Roman Heavy Cavalry Fighting Techniques

[Sean Manning]

Just some thoughts from the perspective of Renaissance martial arts and modern physics.

Reach isn't the only advantage a long kontos has over a one-handed spear. A two-handed lance grip adds stability, making it harder to knock the point aside and stronger to parry with. If a weapon is a lever with its fulcrum where the forward hand grips it, the rear hand (or the armpit, for couched technique) lets you apply force to resist deflection of the point. And unless the lance gets stuck in something of breaks, it could be retained for use in close combat (although it would probably be less effective in that situation than a sword). If every lance in the first rank killed a man on the first charge, battles would have been a lot shorter and bloodier.

On the other hand, ordinary Roman cavalry had an arsenal of throwing weapons, which they could have used as they entered combat or in a swirling melee. A thrown spear has longer range than a spear held in the hand!

I'd guess that a better armoured cavalryman wielding a long spear two-handed had strengths and weaknesses relative to a worse armoured cavalryman with a shield and a spear wielded one-handed. Defining exactly what those were at this distance is tricky.