okay so I've already talked in detail
about why carrying a sword on your back
hollywood-style is a very bad idea and
why it's impractical in a number of ways
but that of course leaves the question
how does one carry a large sword
properly most long swords can actually
be worn on the hip without much of a
hassle it just depends on proper
attachment and the right angle if you
were to try to carry it horizontally
yeah that's not really a good idea you
would bang into all kinds of things but
more at an angle not really a problem
you have to be a bit wear of it of
course the the hill Vanguard are a bit
in the way with some things but you know
carrying a sword is not really about
comfort it's about defending yourself so
that's second anyway
however there comes a point where the
sword is simply getting too large you
know either it's a particularly long
long sword or as a two-handed great
sword or a claymore and yeah that's not
gonna work too well so how did people do
it the historical depictions I've seen
usually show just something like this
and just holding the sword in hand and
the blade resting on the shoulder what I
usually see is this and with a longer
handle they actually rested on the
shoulder with the the cross card pretty
much on the shoulder blade and that
gives you a lot of support I mean I I
really don't have to hold much here it's
really just after it make sure that it
doesn't slip off to the side but
otherwise it's a very easy way to carry
it it distributes the weight pretty well
and I've seen images of both German
mercenaries and Scottish Gaelic glass
doing that so it must have been a pretty
common thing if you see the exact same
posture even in two different regions
here's another example from the book the
art of the two-handed sword you have a
picture from the historical manual which
shows you how you're supposed to carry
the sword first
we'd prefer to crate a little bit more
on the arm like that because this is a
very comfortable way of carrying it and
you don't have to worry about bumping
into any objects or people because well
it's vertical it doesn't protrude to the
side which by the way the Hollywood back
carry of course does it protrudes quite
a bit there so really nothing to worry
about maybe unless you're walking
through a door land you might have to
you know tilt it down to go through
there depending on how tall the
doorframe is but otherwise this is a
very simple and effective way of
carrying it carrying it this way is
really not much more cumbersome than
carrying an umbrella I mean if you have
an actual two-handed great sword yeah
it's gonna be a bit longer and weigh a
bit more than this but still it's not
really the biggest deal and if you think
that carrying a polearm
would present you with the same problems
and you also have to hold it in the hand
it's yeah you can see it's really not a
big deal especially if you consider that
the at least in case of the German
two-handed great sword it was a
battlefield weapon first and foremost
was meant for use against tight
formations and that means that you don't
have to carry it around on your person
at all times in everyday life you would
just you know have it on the way to the
battlefield and then we use it there
also you have a lot of stuff to
transport anyway in warfare there are
plenty of materials you know food spare
clothing all kinds of things so you
would have horses and carts and camp
followers to take care of these things
so you may just as well throw the sword
onto a cart and transport it that way or
on a horse the Spanish Mon tante and the
Italians
Pedone I think the thermos those are
somewhat lighter two-handed swords which
were intended for civilian use for
self-defense but again they
they just show you to basically she's
carry it in hand and walk around that
way to be fair you could utilize a back
strap and basically just use it like a
rifle sling and this way slung over one
shoulder yeah it is out of the way it is
pretty convenient to carry it doesn't
stick out much it's mostly vertical and
yeah there is a reason why rifles have
been carried like that throughout
history and not you know diagonal across
the chest but it still has some problems
over the other methods one of course is
in order to get to it if you have to
draw your sword quickly it's not all
that quick it's a lot better than trying
to either fumble at your back and get it
out that way which unless you have a
very specialized rig setup it's not
gonna work and even if it is you open
yourself up a lot when while drawing so
you can be attacked very easily some of
the problems apply here too but at least
you could if you had to you could just
reach for it and then you know use the
scabbard at first to defend and then
draw it and counter-attack so it's not
as bad as the Hollywood carry but you
can I'm sure you can see that just
holding it in hand it's pretty much the
fastest way to get to it so yeah there
you go that's how you carry a big a
sword
thanks for watching