Who Will Win?: Samurai vs Knight
There is a dispute on whether knights or samurai would win in a battle. The samurai come from Japan, the knights come from Europe. Clearly they were not close to each other which means that they have different customs, armor, training, beliefs, etc. Although this would never happen, in a one on one battle, the advantage would be to the knights and this can be seen in training, armor, and beliefs from various documents.
The first reason why knights would have an advantage is from their training. Document C2, adapted by the PBS series “Warrior Challenge” in 2003, supports my claim. It says “A future knight’s training began at the age of four or five with learning how to ride a pony.” This shows that a knight could have an advantage here because they could have more
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In document D, written by the DBQ Project, it states “Not only was their entire body covered… even horses wore armor.” This shows that a knight could win in a battle because they were completely covered in protection. They wore helmets, gloves, and shoes made from steel. This was helpful because they wouldn’t get hurt as easily. Also, their swords were shorter, much easier to move in the air, and they had amazingly sharp sides that can do some serious damage. Another piece of evidence is from the same document, which says “Samurai did not wear armor on their right arm… One disadvantage of samurai armor is that when it became wet, the silk cords absorbed water and became very heavy.” This makes it beyond difficult for the samurai to get around because most of the Earth is water, and Japan is an island. Since they didn’t wear armor on one part of their body, it is much easier for them to get hurt, especially since the knights’ swords were so advanced. The knights’ armor was better than the samurais’ for fighting in a lot of ways, but there are still other advantages that the knights might have
In school, they learned of the Kendo, which is fencing with bamboo sticks, the moral code of the samurai, and their religion, Zen Buddhism. Their code of conduct, the Bushido, demanded that a samurai must hold his loyalty, courage, honesty, compassion, and honor. According to The Way of the Samurai by Yamaga Soko, “Within his [samurai] heart he keeps to the ways of peace, but without he keeps his weapons ready for use.” As stated before, samurais have a much lighter armor. This is mainly due to They have an opening on their right arm in order for them to draw their bows faster and
Imagine a knight, jousting in an arena in Europe during the Middle Ages. Surprisingly, across the world during approximately the same time period, samurai warriors fought in Japan. During the time period, 1000 to 1600 CE, the samurai and knights fought in battle in many different ways. Many differences between the samurai and knights included codes, armor, training, and religions. Without a doubt, the differences between the samurai and the knight overshadow the similarities.
Samurai and knights are not identical, they do have a good amount of differences. For instance, after going through training, samurai were awarded their title and responsibilities at the age of fourteen while knights took on their full responsibilities at twenty-one. Document B points out that although loyalty was important to both Japanese and European warriors, “loyalty towards the feudal lord in Japan was hereditary” but it was not in Europe. This means that in Japan “service of a feudal lord went from father to son” so the relationship between the lord and his warrior lasted for generations. Along with that, although both groups wore full body armor, Document D states that “a knight’s armor could weigh forty
The first way that the samurai have an advantage is their armor. In document D written by Terry Bennett ; Knight from Art Recourse, it says “Samurai did not wear armor on her right arm so they could easily draw their bow.”. This piece of evidence is important because they could easily shoot their arrows and be faster than the knights. Also by using picture evidence Samurai carried a lot of weapons and knights only carried one sword. Another piece of evidence that supports the claim is in document D written by Terry Bennett it states, “Knights began to
My second reason is that the knights had very strong and effective armour, whereas the samurai’s armour was always changing and was never as good as the knight’s armour, as samurai depended more on their fighting skills instead of the armour. The samurai armour was made up of several sections. The main body is called a do or cuirass, and is made from plates or lamellae (small oblong-shaped pieces of steel linked by strips of leather and covered with layers of lacquer). The helmet has a crest and a hair pommel. There is also a face mask, which would have been decorated with ugly features intended to scare the enemy. Extra protection is provided by a coverage of the neck (made of jointed metal) and shoulder guards (made from small plates laced together, with silk allowing movement). Thigh and calf guards are made from a combination of chain mail and plates. Underneath the samurai’s armour, the samurai would wear a one-piece baggy garment with a special kimono (the kimono looks a bit like a dressing gown). This did mean that the samurai would be more likely to get injured, as the armour would only offer very little protection. Samurai armour was designed to help the Samurai move comfortably and efficiently when fighting, so if a knight stabbed the samurai then the samurai would get injured and this would affect the samurai while he is fighting (the samurai would be fighting worse), and possible depending on how bad the wound is, it could kill the
The first reason why the differences are greater than the similarities is because of the social order in feudal Japan and Europe. ”Historians and other scholars use social pyramids to show how societies were structured” (Document A). The samurai owned loyalty and military service to daimyo 's for land or regular payment while on the other hand knights owned loyalty and military service to the lords. Another difference about samurais and knights was the population. Samurai with families took about 10% of Japan 's population and in Europe, there was estimated 12,000 knights in England and Normany France in the 12th century. One more difference is that there are four people above the knight in the social order but only three for samurai.
