Did warriors of past times really carry swords on the back?
Seems awfully impractical to me.
>>964300
Not sure, but may be rider style. Sword at a leg can harm flank of house and plus or give she a signal for turn.
>>964300
well he is doing it so i can assume they did it to
>>964310
>house
horse.
>>964300
Chariot drivers in China did to get it out of the way when working the reins.
>>964300
You can't draw a long sword like that while it's on your back. So it would only be practical for long journeys I suppose
>>964300
Ive seen a few depictions of it but its not the norm.
see this pic. warrior armed with a tetsubo, carrying a tachi on his waist and a nodachi on his back
Drawing a sword while it's on your back would be extremely impractical, just grab a stick or something hold it against your back with one hand and attempt to draw it like a sword and see what happens. Carrying a sword on your hip is much more practical and far easier to draw.
However I've seen pictures of German mercenaries carry their great swords on their back so people probably did carry larger swords across their back while on the march.
>>964300
No they didn't. At least not if they expected to be in combat at all. Only on long journeys would they might have.
>>964469
Unless you have incredibly long arms, you cannot draw long swords from the back over the shoulder.
>>964300
On the road? Probably very often. They wouldn't need them in any great hurry, as ambushes were not super common, and it's easier and more comfortable to carry things on your back rather than hanging from one hip. If you own any sword or sword like object, loosely strap it to one hip then go for a 10 mile hike. The end result will be a sore hip and a scabbard that interferes with your gait as you walk.
Into battle? No probably not. It's more impractical to draw from the back (but contrary to all the "your arms arent long enough" sperging, you -can- do it with relative ease, you just have to do it over the opposing shoulder, so right handed draw over the left shoulder, same as from the hip, this can end up smacking the guy behind you in the face though, so not really advised). A big negative is that you can't re-sheathe it easily at all, it requires a long pause and a lot of fiddling, so if you need to pick up a spear or a bow, where do you put your sword?
As a cavalryman? Why the fuck would you?
>>964685
Or, you know, throw it in one of the carts where the tents, food, equipment and other supplies are kept when not being used.
>>964300
Yes. But you can't pull the weapon right off your back, so you can imagine the impracticality of having to fiddle the damn thing around during something like an ambush.
>>964729
Well that depends a lot on the time and place. There are a lot of places where carts aren't practical and soldiers simply carry their gear themselves. Plus if you're in hostile territory, you probably don't want to have to run back to the baggage train to get your weapon should the enemy be sighted nearby.
Of course many did, it's just that if you don't have the option or don't feel comfortable parting with your weapon, carrying it on your back during a march is much, much more practical than at your side.
>>964300
There are several writings of the early Saxon invaders of Britain doing it, and there are some writings that say early Celtics did it such as the Picts. However, I'm unsure of the validity of the writings.
>>964300
No because its retarded. Its a movie convention that came about because they thought you couldn't really wear large swords on your belt. But think about it for about two seconds and you'll realise there's no way in hell you'd actually be able to draw it from the back, especially when the scabard is tied at the bottom like that pic.
If you ever get the chance to try it do, and you'll see just how ridiculous it is
Not for practical warfare. As a way of lugging a large sword from point A to point B, then sure it works. Of course there were no illusions of combat by carrying a sword this way, but when you have to cross a great distance with a giant piece of metal, you do what you have to. But such weapons were specifically reserved for the battlefield, and a smaller sidearm blade carried at the waistline would be the go-to weapon off the battlefield.
>>964844
You can't bend the sword while you take it out. If you look at OPs pic he'd have to hold the blade up in the air, far from the neck.
>>964310
M8, the backwards draw =/= as wearing your sword at the back.
It was still at the hip, but the sword is facing backwards due to:
1) to avoid slashing the horse when drawing.
2) Avoid having the sword getting tangled up with the bowcase/quiver combo Asians love to use.
Was practiced by cunts from the Eurasian Steppes all the way to Korea & China.
>>964409
Tachi were worn with the edge facing down, that blade is worn uchigatana style with the edge facing upward.
If that is a nodachi on his back, it's not a long one since you can't see the end of the saya (the orange saya belongs to the sword at his waist). I'd think that's a tachi slung on his back for transportation and an ornate katana worn through his obi uchigatana style.
>>964300
it would probably depend on the length of the sword. a really long one would almost have to be carried on your back, or probably on your horse or something like that while not in battle. also assassins would most likely have swords on there backs so that it wouldnt move around and bang into shit while trying to be sneaky
Yeah, sometimes they did-
though never into battle, that would be retarded.
>>964901
>>964844
Sure, if you have it attatched at two points like a fucking retard.
>attach a harness across your chest and waist
>attach sheath to only one point on your back, just below your shoulder blade
>when you need to draw, the bottom of the sheath will rise as you pull it up, and then slightly horizontally over your shoulder
How the fuck is this so hard to visualize.
Also, to those saying that it will bounce and tap your lower back when you ride/run/walk:
Yeah. No fucking shit. It will bounce and tap if you fucking carry it anywhere.
>>964300
they didnt, theres load of videos proving that you cant draw a sword from behind your back except short swords
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQBfNoi28Z4
