So my friend and I read a lot of fantasy literature, and as such we end up debating weaponry, armor, and fighting styles, and their pros and cons. My initial question is whether or not a swordsman losing fingers during combat was common, or not. It seems to me that thats the point of a crossguard, and that any trained swordsman worth his weight in salt would know how to twist his wrist to catch a blade on the cross guarf and thus avoid such crippling blows. Is this accurate? Also, I'm not certain if asking a few more related questions in the same post is acceptable or not, so I'll just do it, and add different posts if necessary;
I'm under the impression that sword fighting by fully armored knights was usually done on horseback, and was less about meeting blades, and more about poking ones opponent in the weak spots of their armor? What is the validity of this statement? Also, was sword fighting on the ground more akin to grappling?
What kinds of swords woukd knights in armor use? Would they use longswords, or more of dueling rapiers?
Anyways, sorry for any weird inconsistencies, I'm on my phone, and my buddy texted me at work. The first thing I thought was to ask you guys. Thanks!
I'll try to take your questions one by one.
On the loss of fingers: it obviously the swordsman's hand was always a target, or else we wouldn't see the development of defensive technologies to counter it. Namely, the cross-guard and the gauntlet. However, the amputation of fingers is far less likely an outcome than the breaking on the hand. The key here, is that, while swords like the falchion and later sabre were designed for the cut, the stereotypical Western straight sword is designed to bludgeon, more than to cut.
For swordsman on horseback: this video by Mike Loades, c. 25-27 mins in, shows the impracticality of using the sword in a charge, and demonstrates some of the historical techniques of the late-Middle Ages. I recommend watching the whole thing if you have the time. Heck if you have the time and you're interested in medieval weapons and combat you should watch the whole series. http://youtu.be/ogxTTVSJ3Pg
On grappling: Grappling and wrestling we're central to all combat, especially the kind of late-middle age combat between plate-armoured opponents, that you describe. This type of combat always ended in one of two ways, either by battering your opponent until they're too concussed to defend themselves, or by taking them to the ground, such that you can force your dagger in between the gaps in the plate armour or through their raised visor.