In all I think that the differences between the knights and samurai's where greater than the similarities between the two. Whether its social classes, fighting style, armor, or even where they originated
Likewise, knights wore “complete suits of plate armor, constructed from metal...wore helmets, gloves, and shoes of steel...a knight’s armor could weigh 40 to 60 pounds.” (Document D) Both samurais and European knights were protected by a heavy armor out of metal in battle; it can be inferred that both Japan and Europe found importance in protecting their warriors looking from the stringency of armor and protection. The reason for protecting their warriors would be due to the myriad of battles feudal Japan and Europe would have had to carry out. To ensure success in battle, they would’ve made further technological advances such as protective armor, ensuring better performance when battling. By protecting the warriors using this effective armor, both Japan and Europe would’ve been able to attain more as a whole and advance as a civilization - a common achievement carried out as well. Despite the many differences between Japanese samurais and European knights, the similarities outweighed these differences due to the homologous elements in their position in hierarchy and the use of protective armor in battle, leading to the success in both Japan and
Can you imagine a world without protection.In this essay we will discuss the differences and similarities between Knights and samurai.These are the three differences I'm going to talk about religious practices,views of women, and types of armor.
The first reason why the knights and the samurai are more different than alike is because of their code of honor. Document E states that there are two different codes of honor. The code of honor of the samurai was called Bushido. In Bushido, samurai are loyal to their family and to friends. They devote themselves to helping others. In chivalry, knights were to be helpful to ladies. They always had to be loyal to the king. People may think that just because they both have codes of honor and they are loyal to others means they are the
One way was the armour they wore. The samurai wore iron scales tied together, lacquered and then bound into armour plates with silk or leather cords.(Doc.D) The helmet was made of 8-12 iron plates, and below it was a 5-piece neck guard. (Doc.D) If you look at the samurai armour it doesn’t have many flaws, unless you get it wet because then it gets heavy and extremely droopy. (Doc.D) Now the knights armour during the 1200s, they wore armour made of chainmail tiny metal rings linked together. (Doc.D) Chainmail was very effective against weapons like bows and swords.(OI) The knights armour had a humongous problem though, it weighed in from about 40- 60 pounds.(Doc.D) One difference between their armour was the samurai had armour everywhere, but their right arm so the could draw their swords super fast.(Doc.D) The knights on the other hand, they wore full body armour for full protection.(Doc.D) Last, is the feudal societies of Europe and
In document C1 written by PBS, it states, the young warriors practiced kendo but also Confucianism, loyalty to one’s master, respect for superiors, ethical behavior, and self-discipline. This shows that samurai did not only practice physically but also mentally. Mental training would put them in the correct mindset in a fight and their fighting skills with many different weapons would place them with high advantage. Another piece of evidence that supports the claim is in document C2 written by PBS it says “they would go with their master knight into battle, dress him, feed him, and care for his horses in all hopes he would be deemed worthy.” This proves that a knight was busy with chores, therefore he had less physical
First of all the knights and samurai both wore armor. It states in document D that in samurai armor they were put together with tiny iron scales. The knights had one big body suit of armor in one piece. This means that the armor they
Loyalty for these warriors was essential and the most important thing because it made them honorable. They also tried to honorably defeat opponents in battle, but when bows and crossbows became more proficient, and where commonly used, they had to change their armor. Both samurai and knights used bows and wore plates of armor for protection from these weapons. Therefore, these warriors where very alike because they trained similarly, for both began battle at 14, used similar weapons in battle and both wore
To start, the samurai’s light armor made him very quick on the battlefield. His armor, “provided both mobility and protection,” (Source 3), as opposed to a knight’s armor which was very heavy and only provided protection. If the two warriors were fighting from horseback, all the samurai would have to do is find a way to get the knight to the ground. Once on the ground, knights were very vulnerable, especially to those as quick on foot as the samurai. The light weight of the samurai's armor was not the only advantage he had over the knight. The many perfectly placed attached guards, (in contrast to the knights few parts) made moving naturally smooth. There was only one disadvantage to