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Originally Posted by Flying Dagger
The blunt end of the hammer is great for breaking someone's arm, but the same can be accomplished with an axe which can also effectively cut open wooden shields and enemy spears.
I think one of a hammer's hidden strength lies in its durability*: edge weapons loses part of its power as its edges get worn out. But still, I prefer an axe like this one:
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If you're talking about axes it really depends on the period and the type of axe itself. The image of a big burly man hefting a giant double headed axe into battle is inherently false. Axe heads were small, and designed to be wieldy.
The 'largest' battle axe is probably the dane axe, which even then doesn't have an over sized head. It's the 'largest' battle axe mostly because it has a long pole fore a handle. (Which is still shorter than an actual polearm.
As for the statement of bashing through shields, I sincerely doubt it. The strapped on to your arm shield is a misconception and a poor design choice bio-mechanically.
Historically, most shields were centre-gripped, allowing the shield to fold with the force so that a blow can simply glance off from it.
This video demonstrates an educated theory of how Viking age shields might have been fought with based on an understanding of the treatises of similar weapons like the buckler and dueling shields and an understanding on simple bio-mechanics.
Mind you, these are some of the most well respected instructors in HEMA circles.
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Swords require more training and experience as you are positioned much closer to your enemy, so you need to learn how to block and parry and close in to your enemy. Bows and spears become quite useless once you are within arm's reach (closing in during battle is quite dangerous: you aren't facing only one spear, and the guy behind your target will still be free to poke your guts out).
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That's not exactly right.
Firstly it really depends on what kind of sword are you talking about.
The longsword, for instance, had a position of honour as a discipline within the Art (Cultural significance aside), as it taught the principles of all forms of close combat. Cutting techniques translates into the polearm, along with half-swording, as the sword is treated like a spear. Then we also have, Ringen am Shwertz, (Sword and wrestling) which teaches you wrestling.
To simply to it, the longsword trains you in the general fundamentals. The longsword itself was a secondary weapon, as I have stated in the thread earlier.
Some of the other sword disciplines were meant for the battlefield, while others were not. The rapier, for example, was a civilian weapon, popular as a fashion statement. For a long time nobles preferred the longsword, but eventually the rapier became fashionable to them as well.
Keep in mind that in the Late Middle Ages and Early Rennaisance, people were using pike formations rather than spears at all.
The swordy counter to that was the Zweihander, used by guys like the Landschenckt to break up pike formations.
Addition trivia: Guys who were trained to use the Zweihander were given the title Meister de Langenshwertz (Master of the Longsword). That just shows how much skill was needed to wield these things!
Though this title does not make you a Master of Defence, as you need to learn and master multiple disciplines to get a shot of becoming one.