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- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
13 Of The Dumbest Things Pop Culture Gets Wrong About Sword Fighting
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- Outlander
- Starz
1Sword-Fighting In A Large Battle Always Becomes A One-On-One Duel
The Trope: In the heat of battle, two combatants somehow find one another and begin dueling one-on-one, despite the battle raging around them.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Battles are never neat, little skirmishes where each side is evenly matched. Historically, battles have been incredibly chaotic, with multiple people slashing and hacking at each other. Richard III didn't survive the Battle of Bosworth Field, for example, because multiple enemy soldiers likely attacked him at once.
Notable Offenders: The Patriot; Outlander; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; 300
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- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- Warner Bros.
2Fighters Aim For Each Other's Swords
The Trope: Two opponents fight by simply clashing their blades together.
Why Is It Inaccurate? The point of a duel isn't to tap blades together. Blades usually clash because one combatant is parrying an attack by the other. According to one early modern sword-fighting manual:
[...] when he strikes, then parry that blow... and you shall quickly cut after that parrying.
Clashing swords is thus a side-effect of a fight, not the aim of the fight.
Notable Offenders: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn said in defense of his inaccurate swordplay, "I'm not a fencer. I'm a thespian."); The Legend of Zorro; The Princess Bride; Troy; Highlander
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- Kingdom Hearts II
- Square Enix
3Duelists Cross Swords In A Blade Lock And Talk To Each Other
The Trope: Duelists, their blades crossed, stand face-to-face and talk.
Why Is It Inaccurate? If two people were engaged in a duel, it was because they wanted to fight - not because they wanted to chat or get to know each other better. Since sword-fighting was exhausting, combatants had to conserve their energy; chatting or swapping insults was not a good way to do that.
Most duelists also strove to present a smaller target to their opponent - so standing face-to-face to them, with blades locked, would have been ill-advised.
Notable Offenders: Kingdom Hearts II; the Star Wars franchise; The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
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- Kill Bill, Vol. 1
- Miramax Films
4Swordsmen Spin Around And Do Acrobatics While They Fight
The Trope: While engaged in hand-to-hand combat, a duelist spins and somersaults around to avoid getting hit.
Why Is It Inaccurate? It's true that sword-fighting requires constant motion - standing motionless would make someone an easy target. But motion must always be purposeful. All of the intricate footwork, handwork, and bodywork outlined in medieval and early modern swordplay manuals was designed to be efficient and pragmatic.
Spinning was especially risky. According to the London Longsword Academy's David Rawlings:
Doing a spin when you're not engaged with the opponent's blade is insane, because you don't know what their sword is doing. And because you're so close and you don't know where their sword is, obviously they can cut you freely, because they're still facing you, they still have all of their requisite safety in their hands.
Aside from being tactically silly, flashy choreography wastes precious energy, since duels can be physically draining. Sword-fighting expert Roman Vučajnk reiterates that "nobody would have done it, sober, in real life."
Notable Offenders: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith; Kill Bill Vol. 1; Warcraft (film); Bayonetta; Xena: Warrior Princess
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- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Nickelodeon
5Bending Backward Beneath A Swinging Sword Is A Good Defense
The Trope: In the heat of a duel, a fighter manages to bend backward to avoid a blade that passes directly over his or her face.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Duels were absolutely full-body fights where opponents would have to deploy a full range of motion to avoid getting hit. That includes ducking. But dropping into a crouch was safer than "bending at the waist," since it was a deeper defensive fall to better avoid an opponent's swing. Bending backward would also expose the torso, making the combatant more vulnerable to injury.
Notable Offenders: Avatar: The Last Airbender; Game of Thrones; Star Wars: The Last Jedi
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- Gurren Lagann
- TXN
6When Sheathing And Unsheathing A Sword, It Makes A Metal-On-Metal 'Sching!'
The Trope: When pulled from its sheath or scabbard, a sword sings out to indicate its sharpness and craftsmanship.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Well-sharpened swords may make a sound when slicing through the air. But it's unlikely that pulling a sword from its sheath would have a similar effect. That's because, for much of history, sheaths and scabbards were made from leather and/or wood - duller, quieter materials. As historian Neil Grant points out, hard scabbards in the Middle Ages "were often lined with raw fleece," which would have further muffled the sound.
Metal scabbards were less common and more expensive before the 19th century.
Notable Offenders: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl; The Lord of The Rings trilogy; The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind; Devil May Cry; Dracula Untold.
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- Highlander
- 20th Century Fox
7Swords Remain In Pristine Condition Even After Constant Parrying
The Trope: Assailants wield pristine, glinting blades that are always sharp and clean, no matter how intense the fight.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Repeated use can dull even the sharpest blade over time. According to weapons historian Neil Grant, "Any sword used in combat would have its edge damaged to some extent, from parrying other weapons, or when striking bone, armour, or shield rims."
Notable Offenders: Troy; Hook; The Lord of the Rings trilogy; Highlander; Conan the Barbarian
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- Predator
- 20th Century Fox
8A Thrown Sword Hits Its Target Each And Every Time
The Trope: Combatants either throw their swords at a target or ask a friend to toss them a new sword. Either way, the sword always lands exactly the way it is supposed to.
