How well trained in unarmed combat were Medieval to Renaissance period knights?

Answer 1

Your question is far too general really.

This varied depending on the historical period, and location.

Tournaments were designed to be a method of inspiring knights to train to do well.

Much of the real fighting was done by realtively untrained peasants poorly equipped. They did much of the dying too.

If by "unarmed combat" you mean 'Judo or Karate styles' - then, from experience as a reenactor, if you were really fighting for your life in intense hand to hand close contact combat to the death, and lose your weapon, then you will kick, bite, throw dirt in eyes, anything you can! There is, unfortunately, little documentation across the time period and geography of 'deliberately training' for such. But if you have trained to recognize the angles of attack, how to block, recognize openings and weaknesses in your opponent, etc, then after a while you acquire a degree of 'trying to not get hurt' - no matter what weapons you or opponent are using!!!

Answer 2

I should have thought that the point in being a knigjht was that you were much more heavily armed than any other soldiers.
In Medieval times, such training was more like horse riding combined with heavy drinking.
Knights were of a higher social class so they were much healthier and better fed so had advantages in unarmed as well as armed combat.

Answer 3

Medieval Hand To Hand Combat

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Good question
for sure knights were trained to Heavy chivalry fight, as this was their institutional role. But in the same time they could fight well on foot, and they trained well, as sports also in "Sport" fencing, if we can use this word for tournaments. They were "Total fighter". A direct example we can have readying the first knights and warrior fight manual , "Flos Duellatorum" written by Fiore de Liberi in 1415. The book is about armored combat techniques, Horse fainting Techniques, but also unarmed one-and -half hand sword, one hand sword, dagger unarmed, technique, and wrestling, plus some special fighting technique. In preface he wrote that "Today many young knights like to Fight without Armour, in shirt, and so often there is a dead. Bad young, they should fight always as I did in Armour....", meaning that they fought also without Armour, at great risk....
Armour was not only a "Plus" to show how right you were, but something useful to safe Your life, so, if you have, You wore it.... In my City statues of XIV century is written that everyone can have the Armour of a knight, if he can afford it !

Answer 6

Lugfabio hit the nail on the head mentioning that Fiore's manuscript gives us one of the most complete examples of training during that time. But I believe it was 1409, not 1415, however. The unfortunate idea that the medieval fighter was this untrained individual is just not true.

Answer 7

there are many books on the subject. Most techniques were wrestling techniques, or derived from stickfighting. The question is way too general though.

Answer 8

Not at all. It was difficult to move in all that armor and they need their weapons to make any impression