This is an updated blogpost from the previous post entitled: "The English Great Sword."
Most of our practice at the Guild of Knightly Arts with English longsword is derived from the Ledall Roll. We are inclusive of the earlier English treatise on the longsword, principally the Man yt Wol (MS Harley 3542) but it isn't a primary emphasis for our longsword practice. The reason is that the MS Harley doesn't deal with the longsword as most of us would reckon a "longsword" which is defined according to its length. The text of Harley was written around 1450, the mid-15th century, wherein the type of sword being expounded upon appears in the context as the "two-handed sword." Thrice MS Harley specifies that this weapon is a two-handed weapon: "The Use of the Two-hand Sworde," "To Incounter wih the Two Hand Sworde", and "The Play with the Two Hand Sword in Verse". While a "two-handed sword" appears to fit the description of a typical longsword, the sword of Harley was much longer than the typical longsword of the same period and quite a bit heavier. This type of sword was used in tournaments to fight on foot at the barriers and according to MS Harley it was used in judicial duels. (It is of interest to note that the British Library specifically catalogues MS Harley 3542 as a "Great sword" fencing manual).
The term "great sword" elicits some controversy because it is difficult to define what a great sword is or when a longsword becomes a great sword. Without defining the Harleian sword as a great sword we can say with certainty that this two-handed sword was of proportions much larger than intended for a longsword of typical length and this is because the context of its use in Harley is quite specific. We can surmise that the MS Harley is dealing with the usage of two-handed sword techniques and tactics against an armored opponent. MS Harley is specifically written for the caste of Nobility as it refers to the reader as "Ser" (sire). In the context of judicial duels, the nobility wore a harness (armor) in the 15th century. The techniques used in Harley also specifically reference armored combat, i.e., "Smite a running quarter out for his side / Fall upon his harness if he will abide;" "Four quarters and a rounde, with a stroke adventure / Grapple his armor and you will be secure." The techniques of Harley are primarily hewing with the swords cutting edge with advice to close in and grapple the opponent.
Note: there are instances of techniques at the "half" in Harley which I believe is speaking of what we may call "half-swording" although this term meant something different to English swordsmen than it does to modern HEMA practitioners of harnissfechten. Unlike their German counterparts, in England the term "half-sword" was a term for a neutral bind. Harley is specific that a particular technique should be delivered at the "half" indicating a manner of using the sword which is now mostly universally identified in HEMA communities as "half-swording."
Only a very large sword would have been utilized in a similar manner as a pole weapon and would have been a hybrid of a pole weapon and a sword. In this context it makes sense to use a sword against an armored opponent with percussive blows whereas if MS Harley was dealing with the typical shorter and lighter longsword these techniques would be useless and ineffectual against an armored opponent.
So, what type of sword is specified in the Harleian Manuscript? While the Harleian longsword is in fact a longsword it is a very large longsword. Several types of longswords dealt with by the Harleian Manuscript was uncovered in an archeological dig dated from 1430-1453 from the site of a battle in Castillon-la-Bataille on the Garonne. This was during the period of the Hundred Years War. These swords were 56 inches in length and weighed at least 5 lbs. From the context of the Harleian MS these larger and heavier swords were used in the same manner as what we see in the Ledall Roll but their size and weight made them effective much like a pole arm would be in a battle against an opponent in armor. The average longsword was used as a sidearm on a battlefield, secondary to more powerful arms suitable against armored opponents. However, the larger two-handed sword was incapable of being worn as a sidearm and was carried as a primary weapon onto the battlefield.
This type of two-handed sword was an advantage on the battlefield or in judicial duels in that it could function just like a longsword utilizing similar techniques, but it also gave the wielder an advantage when facing off against a halberd, spear, poleaxe or other pole-arm weapons. George Silver references the "two-handed sword" and states that it is among the better weapons alongside pole arms to utilize in battle:
"Yet understand, that in battles, and where variety of weapons are, among multitudes of men and horses, the sword and target, the two-handed sword, battle axe, the black bill, and halberd, are better weapons, and more dangerous in their offence and forces, than is the sword and buckler, short staff, long staff, or forest bill. The sword and target leads upon shot, and in troops defends thrusts and blows given by battle axe, halberds, black bill, or two handed swords, far better than can the sword and buckler."
In our HEMA club, we practice techniques derived from the Harleian Manuscript for our core longsword curriculum, but the actual treatise and its plays are often reserved for harness fighting because that is the context wherein, they were intended. Can Harley be practiced outside of harness? Sure. However, there are several plays and techniques in Harley which can only be understood in the context of harness fighting. This singular fact must be remembered when incorporating Harley into the modern HEMA context.
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