Who Would Win: Armored Knight or SPIKY STICK?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- The Flemish Goedendag ("good day") is probably one of the least known weapons of the Middle Ages, and definitely underrated for what it is. Quick and easy to make, yet surprisingly versatile, effective against armor, and devastating against unarmored foes.
It was popular in the late 13th and 14th century and earned notoriety in the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302 Kortrijk / Courtrai, West Flanders, Belgium). If you underestimate this pointy war club it'll knock your socks off... I mean, your helmet.
So let's take a look at its historical background and effectiveness (including first-hand tests, of course).
This reproduction is made by Karliah @playingwithweapons232
/ @brokensteelforge232
Other videos you might like:
Overlooked Weapon of Ancient History: The DISC MACE
• Overlooked Weapon of A...
Blunt Medieval Humor: The FIST HAMMER
• Blunt Medieval Humor: ...
Sword vs. Hand... Would Not Recommend.
• Are Hands Hits in Swor...
Medieval Dagger Defense - Effective or Contrived?
• Medieval Dagger Defens...
** Sources **
www.arms-n-arm...
en.wikipedia.o...
myarmoury.com/f...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.military-h...
** Music credits **
"Menu Music Loop" by Horrorpen
opengameart.or...
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC BY 3.0)
"Messenger Part II" by Elegh
opengameart.or...
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
"Tiptoe Army" by Alexandr Zhelanov
opengameart.or...
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Outro:
"Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records
theslantedroom...
Used with artist's permission
** Merch **
www.bonfire.co...
If you want to join Bonfire to start selling your own merch: www.bonfire.co...
** Support the channel **
Help fund future videos, get bonus content and access to an exclusive Discord server:
/ skallagrim
/ @skallagrim
www.subscribes...
Other ways to support the channel by shopping through affiliate links:
Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc:
www.kultofathe...
Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords:
www.woodensword...
Want to treat your face fluff? I highly recommend the balms and oils from Beard Sorcery:
beardsorcery.c...
Books about history, martial arts, swords, knives, video/audio equipment, and other stuff I recommend:
US - www.amazon.com...
Canada - amzn.to/2HeOCMA
** Social media **
/ _skallagrim_
/ skallagrimyt
/ skallagrim_yt
#skallagrim #history #weapons
An important consideration, especially when arming non-professional troops, is how effective this weapon would be in the hands of someone with limited training. In that case, crude but effective is almost always better
Indeed, a poleaxe is more effective in the hands of a trained soldier. But a spiked club which doesn't need edge alignment could work as well for a peasant militia.
Yup, if you really were in a pinch you could hand these out and literally tell them to wack them as hard as they can, no need to worry about edge allignment, just intincutal clobbering
Also safe for fellow combatants. Because a frightened untrained person with a long spear or sword could really hurt someone if they're not careful
This is a good reason why "pointy sticks" in all their lengths and varieties were so popular. Not only are they generally more effective in an open field battle if used by a trained individual, but they are more effective even if used by someone with little to no experience fighting whatsoever. Mass produced, cheap weapons for the general populace.
That's the obvious advantage for spikes mounted on clubs. You can arm a bunch of conscripts with these on the cheap. Very effective for the money and about as intuitive as a weapon gets. Bashing and sticking could be taught the first day and you could learn more advanced techniques from experienced troops, if you survive your first day.
"To the knightly estate's great displeasure, this simple peasant weapon is perfectly capable of piercing even quality plate armor." - Goedendag's item description in Stoneshard
Commenter of culture; really hope Stoneshard gets the full release it deserves.
it isn't, but it's still effective against knights
The caravan update will happen!
@@slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447 If anything can, a hefty all metal spike is your best bet. It's basically a rondell on a stick tbh. I'd love some testing with a decently made Godendag&plate.
Magnificent combination of the classics; heavy stick and pointy stick.
I feel it'd be pretty good in a zombie apocalypse too.
It's been a while since I last saw that _LEGO_ piece. Thanks for the memory.
Well yes, the low maintenance cost might make it quite decent
It's the perfect weapon
And pretty easy to make in a zombie apocalypse: Drill a hole into the end of a baseball bat, and insert a metal spike made from a deck bolt or some rebar. It won't last-the wood will splinter-but it's cheap and easy to make another one.
