The final duel in The King (2019) is one of the most discussed medieval fight scenes of recent years. It is messy, exhausting, awkward, and strangely uncomfortable to watch. That is exactly why it stands out.
For decades, cinema trained us to expect medieval warriors to spin around with swords, clash blades for several minutes, and somehow avoid using the armour they spent a fortune buying. The King takes a different route. When Henry faces the Dauphin in single combat, the fight rapidly turns from elegant swordplay into a brutal struggle for control.
The question is whether this is a realistic depiction of medieval longsword combat or simply a different flavour of Hollywood drama.
The answer is somewhere in the middle.
The Context Of The Duel
The duel takes place before the film’s version of the Battle of Agincourt. Henry V accepts a challenge from the French Dauphin, allowing the two leaders to settle their conflict personally rather than sacrifice thousands of soldiers.
Dramatically, it works brilliantly.
Historically? Not so much.
There was no recorded duel between Henry V and the Dauphin before Agincourt. In fact, the real Dauphin Louis, Duke of Guyenne, was not even present at the battle.
The scene is fictional, but it uses the duel to explore something genuinely historical: fighting in full plate armour was very different from the sword fights most people imagine.
The Weapons: Was The Longsword Accurate?
The longsword was absolutely appropriate for a knightly duel of this period.
By the early 15th century, the longsword had become a highly developed weapon across Europe. It was not the slow, heavy lump often shown in older films. Most examples weighed roughly between 1.2 and 1.8 kg, making them surprisingly agile.
A typical longsword featured:
- Double-edged straight blade
- Long grip designed for two-handed use
- Crossguard for protection and control
- Sharp point for thrusting into armour gaps
- Balanced construction for quick changes of direction
Against an unarmoured opponent, cutting techniques were extremely dangerous. Against a knight covered in plate armour, things became much more complicated.
You were not slicing through steel. Unless your opponent had bought their armour from a suspicious medieval discount stall, the sword blade was not cutting through a breastplate.
Armour Changes Everything
This is where The King deserves credit.
The duel understands that plate armour was not decoration. High-quality 15th century armour was an incredible piece of engineering.
A fully equipped knight might wear:
- Steel plate harness
- Mail protection around vulnerable joints
- Padded arming garments underneath
- Visored helmet
- Gauntlets
- Leg and arm protection
A sword slash against solid plate was usually ineffective. Fighters needed to attack weak points such as:
- Visor openings
- Armpits
- Neck
- Groin
- Inside joints
This is why historical fighting manuals show techniques that look closer to wrestling than fantasy sword fighting.
Medieval Longsword Techniques Seen In The Duel
The fight includes several elements that reflect real Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA).
Grappling
The biggest realistic element is the wrestling.
Medieval knights trained extensively in grappling. Fighting manuals by masters such as Fiore dei Liberi and Johannes Liechtenauer show throws, locks, disarms, and ground fighting.
Once armour entered the equation, controlling the opponent’s body was often more important than swinging harder.
Half-Swording
One missing element is more obvious use of half-swording.
Half-swording involved gripping part of the blade with one hand while holding the handle with the other. This gave greater accuracy when thrusting into armour gaps.
It looks strange if you are used to fantasy combat, but it was a genuine technique.
The Mordhau
Another famous technique was the mordhau or “murder stroke”.
A fighter could hold the sword by the blade and strike with the crossguard or pommel like a hammer.
Yes, medieval knights sometimes looked at their expensive sword and thought, “Actually, today you are a club.”
Practicality usually won over looking heroic.
What The Film Gets Right
The duel succeeds in several areas:
- Armour actually protects the fighters
- The combat becomes tiring quickly
- Grappling plays a major role
- Victory comes through control rather than flashy movements
- The fighters use their environment
- The violence feels desperate rather than choreographed
One of the strongest details is the loss of elegance. Real combat between armoured opponents could become chaotic. Training mattered enormously, but once fighters collided, things could get ugly.
What The Film Gets Wrong
The scene is not perfect.
Too Much Exhaustion Too Quickly
Armour was heavy, but knights trained from childhood to fight in it.
A full harness usually weighed around 20 to 30 kg, but the weight was distributed across the body. It was not like carrying a heavy backpack.
A trained knight could run, climb, fight, and even perform acrobatic movements.
Limited Technical Sword Use
The duel focuses heavily on wrestling while reducing some of the more technical elements of armoured combat.
We might expect to see more:
- Half-sword thrusting
- Targeting of armour gaps
- Dagger use after closing distance
- More controlled footwork
The film captures the feeling of armoured fighting more than the full technical reality.
How Would A Real 15th Century Duel Have Looked?
A real judicial or battlefield duel between elite fighters would probably have been a combination of:
- Careful movement and positioning
- Testing distance
- Sudden aggressive attacks
- Attempts to compromise balance
- Throws and takedowns
- Finishing attacks through armour gaps
The longsword might only have been the opening phase.
Once both fighters closed distance, a dagger such as a rondel dagger could become the decisive weapon. These were specifically designed for fighting armoured opponents.
Comparison With Other Medieval Films
More Realistic Than:
- Many fantasy sword fights
- Older Hollywood medieval battles
- Films where armour acts like shiny clothing
Less Technical Than:
Modern HEMA demonstrations and historically focused reconstructions.
The duel is cinematic realism rather than a perfect recreation. It sacrifices some detail but keeps the important idea: medieval combat was practical, physical, and frightening.
Is The King Longsword Duel Realistic?
The final duel in The King is not historically accurate as an event, but the combat philosophy behind it is surprisingly grounded.
It understands something many films miss: armour worked.
A knight in full plate was not defeated by dramatically swinging harder. Winning required patience, technique, leverage, and sometimes dragging someone into the mud until you could finish the job.
It may not show every refined technique from medieval fighting manuals, but it captures the brutal problem-solving nature of armoured combat better than most Hollywood productions.
For anyone interested in medieval warfare, it is a refreshing reminder that knights were not just sword swingers. They were highly trained fighters using one of the most advanced combat systems of their age.
