Realistic Wounds

The resources in this section discuss and present evidence to show what effect a rapier wound might have on the body. Both modern medical information and historical accounts are included in these articles.

The Dubious Quick Kill: Part 1 & Part 2by Maestro Frank Lurz
Two-part article about swords wounds and their possible effects on the respiratory, musculature, skeletal, and nervous systems.

The Science and History of Rapier Wounds and Deathsby Iolo FitzOwen and Christian Richard Dupre
Summarizes the findings of a 1976 forensics paper on stab wounds, sites historical accounts of rapier injuries, and details the results of tests done by the authors to simulate sword wounds in order to evaluate how accurate SCA blow calling rules are to what would actually have happened in period.

Medical Reality of Historical Woundsby Richard Swinney and Scott Crawford
Article published in SPADA 2. Discusses some of the unrealistic expectations historic fencers have about sword injuries and attempts to replace those false expectations with more realistic ones.

A treaties Concerning Leg Wounds and the Foolishness of the Concept of Continuing Combat after Receipt of the Sameby Don Aubrey de Baudricourt and Lord Joachim van den Has