@@windwalker5765nope, the extra reach and speed of the longer staff wins......plus the weight of the steel collar and spike.. spend some time with a short or long staff or martial art bo
I mean if a carpenter, a potter or a farmhand can be turned into a knight slayer by giving him an instinctually usable weapon that can be made in 20 minutes and is dirt cheap then that's an amazing deal.
indeed, the french glaive scythe is like that
instinctually is the key point indeed, no worry of lining up the edge like axes or swords. Just raw power and balls needed, something the commoners under French tyrannical rule had ample amounts of. Also that they were used in the same battle formation as the pikes added to the blocks versatility, very much like the often praised Swiss mercs centuries later did multiple weapons in the same blocks as the pikes.
I actually found out about these things in Age of Empires 2 and it turns out they made a pretty accurate depiction of it. Not hard to do I suppose when it's just a stick with a metal point but it's still neat that they put in effort to have historical accuracy in their game. Thanks for the showcase Skall.
Have you played Total War at all? I had a funny experience recently reading a secondhand account of Alexander the Great's campaigns where I realized oh shit, half of what he's doing is stuff good TW players do all the time. It's such a good depiction of how ancient battles worked on a tactical level.
One of the reasons Burgundians are one of my favourite civs in that game.
Spamming Flemish Militia in Castle Age feels so satisfying!
Now are the castle designs in Elden ring accurate with the medieval castles in medieval times?
There is this turnbased game called "Battle Brothers" that has many elements for combat that would make Skall proud. Including knives being REALLY GOOD against armor (since you are able to find holes to exploit easier). And flails are bad weapons but there is one things they do well: try to hit head of enemy that has a shield (since you swing flail over the shield). Also shields support each other so shieldwall is really valid tactic. Not only does it have goedendag, it actually has "arming sword" (which other games often just would say "long sword"), polehammer, bardiche, warscythe and billhook. And ofc you have often at least 2 different types to attack for each and they make sense most of the time. So with goedendag for example you can either try to do piercing damage which would drain hp or try to stun enemy with the blunt attack. For polehammer you can either try to break armor with blunt damage or try to pierce thru armor doing piercing damage. Oh and after battle you can loot enemies - so killing them without harming armor is a nice way to farm better armor for your squad (thus knives are REALLY good for this.. you just kill the fodder 1st, surround best enemy troops so their morale drops and you stab them). That game is super underappreciated how it manages to be really close to historically accurate with some stuff (ofc it is a game so it does have many "gamefied" and fantasy elements too). Edit: oh, the game might also have that weird cleaver Skall is pointing out.. its bit different shape but does have that kinda broken looking part. Its bit "cleaner" looking tho so maybe not the same. In game its called "military cleaver".
@@colbyboucher6391 Oh, I never knew Alexander rode himself or sent a champion out on a horse and ran zig-zags to waste the enemies ammunition. The more you know.
Seems like exactly the kind of flexible weapon to be useful. A short-ish spear, a club, good against plate (by bludgeoning) or mail (piercing point, depending on the width of the blade), these would fit perfectly in a lot of cheaply armed and armored ranks in medieval armies.
also adding them to a pike formation seems genius. If somebody manages to go beyond the pikes, there's another pointy stick ready, more mobile and versatile
Fantasy adventure stories should include this: a protagonist who initially considers using his savings to buy a sword before entering the Adventurer job, but remembers the "odd weapon" a merchant once showcased in his village, decides to go with that... *and ends up overall outperforming the other newcomers that chose to buy a sword instead.*
It would be a great City Guard weapon as well. Useful against armored Murderhobos. Intimidating to unruly mobs with the iron cap and pointy bit. And should they require less lethal crow led control just turn it around and wack at people with the wood end.
@@MrDibara Or better yet, have him perform on par with someone who trained with a sword from childhood once he gets the hang of this weapon.
@@Wolf-oc6tx That could happen at towards end of the first arc. First, showcase him how helpful the goenendag was to him compared to all the other newbies.
Those medieval cat illustrations are freaking hilarious yet somehow still accurate
Not sure about the cat using the mouse as a gun.
@@armi999 XD
They look extremely dissapointed or extremely retarded. Just like real cats stare at you
@@armi999 Who knows what cats did back then.
@@armi999 You've heard of Cat in the Hat. Now get ready for his rough and tumble inner city cousin, Cat with a Gat.
You can both poke and bonk with it. It's truly the Internet's most useful weapon.
sir you made me laugh, some good old humor there
Said the actress to the bishop
I love how Skall does that small silly smile directly after smashing the pumpkins.
Someone's having pumpkin for the next week :P
Skallagrim: Smashing Pumpkins
Also Skallagrim: Smiling politely
@@ChrisStroud1 We'll crucify the insincere tonight
(Tonight)
We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight
(Tonight)
We'll find a way to offer up the night
(Tonight)
The indescribable moments of your life
(Tonight)
The impossible is possible tonight
(Tonight)
It's almost elegant in its simplicity.
