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in reply to Who would win in a swordfight?

I, too, am offended Cyrano is not present. Not only was he the finest swordsman of his day (possibly even in reality; there actually was a Cyrano de Bergerac) but he was also a brilliant raconteur, a great inventor, and a lover in the category of Don Juan. He was, of course, also legendary for his nose.

Well, of course, a modern gun will beat a sword, but it was much more problematic back when modern guns were smoothbore muzzle loading flintlocks, which could not be kept loaded because black powder is hygroscopic and tends to misfire when wet. In other words, the chances are quite good that it would be sword vs club, not sword vs gun.

Since Cyrano is not in the poll, I have to vote for Sr Montoya. Zorro, while quite foxy, never seemed to actually kill anybody, Robin Hood was almost certainly able to use a sword (most bowmen could; and RH was from the social class where ability to use a sword was expected), Conan was in the hack & slash school, and the samurai seemed to prefer the edge, but a kill is easier with a thrust than a slash.

emc

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