest warriors, and much more. So my question is: Wich was all the Samurai weaponry?

In other posts i was told about the popularity of longswords between knights, their poleaxes, the mighty axe of Robert Bruce and other weapons (Thank you Mr. Johnson), so my other question is: Wich was the weaponry of a XIV or XV century knight?

Thanks to all.

[Lance Chan]

I think that will make 2 very long lists. It's a very wide question. The weaponry won't be limited to melee combat but include ranged weapons as well. I'll let someone who have more time and information than I do to answer I guess.

Recently i was reading about japanese swords and i got quite confused about the kind of weapons weilded by Samurai warriors. Not only Katanas were used by them, Wakizashis, Tantos and Naginatas too. But there were other weapons that i don´t know, like a strange straight sword userd by the earliest warriors, and much more. So my question is: Wich was all the Samurai weaponry?

In other posts i was told about the popularity of longswords between knights, their poleaxes, the mighty axe of Robert Bruce and other weapons (Thank you Mr. Johnson), so my other question is: Wich was the weaponry of a XIV or XV century knight?

Thanks to all.

[LafayetteCCurtis]

Lance is correct. And in any case, we can't just peg down "samurai weaponry" that easily because, like the men-at-arms in Europe, the Japanese bushi evolved with time. Practically all the weapons you mentioned saw use by the bushi at one time or another except for the straight sword. This specific type, called the chokuto or ken, was a very early model and since we have only ornate examples it is not impossible that it was a strictly ceremonial weapon not used by the warriors in the field. And a weapon you haven't mentioned was the tachi (or more correctly jindachi), the cavalry saber that was both the precursor and contemporary to the katana.

So, as with your question for the knights, it would help if you could restrict the timeframe.

[Rodolfo Martínez]

Well, maybe a Tokugawa period samurai, and an italian or german XV century knight...

[Mars Healey]

Not to be rude, Rodolfo, but it seems you want everyone here to do your research for you. There are plenty of resources, here and elsewhere on the Web that can answer your broad questions. (Google is your friend.) If you have specifics regarding a particular weapon or martial style, that would be a more appropriate question.

Again, I'm not trying to put you off or be rude.

[Rodolfo Martínez]

No offense taken
You are right, but i used Google, and Yahoo a lot of times, searching for samurai swords, for example, in some sites odachis appear as only ceremonial swords, in other sites those blades are lower rank foot soldier´s weapon while other says that a samurai would need help to draw his odachi. Then, the two handed swords, in some sites i read ¨Two handed swords are mercenary only weapons¨ (Even my historian friend says so), then, in other site i find ¨two handed swords were knightly weapons becouse their weight was 20 pounds¨ and such stuff.
I know that there are ancient things difficult to explain properly, or not even known yet. So, where should i search?

I don´t want anyone to do nothing for me, i´m only asking you becouse i know that you have information from accurate resourses.

[Allen Johnson]

Perhaps we should point him to good sources then

I think you would enjoy any of the "knight" books by Ewart Oakeshott. You can easily find them on amazon.

'Records of the Medieval Sword' would also be a really good book for you.

[Logan Weed]

A lot of those early straight swords in Japan were imported from Korea and China or crude copies of imported weapons before Japan possessed a strong swordmaking tradition.

[Jeffrey Hull]

It would be nice, and also relevant to this forum and the association which supports it, if we were to focus upon historical European martial arts please.

Addressing European fighting are mainfold articles & essays:
http://www.thearma.org/essays.htm

...Historical manuals:
http://www.thearma.org/manuals.htm

...And research & reading list:
http://www.thearma.org/reading.htm

If you want martial arts of Japan, China, India, Brazil etc. then you may find plenty of websites, books, and organizations devoted to such elsewhere.

[LafayetteCCurtis]

I'd second the recommendation for Oakeshott's books in respect to European armor. As forJapanese sword, Jeffrey has pointed out that this is not exactly the forum for that so I'd simply refer you to this excellent site on the subject:

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm

[philippewillaume]

Generically speaking,
Samurai weaponry in the “pax tokugawa” would be the daisho (ie katana and wakishashi) but this is a kind of peace time weaponry. Since the tokugawa area was very calm after the battles that brough the shogun in power. So weapon in thos battle were probably tha sane as the earlier periode, and so early in the tokugawa shogunate, samurai were really a class without function or in transition.
Hence you will find some people specialising in a particular weapon, no-dashi (cf sasaki Kojiro), spear, kusari gama (sickle and ball attached to a chain), jitte and so on. But it is more a peace time activity that war orientated if you see what I mean.

In the anterion period to the shogunate, weapons were more the lance and the bow and the sword be it a tachi or a katana proper and a daguer of some description.Anything from a short sword to a small dagger, though the daisho was at the time relatively common.

For you typical XV cent knight/meant at arm it really depend if you fight on foot or on horse. Though it will depend according the time and place.
You will have a harness
A mounted lance (mounted) and half lance/ noble axe (if on foot)
A sword and the saddle (mounted)
A sword at the waist left side
A hammer at the waist right side (at least mounted)
And a dagger

For judicial dual on foot
It seems that it is (at least in Germany) that the tradition wanted you to be armed with a spear, a longsword and a dagger) during the century I am not sure if it evolves to include noble axe instead of the spear/sword or if it is just another way to do thing. It seems that fighting with “axes” in “champ clos” was not extraordinary at the same time in france or italy. (but I do not know how much it is linked to judicial duel or joust of war on foot is you see what I mean)

it is quick and dirty but I hope that helped
phil