The Falx

[Endre Fodstad]

I wonder if the falx had the same cutting ability as the medieval longswords?

Its my understanding that most Medieval long swords were not sharp edged, being heavy and blunt to ensure bones can be broken under the armour as opposed to a cutting blade which is pointless...no pun intended-...against cov

Odd idea. In the different fighting manuals from the 14th-15th century, when employing longswords vs longswords, the cut is mostly employed when fencing out of armour. After donning armour, the fencers tend toward wrestling and locking, halfswording, and so on and so forth in order to pin the opponent so as to be able to deliver a thrust at an unarmoured portion.

This becomes very obvious in some manuals. In Fiore dei Liberis Flos Duellatorum from around 1410, the system of fighting is very schematic and logical (perhaps too much so for practical use, some argue) - the cuts are delivered "in the same way" (here I oversimplify) with every weapon. When fighting unarmoured, the longwordman employs cuts. When in armour, the cut descriptions disappear from the manual. Then the fighters pick up pole-axes and the cut is back - now it is possible to penetrate the armour and deliver crushing blows. How this can be translated into the falx, I do not know; the falx is a rather unique sort of weapon, not to mention about a 1000 years removed from the heyday of longsword fencing!

Most longswords are very light affairs - they weigh around 12-1300 grams or so all told.

[edit] This just became very on-topic, thanks to Vortigern Studies.