[quote=@MelonHead] I think the almost ceremonial nature of swords suggests they weren't necessarily the most efficient tool of war. The lance was a very expendable weapon, it got used, it broke, but it's also perfect for mounted combat for that reason. You can afford to ride over, stab something long and pointy into your foe and leave it behind stuck in them (where-as dropping your sword left you SOL) and then ride back to pick up a new one. The lance might not be the main weapon of a knight, but it was definitely the main weapon of cavalry in west Europe, and as far as I know, Knights were predominantly cavalry. I'd have to do more research, but I think the lance was definitely more synonymous with Knights then the sword, though in actuality it would be safer to say both weapons were synonymous with the Knight, with the lance used as a primary weapon for the charge, and the sword used if melee was engaged. Doing a massively flawed wikipedia search but it does have some interesting insights into Knights, suggesting they originate from Equites, which any fan of Total War Atilla will tell you were Roman Cavalrymen from the lower tiers of aristocracy, definitely fitting the medieval Knight. [/quote] Although the battlefield may generally have revolved around the lances of the men-at-arms, and the missiles and polearms of the infantry, the sword was the primary weapon of the knight for individual combat. Which is what the arena focuses on, so I'd rather keep to a sword. Not many duels I know of took place using lances anyway. (aside from jousting tournament, but their less about duels of honor) In the same way the Katana and such are the weapons for individual duels for Samurai.