Show Posts
1
Historical Discussion / Re: Were European knights even any good? (provide examples?)
« on: August 20, 2012, 11:40:50 pm »I like reading about history. I've got a few books on medieval arms and armor, and famous battles from history. They all say how the European Knight was an elite, heavily armed and armored killing machine. They made up the core of any respectable medieval army, even if they were few and a bit disorganized.Basically all your examples are from late Middle Ages when the knight's dominance began to fade. Except for the Crusades, but that is accounted to different climate and geography which made the heavy cavalry tactic less effective.
However, all of the famous battles I read about seem to show how the medieval knight was actually not that effective!
Agincourt: knights defeated by archers and terrain
Most Crusades: knights defeated by more mobile cavalry/ mobile armies
Battle of Legnano: foot soldiers with crossbows defeat an army relying on knights
The Battle of Crécy: "The new weapons and tactics employed marked an end to the
era of the feudal warfare of knights on horseback."
Take a look at that last quote. Was there ever an era where knights on horseback dominated?
Can someone please provide some battles or examples where "thanks to the superior training and use of knights, the battle was one" is an accurate statement?
Knight seem pretty awesome, and romantic, but I'm having a hard time seeing their usefulness based on examples form history! Maybe I'm missing something though.
Are the books biased? Or maybe the battles spoken of were exceptions, rather than the norm? Still it seems that the effectiveness of knights on the battlefield is either under-represented or non-existent.
Composite bows do not work well in a wet climate like Europe: the glue comes apart and the weapon is useless. Thus, before the invention of crossbows, there weren't any very effective ranged weapons. Cavalry gave you a tremendous mobility advantage and absolutely destroyed infantry formations. It wasn't until heavy crossbows, English/Welsh longbows, and gunpowder came around that knights began to lose their luster.
My Helm's Deep map will definitely get an upgrade.
