Any Sword-and-Planet Cepheus titles available?

[aramis]

I tend to think it's identifying what weapons (and armour) were actually used on the battlefield, and then see if the then participants wrote down why.

Lances looked like they were on the way out by the nineteenth century, and then were readopted.

The US Army still keeps a particular form of footman's lance in use... more for it's ceremonial and non-combat mobility signalling role ... the guidon. The few times I've seen full ceremonial of US Army cav, they, too, have a lance with pennon.

It's fair to say that the days of the lance as a primary weapon in combat died with a lot of Poles with poles on horseback... but most of their damage was done with grenades, IIRC. Which, at the time, were short poles with explosives on the end.

 

[Condottiere]

I would have selected shaped charge.