Almost 😂😂😂
@@randomsketchystuff5572 I second that.
An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
Spear
it's the most caveman weapon i have ever seen ...
it's like if they revived a stereotypical neanderthal and he asked for a weapon ...
I love these simple weapons because sometimes you just look at it and you're like, it can't possibly do that much damage right? And then it turns out that it in fact does do that much damage. Simple, effective, and elegant. I'd love to see this in more video games.
This was a favourite of mine in mordhau
You can't argue against the effectiveness of the BONK. If bonk doesn't do damage, bonk harder. Go bonking till crack. XD
If it bonks it's good
The slightly longer ones, starting at 1.5m or about 5ft seem to have the same virtues as a good quarterstaff plus the important addition of the spike for formation use against mounted troops and for thrusting into the gaps in melee combat. As you said, a great value for the money and readily available to all but the poorest peasant.
A staff or club has always been a perfectly good choice
Adding a pointy bit and a reinforced bit to make it even bonkier really is just intuitive
Love the Goedendag. Easily my favourite pointy stick.
That's A pointy Stick - "Crocodile Dundee" probably
Same
Now are the castle designs in Elden ring accurate with the medieval castles in medieval times?
@@taylorfusher2997 ?
Shad certainly approves
„Its structural perfection is only matched by its hostility. I admire its purity.“
"I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my sympathy."
The Goedendag is a favourite of mine,the right mix between simple,instinctual, and the technical,practical. A symbol of revolution and defiance toward the so called " upper" class,while also pretty simple and easy to make ,so to field a large number of levied troops. All in all ,a pretty romantic weapon. But what i personally like about it is that it is conceptually a mace spear hybdrid,making it pretty easier to imagine a goedendag kanabo,or something like out Dynasty Warriors in real life
Interesting that you mention the Goedendag AND Kanabo in the same sentence so close to one another. I am trying to create a Gothic-ish story set in a world much like ours, about a goth girl who accidentally travels back in time in an 1800's-inspired era.
And her weapons of choice tend to be blunt: A flanged mace, a Goedendag, and eventually a Kanabo.
She's pretty blunt herself, and doesn't exactly have finesse for swordfighting-- and knows it.
But any idiot can pick up a stick and hit with it, and she's just as good as any idiot- - and knows it.
So, she gives a whole new meaning to "Goths going clubbing".
Now are the castle designs in Elden ring accurate with the medieval castles in medieval times?
@@jurtheorc8117 what will you call it ?
I also appreciate the fact that unlike historically accurate swords, even a relative amateur could slap together a reasonable replica of something like this, using an old baseball bat, a square beam or rebar and some sheet metal.
@@simtexa A steel punch would make a good spike, and already readily available.
I’m a utility company line splicer and I use almost this exact thing but the shaft is heavy insulated fiberglass used to jab/prod/push test a pole before climbing. I’ve practiced HEMA for years and I always think about the brutal efficiency of our pole tester
I live next to the city of Kortrijk where the battle of Groeningheveld (battle of golden spurs) happened. There is debate about whether goedendag comes from the knodding motion of a head being beaten by the club or stabbed with the spike or of it is simply a joke about beating your opponents head into pulp as being a way to say good day.
I believe that it is just good old humour. The same humour that made coppers call their batons "night sticks"
Mo vint toch wen die kissakken van Fransmans nogo eentje in udr mulle geskeetn eh?
7:16 Goedendag!
Goedendags were used almost exclusively during the period when the main protection of the knights were brigandines and chainmail, and it's hardly a coincidence. Against plate armor, especially when you oppose a mounted knight, goedendags are much less effective (as a plated opponent can withstand blunt strikes much better and it requires both skill and luck to hit him into the less protected areas with the tip of your goedendag) and thus were ousted by more efficient sets of main weapons - basically, pikes (which, when properly used, allow you to keep the desirable distance) and various long-shafted multifunctional weapons (halberds, lucerne hammers and the like). In the most general sense, the latter group can be considered the successors of the goedendags, but all of them had longer shafts and, of course, were considerably more expensive.
The goedendag was used to bring the horses down by breaking their front legs, then kill the driver (which was done by several men, usually a dagger or spike through the eyelets of the helmet.
I have a selfmade hanging on the wall in my sleeping room.
But if you break stick, then you just get two sticks. Stick win every time.
Then you can make them into nunchucks yaaaaay totally an even better weapon
@@Cheesepuff8 did you just call nunchucks a good weapon?