Why Is It Inaccurate? The heaviest part of a sword is its forte, which is located just above where the fighter holds the sword. Due to weight distribution, throwing a sword so that it lands exactly how it is supposed to can be extremely tricky.
Worse, choosing to throw a sword is a risky move, since it renders the user defenseless.
If a fighter wanted to throw a weapon, he or she would be better off wielding objects designed to be thrown, like axes or spears. Even daggers and knives - which could get a nice spin if thrown correctly - weren't always thrown in battle.
Notable Offenders: Sleeping Beauty; Gladiator; Hamlet (1996); Conan the Destroyer; Predator
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- Gladiator
- DreamWorks Pictures
9Swords Can Easily Penetrate Any Armor
The Trope: With a single blow, an assailant thrusts his or her sword into an opponent, easily cutting through armor.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Not all armor was created equal. Some armor was built to protect from thrusting, bludgeoning, and piercing, while other armor was built to protect against cutting and slash. As protective garments developed from light chain mail to sturdier plate armor throughout the Middle Ages, swords had an increasingly difficult time penetrating armor.
Regardless, body armor was designed to protect vulnerable parts of the body. If a sword could easily penetrate it with a single slash, it would be absolutely useless. Since armor wasn't useless, combatants either used a weapon that could bludgeon the armor (like a mace or war hammer) or tried to strike vulnerable unarmored areas.
Notable Offenders: Ironclad; The Lord of the Rings trilogy; Gladiator
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- Blade II
- New Line Cinema
10Fighters Can Block A Blade With Their Bare Hand
The Trope: A swordsman is so skilled that he or she can parry and grip a blade mid-fight with a glove-free hand.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Though some early modern sword-fighting manuals claim that blocking an opponent's sword with a hand was possible, it's unclear how common a move it was in the real world - but fighters would likely try to avoid any unnecessary injury so it wouldn't rage into a life-threatening infection. Other manuals advise fighters to grab opponents' wrists, rather than their blades.
Knights also wore gloves and gauntlets to protect their hands, so they likely would not have fought bare-handed. Regardless of skill level or protective equipment, however, catching or parrying a sword with one's hands could lead to significant injury.
Notable Offenders: Blade II; The Three Musketeers (2011); Mortal Kombat: The Movie; Xena: Warrior Princess; Bleach (Anime series)
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- The Witcher
- Netflix
11Swordsmen Forego Safety Just To Look Cool By Holding Their Swords In 'Reverse Grip'
The Trope: A fighter grips his sword or dagger with the pointy end down.
Why Is It Inaccurate? True, this grip may be useful for a stabbing attack with knives or daggers. But a reverse grip is an awkward way to hold a sword. As Gregory Mele of the Chicago Swordplay Guild explained:
There is some documentation for using a longsword in a reverse grip. More often this was done on horseback, where the sword was drawn when the lance broke and then just thrust into someone (and forgotten) like a giant dagger.
Far from being useful in every context, reverse grips would have put sword-wielders in danger in hand-to-hand combat. David Rawlings of the London Longsword Academy agrees:
It's not a good way for you to use the sword. You sacrifice your ability to fend above, very, very clearly. You have not got any reach. It's not safe.
Notable Offenders: The Witcher; Star Wars: The Force Unleashed; Highlander (TV series); Star Wars: The Clone Wars
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- Game of Thrones
- HBO
12Flaming Swords Are The Ultimate Weapon
The Trope: A fighter wields a sword that is on fire, adding danger and drama to an already high-stakes engagement.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Flaming blades appear all over myth, legend, and pop culture, but there is no historical evidence that they existed outside of stories.
That's probably for the best, since they would have been extremely risky to wield: The sword could easily burn the person swinging it. As actor Richard Dormer - who played fire-sword-wielding Beric Dondarrion on Game of Thrones - recalled, working with a flaming sword was difficult:
Luckily, I spent weeks and weeks rehearsing those moves so it was more like a dance, you know. [...] It's a pretty cool weapon. I'm just really careful with it. I've practiced with that sword for years now, so I know how close I can bring it to my face and my head.
Real-world fights, however, are not choreographed like the fights on a television show. In the heat of battle, it would be very easy to get burned.
Notable Offenders: Game of Thrones; The Scorpion King; How to Train Your Dragon 2; Castlevania; World of Warcraft; God of War
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- Dragon Age II
- Electronic Arts
13Swordsmen Drag Their Swords On The Ground To Intimidate Their Foes
The Trope: Fighters drag their weapon across the floor to taunt their opponents.
Why Is It Inaccurate? Dragging a sword before or during a fight is a terrible idea - the friction of the sword rubbing against the ground would inevitably dull the blade - and a dull blade was not fit for fighting.
Historically, this was a problem, as 12th-century writer Chrétien de Troyes lamented how "the edges of the swords are nicked and dulled." Wielding a dull blade would put the duelist at a disadvantage since a dull blade requires the fighter to expend more energy.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, dragging a sword was also an indication that an individual needed a quick break during a duel.
Notable Offenders: Silent Hill 2; Blade; Dragon Age II; Dark Souls
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