The idea of wielding two one-handed weapons in battle is fairly common in video games and other fictional media. But have there ever been warriors who went into battle with dual-wielded weapons? Have there ever been individuals noted for dual wielding?
First off, I'm speaking from a European history POV. If you want Eastern martial arts, I'm sure someone else knows.
There is a good deal of evidence for dual wielding weapons in history, with one rule: It has almost never been done in massed combat.
In the Renaissance, a very popular style was to wield the rapier and dagger: http://sleech.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/meyer_rapier_dagger.png Or case of rapiers(i.e. two rapiers): http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DEpzco2RjYU/UZwntirqz3I/AAAAAAAAALU/2i7V6Qu3LMk/s1600/di+Grassi+-+case+of+rapiers.jpg Having a rapier and a dagger allows you to defend and attack at the same time; while this is possible with other weapons such as the longsword, both the rapier and dagger are weapons and so you can attack from multiple angles and overwhelm an opponent.
A single page in the Mathern Fechtbuch(c. 1686) shows two sabers being wielded by duelists in armor: http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/files/img_49881_573.jpg
Not to mention that whole book contains some interesting pictures of odd combinations, though with no accompanying literature: http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Mathern_Fechtbuch_(2%C2%BA_MS_Math.7)
Dual wielding weapons(particularly rapier and dagger, as it was so popular) is perfectly common for an average Renaissance man to carry about his daily life; a huge factor in the importance of swords is that they are easy to carry around - and 99% of the time, you're doing just that, carrying it around. So, practicality is very important. While a huge greatsword is really only suited to the battlefield, a rapier and dagger don't get too in the way.
The problem with dual wielding is that it limits blocking capabilities. While you might be able to turn a sword cut without worry, blocking something like a spear thrust is very hard with only a sword, but a shield is great at that. And even more troublesome: arrows, the scourge of all warriors. A shield can completely protect you. If you're a 15th century knight, you probably have armor so good that you don't need a shield, however, so would you dual wield then? Again, no. For battlefield use, the polearm(poleaxe, halbard, partizan, etc.) is far superior to the sword, having greater power and reach, except perhaps to the greatsword, though in many cases greatswords were used really just as a rich man's polearm. To compare them to firearms, the sword is like a handgun; small, light, easy to carry around and wield. The polearm is a rifle; big, heavy, but far more powerful than a sword, and if you're a soldier then your number one choice of weapons, but if you just want to defend yourself as you go about your day then a real hindrance.
After typing all that up, I see I didn't really answer your question. Well, here goes:
In much of history, they didn't bother writing much down except the large decisions, i.e. who started what war and why, etc. As for fighting, fencing masters wrote fight books detailing how to fight with a particular set of weapons as a sort of advertisement for them - incidentally, the reason why we think much of historical fencing is entirely lost as those fencing masters didn't want everything written down - why give away all your secrets? There were no plagiarism laws then, so just show a smattering of techniques to interest people to actually come to you in person.
And as for recording people who actually did go into battle and recording their exact deeds, there are a few options for you, but many cover relatively modern areas of time. The best option I can think of is "Swordsmen of the British Empire" by D.A. Kinsley. I don't own it myself but it has excellent reviews by modern HEMA practitioners.
Hope this helps, even if it's not as on-topic as it should have been.
Miyamoto Musashi (1584 - 1645) is a very famous samurai from the end of the Sengoku period (and also a protagonist in endless fictional games, movies and anime) that did create and use a dual wield technique.
In his book "Go rin no sho" (the book of five rings), completed around 1645, he wrote:
Students of the Ichi school Way of strategy should train from the start with the sword and long sword in either hand
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It is not difficult to wield a sword in one hand; the Way to learn this is to train with two long swords, one in each hand. It will seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first.
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It is better to use two swords rather than on when you are fighting a crowd, and especially if you want to take a prisoner.