@@Cheesepuff8 im hearing an australian man screaming in the distance
@@hahafunnyname *Guy's been watching WAY too much Bruce Lee.* _(I mean, I love Bruce Lee, but still...!)_
@@Helperbot-2000 Odd you should mention him, cause I thought of him when I saw the title of this video. ^_^
"I SAID GOOD DAY, SIR!" 💥
The latest account I'd seen of a Goedendag being used in combat was in World War One as a trench raiding tool and that it was on occasion thrown as a method of silently killing German scouts and patrols, that said the account that came from was quite one for sensationalized and romanticized accounts of the war (in another section it is documented how a Canadian co-pilot took down a German triplane by wing-walking to the edge of his plane and slashing the German's plane's rigging with "an antique Scottish Broadsword").
Either way, thanks for the coverage, fun fact, I am of Belgian descent.
Im impressed with his dutch pronunciation of 'goedendag'. The only correction I would make is that the 'oe' in 'goeden' should be closer to an 'oo' sound rather than an 'oh' sound. But he got the 'g's right, which is what most people normally mess up, so - nice job skall!
I think Skall is Norwegian so it makes sense he'd be better at pronouncing it.
Ironically the hard G isn't used in Flemish and southern Dutch accents.. But A for effort non the less!
He got the 'g' right, if it were spoken with a Dutch accent. ^^
Yeah, that vowel is really tough for us Americans
Sooo are we saying he got it right if it was from West or east Flanders or in general? 😅 As someone from Limburg, it sounded weird to me. I do appreciate the effort and it wasn't a bad try. So bonuspoints to him.
This is my favourite type of content. An in-depth report on one particular piece of equipment (weapon in this case) with historical and cultural context.
So a small comment/correction on the video. Flanders back then was only the region to the west and I think a part of France and the Netherlands. The area Skall showed was the modern Flanders. About the attacking people who mispronounced something, I was taught it was de "Schild en vriend" they had to pronounce correctly. Although this might have been a myth.
Besides this, wonderfull video Skall, I've heard the goedendag was devastating but never saw it tested like this. Also, strangely great timing, there is a history show about Flanders running here and they just covered the Guldensporenslag.
Any country that has suffered invasion and occupation will have many stories about their shibboleths.
Yeah the whole "scilt ende vrient" thingy is a bit controversial these days, but it seems the mispronuciation of the sentence is attested by at least three sources.
@@hOiKiPOiKiE of schild en vriend or the goedendag? and yeah controversial in several ways, but a bit part of the time i assume
@@jorenbosmans8065 the schild en vriend. However the different authors each give a different mispronunciation so they defenitely were saying it wrong, but in what way remains to be seen.
According to other sources the question would actually have been "zijt gij des gildens vriend ? " (Are you a friend of the guilds ?) but then uttered in a hasty mangled way. A simple Flemish "ja" (yes) would have sufficed as answer. But as we know the French(speaking) they are rather unable or unwilling to speak any other language (they still are) so they replied in French. And as a result got their head bashed in, as they deserved.
Club + Dagger = one of my new favorite weapons.
Bro is like every cool edgy 1990s kid you used to chill and have smokes with at the internet cafe. The atmosphere is half the attraction of this channel.
First saw the weapon in the PC game "Battle Brothers". It is kind of a starter weapon there, but does horrific damage. Thanks for the background informations to this odd piece of wood.
The Goedendag is my favorite medieval weapon. Glad you covered it.
It's surprising how something so simple can be so effective, but I guess that's often the case. A simple solution to a certain problem (in this case mounted and/or armored soldiers) is often the most effective. It may not be as elegant as for instance pole-axes, but it's simplicity is definitely an advantage. As you mentioned, any village blacksmith could make one of those in a few hours. Even with my limited experience in blacksmithing I'm confident I could make a goedendag.
One of my favorite weapons of all history, it's just such a brutally simple yet clever design. I own a heavier one and I always wondered how a ZGB head would look like after a go with it. Now I know thanks to you! Great video, would love to see some kind of sparring version (which I know is hard to pull off considering it's a club) and some sparring footage along with it.
A sparing version of a club is easy, wrap a core rod in foam. Also known as a "boffer". The spike part would be harder to make safe for sparing without some gross alterations of the shape.
