Knights: Muscle-Bound Hunks or Skinny Manlets?

If you imagine knights as armored bodybuilders you’re in for some disappointment... In real-life history they could be expected to be strong and athletically built, but lean rather than big & buff. How would we know that? By looking at depictions of knights from that time, as well as the size and proportions of actual suits of armor. You’ll quickly notice that fantasy physiques would never squeeze into those. So let’s take a look at the available sources to get a picture of what they really looked like (on average). We’ll also find out why Link would have been an ideal knight. :) *** Other relevant videos *** Who Would Win: Armored Knight or SPIKY STICK? Medieval Knight vs. Zombies... Why Armor Did Not Make Knights (Fully) Invulnerable... Can I “Parry“ a Medieval Crossbow Bolt with a Sword? *** Sources / image credits *** Medieval imagery: Secretum Secretorum (10th century) about how a man should be built: Men From Early Middle Ages Were Nearly As Tall As Modern People Historical fighting manuscripts: Suits of plate from the Met Museum Knight by Ameeeeba *** Music credits *** “Medieval: Exploration” by Random Mind CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Outro: “Highland Storm“ by The Slanted Room Records Used with artist’s permission *** Merch *** If you want to join Bonfire to start selling your own merch: *** Support the channel *** Help fund future videos, get bonus content and access to an exclusive Discord server: 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: Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords: Want to treat your face fluff? I highly recommend the balms and oils from Beard Sorcery: Books about history, martial arts, swords, knives, video/audio equipment, and other stuff I recommend: US - Canada - *** Social media *** #skallagrim #knights #history
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