Historical sword combat

[Myth]

[Fisherking]

That is the easy part. You should try it in a shield wall some time.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Well, to begin with those shields are much smaller than most Viking and Saxon examples recovered, and in fact the object of combat was not to get hit, but to avoid getting hit. This is why in sword and shield combat throughout history warrior sed with their left leg and their shieldward rather than swordward side.

Every depiction of sword and shield warfare I have seen up until the High Middle Ages, at least, the men always lead with the shield, and the sword is behind waiting for the opening.

also - the areas you actually attacked were the forearms and hands, the lower legs, the armpit, the neck and the face, the bits not covered by armour.

So not overly impressed by that - look how many times they hit each other.