@@hanelyp1 yea, maybe a rubber version with a sphere at the tip would work, like the rubber spear tips that are available in the market
The most difficult part would be getting the weight right. By simply having enough mass the sparring version could be unnecessarily dangerous for practice. I guess the solution is a dense core with thicker foam to blunt the impact? A soft foam-rubber spike is probably the only way to do that part.
about the construction:
If you hammer a spike into the end of a stick/club the wood would split.
if you take an iron sleeve, heat it up so it expands and then push it over the end of the stick it would shrink onto the stick(like iron cartwheels are shrunk over a wooden wheel) if you then hammer a spike into the wood it cannot split, as the sleeve holds it together. also sideways forces to the spike cannot split the wood as it is held together by the sleeve.
i suppose the spike would be sharpened after being hammered into the wood.
I can tell from the joy on his face in the testing footage that Skall is quite the fan of Smashing Pumpkins!
Peak Skallagrim episode for me. Well researched and edited video, with enough info and humor to keep watching. Outdoors shots show that line between science and fun blurs, when melee weapons are at hand. Thank you for this great episode, been a fan of the channel since Potop fight-scene video and was really happy to see that you still make great videos!
Inspired by you I recently made my own Goedendag. Though in a post-apocalyptic aesthetic.
Neat! And nice to see you're still crafting stuff. :)
For a Goedendag, how does a post-apocalyptic esthetic differ from a pre-apocalyptic one?
@@comradebork maybe carvings of mushroom clouds in the wood for gripping?
@Comrade Bork I used an oak tool handle, section of steel tubing from a motorcycle and heavy threaded rod for the spike and fasteners. You can see it in my Deviant Art page. Link in bio.
Kind of an underrated post-apoc weapon. With access to a welder and some basic modern tools, this would be even easier to make than it was in the middle ages.
It'd probably be kinda crappy, but no biggie, really. If it breaks just weld it back together, or grab a new pole from somewhere.
These kind of infomercial style videos, with demonstration and explanation, were always my favorite. Bonus points for weird art.
Ever since I learned of our history this has been my favorite weapon! Cheap and easy to make, yet extremely effective in even the clumsiest of hands. Simple farmers taking down heavily armored noble cavalry must have been a sight to behold
I have been toying with an idea for a medieval inspired weapon, a quarterstaff with a Goedendag-like spike on the bottom [concealable with a rubber cap, if discovered you can say it's just for icy terrain] and a pommel-like metal knob on top, for hefty bonking or even "ending one rightly". I'm also thinking of adding langets for extra support along the shaft, but they'd have to be a lightweight metal to save on weight.
Or move to America where you are not disarmed by your own government. That probably sends money or weapons to Ukraine btw. Always loved that our politicians in Sweden are perfectly comfortable to send weapons of war to Saudi Arabia. But letting the civilians own guns? Oh no no no. They seriously trust a religious autocracy more than their own populace.
@@googleandsusansucks I do live in America, I just like medieval weapons. Although I would like to buy some guns in the near future.
Unfortunately I live in a state that just passed a law limiting magazine sizes to ten rounds, so that's fun.
@@googleandsusansucks In America you are not legally protected in owning non-firearm weapons.
More needless Willy waving by an American with no idea about gun laws outside the states…….it’s ok we get it your gun makes your winkie look bigger……..mine just shoots stuff
This is the 100% the type of weapon dwarves would love in a fantasy setting. It also seems like the ideal cheap, easy to make zombie apocalypse weapon.
i think dwarves would think it is too simple for the habilities they have but some brutish creatures as trolls, goblins, kobolds... they would love it
but dwarves are usally involved in mining ore, so they already have pickaxes and regular axes to fell trees
they probably woulnd't go out of their way to make a goedendag if they already have the other tools
Uhm no. Dwarves are almost universally revered as master craftsman and artists. They're entire lives revolve around intricate forging and adornments. Dwarves would probably hate this.
@@kyoukan91 Dwarves might admire the efficiency but I agree. This is a human or greenskin weapon.
I love the Goedendag, one of my favorite weapons for sure. It's actually incredibly effective against chainmail, almost like it's not even there
I'm a Flemish Belgian. There seems to be a little confusion about the code word The rebels used in 1302. Yes goedendag is the way we greet eachother during the day or goedenavond in the evening.
To know for sure who was French and who was one of us we had the phrase "schild en vriend" It is very difficult to pronounce that short sentence for a someone who speaks a foreighn language. Schild en vriend means shield and friend in English.
This weapon is my all time favorite. Absurdly simple to make with stuff you probably have around your homestead, but can murder anyone with or without armor. So simple and brutal in it's design; I love it so.
It's interesting how some of the deadliest weapons out there are also some of the simplest. This is just a heavy metal spike on a stick, but it does a phenomenal job at what it needs to do.
What I like about it is that it fits into any fiction, pretty much. Fantasy, scifi, historical, modern day...everything. It's just a good, simple melee weapon design.
My kind of zombie slaying stick, I can poke and bonk em
Man I do wish more video games put these underappreciated weapons cause they're very cool and versatile
The Goedendag is one of my favorite & most versatile simple weapons around. Good stuff.
I'd like to *see* one of these made. People describe it as easy, but that round enclosure (what's it properly called?) looks hard to make at all, let alone strong enough for battle.
i think they mean relative to other weapons, there are videos on youtube of people making them
Yeah, not like a poleaxe but it's certainly gonna spoil your day!
I used pipe fittings to make mine.
Any smith could make one. Basically, shape the blade and then heat the tang and burn it into the shaft (if you have a disk guard you put that over the tang just before you burn the tang into the shaft. Then you make the collar, put it on hot, then plunge it into the quench. This will cause the collar to shrink over the wood and that blade won't be going anywhere.
A really good smith could turn them out far quicker than Skall said. You make a bunch of blades, then you set them in the handle one after the other.
1:00 I really appreciate the effort you put into getting the pronunciation of 'Goedendag' right. With the Dutch hard 'G'. Which is hard to pronounce if you're not used to it! But in Flemish and other southern Dutch accents the throaty 'G' isn't actually used. That's a northern thing.
I was always under the impression that the Goedendag was like a staff with a metal cap and spike, interesting to find out it is quite a bit shorter than I thought.
Well, if some of those drawings are accurate then you weren't wrong.
I’m sure the weapon by its very mature varied drastically in length and weight of end.
I’m sure there were some more mace like shorter ones that had a heavier head on them, and some more spear like ones with a long length and spike to focus on reach.
@2:45 lolol i love when you show us funny ass illuminations and react.
It's basically a slightly chonkier trash-picker/ garbage spike they use to clean up cans and crisp packets.
(Theses are also illegal in the UK as far as I know, and you could be charged with _being in possession of a highly dangerous weapon._ )
You might have to get highly dangerous to get your rights back.
@@imperfectlump6070 _* Thinks about doing something and is immediately arrested for a thought crime. *_
... Don't become like the UK 💀
@@GunterThePenguinHatesHugs it's a sad state of affairs certainly. I keep my ear to the ground. They try the stuff over there before trying it here.
Gotta love the elegance of simplicity.and realistically the polarms that overtook it, are just a more refined version of the same concept. A heavy striking end (axe, hammer, club) at the end of a decently long shaft with a spike on the tip to act as a spear as well.
Possibly my favourite weapon in history, love to see Skal talk about it
Great video Skal! Cheers from Flanders
Goedendag is awesome. Simplicity and effectiveness incarnate.
Great video. I love the format: Here's a decent reproduction of an obscure historical weapon, here are the facts, here's me smashing shit up with obvious enjoyment.
The goedendag might have influenced the evolution of the ahlspiess, which is a much longer and more dedicated thrusting form with a rondel. As mentioned, the French Plancon a picot seems like exactly the same weapon, as the goedendag, and the Italians appeared to have had something very similar that they called a candeliere, for its resemblance to a candlestick. Goedendags also resemble, in form and function, morning stars, which continued the tradition of low-tech solutions to increasingly invulnerable plate armour.
The extent to which that face was destroyed near the end was horrifying! It's easy then to believe that this humble weapon helped defeat those knights.
In Oakshotte's ''Archeology of Weapons" he said that the weapon was often used against the French knights' horses when collapse in the water filled trenches pinning the French knights in the water filled trenches.
Since the primary striking point is the metal fastener under the spike, I think thickening the metal and/or adding studs would improve the weapon. It would be at the cost of more weight, but it would add more force and durability.
Aaaaaaahhh!!! The battle of the Golden Spurs - I love this topic!!!
Cheers for the dedicated video on the Goedendag Skall, I've been waiting with bated breath for your thoughts on this one since the Sickle to the Face video back in November.
In the world that I'm building, I've been considering making spears the standard weapon "traditional" mages use instead of staves (I hate squishy wizards), but the goedendag is a cool choice too.
Glorious, praiseworthy, and popular is the man who performs cut tests and shares the results in videos. :-) Thank you.
The correct greeting in Bruges was "Schild en Vriend" which is apparently very difficult to pronounce for you non-Flemisch 🙂The term "Goedendag" could arguably come from the fact that the weapon mostly served to stab in weak places in the armor, like the neck. When stabbed there, the head of the knight would nod as to say "goedendag".
Vlaanderen de Leeuw!😁
also explains the "goede dagge" explination, as it clearly isn't anything like a dagger but can perform the function of a dagger or hearthcatcher which as you allready put it is to stab in weak places in the armor,
I got to know the Goedendag via Sapkowski's historical trilogy starting with the Tower of Fools. Thoroughly enjoyed the books. Reinmar isn't like Geralt but he's fun as well.
The iron spike has a second use. You can put it on the legs of a ladder, which then can stick in the ground during a siege to stabilize it.
Really enjoying those simple weapontesting vids :)
Recently added to Chivalry 2! they're using it as basically a version of a maul
Pretty cool how it has bonus damage against cavalry as it was used historically against them
I don't know why exactly, but I really enjoyed watching this video. I think I enjoyed it because it had a good mix of good elements to it but wasn't too long or complicated. It had interesting history and etymology mixed with cool weapons analysis, speculation and some great corny humor! You're pretty easy to listen to with or without the video too.
Pointy Sticks: Your trusted source of poking stuff for over a million years.
The beauty of such tools and weapons is not in ornate engravings nor intricate design, but in its practicality and versatility.
Nothing beats a good ol STICK
I love how special attention was given to the pronunciation of Flemish words. The "g" is hard to get down because it's a bit more guttural than what English speakers are used to. When it comes to intonation, Flemish is a relative to English as a Germanic offshoot. The intonation is *usually* in the first part of a word. Kortrijk has the intonation in "Kort-", not "-Rijk" (as opposed to the French "Courtroi"). Same goes for Flemish "Brussel" (intonation on "Brus-"), vs. Bruxelles (intonation on "-elles") English native speakers tend to move intonation the back of the word because it makes it sound foreign, I think? Love the video!
I love this weapon, it's simple yet effective.
It's a beautiful cross between a caveman's club and a spear.
Small extra, the flemish militia walked around in Bruges, knocking on doors and made the habitants say ‘schild en vriend’. That phrase immediately gives you away as french, resulting in severe headaches…..
The Fremish and the Flench must've had a really tough fight back then but there's no denying how dangerous a person with a pointy heavy stick can be if they know how to use it.
@Skallagrim
"Schild en Vriend". The story goes they said those words in Bruges, not "Goedendag" to distinguish friend from French. Historians aren't sure wether this actually happened though, because the story could have been made up a few centuries later when then-Flemish historians renamed the Battle of Kortrijk to the Battle of the Golden Spurs.
I found something that looks a lot like this in a lake. We think it was a pole used to move logs but it has an almost identical design
Great video, although small correction: when the Flemish militia attacked Bruges they didn’t say “goedendag” (“hi” or “good day”) but “schild of vriend” (“shield or friend”) which the targeted person had to repeat out loud. The underlying idea was the same though, the French have trouble pronouncing “sch-“, making it sound more like “sk-“ (phonetically, eg as in “skalding”). Failure to pronounce correctly resulted in a swift death. That being said, thanks for this hommage to my home, Flanders
Sure, weapons like poleaxes and polehammers replaced it *eventually* , but maybe the reason those same weapons have a spike or spearhead on the top of the haft is because they understood that not *every* part of an old thing needs to be discarded (which, sadly, is more than can be said of a lot of *modern* people), and they decided to keep at least *that* part of the Godendag in the poleaxe and polehammer designs.
The pollaxe most likely has spike on the end is because of spears.
Looks like you and the fellas had some fun smacking Bob around with this gnarly thing
I always thought the goedentag seemed a pretty basic, ineffective weapon. I've come away from this with a whole new view and a lot of respect for the thing. Basic, maybe, but also pretty damn effective! Cheers, Skally.
Nothing ineffective about it.
I like the nod-the-head after being struck by one of these as the best explanation for the 'Good day'-name. I grew up in Flanders, and that nod was everywhere, as a greeting, oft, or usually, accompanied by 'goeie dag' (the Flemish equivalent of the Aussie 'g'day'). It is the simplest and most straightforward explanation, & as Occam says... 😄
Never underestimate the power of a good stick
I like it how my man just whacked the top of the head of mannequin while his friend(assuming it is his friend) went for a mortal combat fatality blow. 8:01
The story I heard was that Dutch farmers were forced to become mercenaries/soldiers, and the geodendag was a farm implement used as a weapon which became a formal weapon after enough repairs
Interestingly, when I was young, a goedendag was usually presented as a spiked ball and chain flail, rather than a single spike on a stick. Later maybe a stick with multiple spikes, and now it's a stick with a single spike. I don't know if that's a new understanding of the weapon, or if it's one of those common pop-culture misrepresentations (like chain mail, not to mention studded leather).
Having seen Shad's video on it I have to say quite effective and the video is quite good if you are craving more goedendag after watching Skall's
If you're looking for a topic might I suggest evaluating whale harpoons, processing knives and the weird pokey hooks and whatnot.
Some are quite useful spear and arrow shapes. I have a smaller one for dolphins maybe, its a 3.5 inch triangle point with a crescent behind it as barbs. Tops of barbs are sharp too.
Spiky stick always wins!
Flemish person here, it is awesome to hear your take on that historic weapon. Some things I'd like to add from what I've learned from our own history books: It is indeed called the "goedendag" as it is a greeting that the French find hard to pronounce (as do English speakers). they also used the sentence "schild en vriend"(=shield and friend) to test the tongues of those they came across. The reason why the pikemen could defeat the knights 2 per man was because the French sank with their heavy armor into the mud in Kortrijk making them like sitting ducks waiting to be clubbed down by the Flemish. It shows that money doesn't always save you in the end😅
Hey, that's like the medieval shotgun
See the kind of damage it does, while being cheap and popular, as well as easy to handle?
And they both would be excellent weapons for clearing trenches!
The evolution of "good day" throughout history: Goedendag - Blunderbuss - Shotgun
good stuff loved this weapon very simple. also good historical analysis
Little know historical fact, the French cavalryman's relationship with his horse was not only a professional one, but romantic and sexual as well.
Do you happen to have any source’s for this claim? Asking in good faith.
@@Mrgoraist it came to him in a dream
@@Mrgoraist it is well documented by artists the internet over
What???
What if the horse says Neigh?
Just a bit on the etymology of Goedendag. There is a way in which we use 'Good' to mean 'considerable', as in size or amount. The phrase "A good amount of people" is one such example that survives in english, such that you could replace the word 'good' with 'considerable' and it would mean the same thing. The word 'goed' was also used in such a way: "Een goed aantal mensen heeft zich al aangemeld" (a good number of people have already signed up).
Ah, the medieval baseball bat. It has a spike, because they played hard ball back then.
Also, hand ball.
Hey skallagrim, i might have something fun for you too look at; its a game where you melt Tetrahedrite ore, create maces made from silver, stud them with copper and have their dammige determent by:
-their weight
-material density,
-material purity
-applied force
-the wind
-the users aim
against
-the opponents bone density
-muscle mass
-blood contents
-armor quality with the same modifiers as the mace
im speaking afcourse, about Dwarf Fortress, made by tarn adams.
But thats not all!
Embark with an axe>cut down trees>plow this ground and plants some cotton seeds, in the right season afcourse!>water it from a nearby lake or pray for rain>use the logs from your trees too make a farmers worshop, a clothier and a loom>gather your cotton before the harvest season is over>process the plants into thread in your farmers workshop>process the thread into cloth in your loom>use leftover thread and your cloth in the clothier to produce a single.freaking.dwarven.sock :D
Good choise for the zombie apocalypse
One of my favourite weapons!
Yoooo, sweet to see the Goedendag get more coverage! Lovely weapon, truly lovely. Funnily enough, i read up on this yesterday when looking up the Falchion. It's "Fautsoen" in Dutch, almost sounds like "fatsoen" which means something like "manners" funnily enough.
And the Dutch word for Buckler is "beukelaar" which one could also consider to contain a pun: Beuk means birch, but can also mean bash.
Furthermore, the Dutch word for flail is vlegel, which can also be a term to refer to a rude and/or mischievous person.
I'd say the "goed" in Goedendag is pronounced more like a native English speaker would pronounce Gouda. What in English constitutes an "oo" sound, would be written in Dutch as "oe".
Also, on that same site I read that historians are quite divided on the "Goedendag as pikes against horses" explanation, quite critical even. So I am taking that info with a grain of salt until more info comes out.
Otherwise, really nice and fun video! Let's hope the Goedendag and other cool weapons get more attention in media in the future. I'll try my hand at that with a Gothic-themed story of my own.
30 years ago I was in the United States Air Force and we had tent poles that looked like that. Every time I see one I think some poor sap putting up the tent got attacked and that was all he had to defend himself with. It worked pretty good, so he kept it for that.
Would love to have a longer one. More like a staff than a club.
I LOVE that you took an effort to pronounce things right! It really frustrates me when youtubers butcher pronounciation and say "well, that was probably wrong, but I don't care".