I think you gotta consider that a knight has likely never seen a lion or a beast of such proportions before. If you put the knight into a moderate-sized arena with a large cat, I’m willing to bet the bravery of the knight fails him and he is mauled to death by the lion.
Yeah, but like, seeing a 2-inch by 2-inch medieval depiction of what a lion is and actually seeing a 420lb roaring beast are two different things. They didn’t have TV or Internet, so like, most people on the planet would never be within 100 miles of a lion in their whole lives.
But they know they exist and they are probably familiar with wolfs and bears, so it’s not like they would be totally awestruck and not know what to do or expect.
IDK man. Knights know what a bear is, lions aren’t that much scarier than bears and bears are larger. And AFAIK, knights should be trained to stand their ground if fleeing is not an option, which it clearly isn’t, because large animals are always faster than humans on foot and anyone who ever hunted from horseback (which was very common for knights) would know that.
In contrast, has the lion ever had experience with being hit by a sword, spear etc.? I know boars will often just keep attacking, but is that true for big cats, too, or will they decide that the fight isn’t worth it and try to fuck off?
If the arena is a forest, I think you’re right that there’s a chance the knight plucks up the courage to fight and the lion runs away. In that case, the knight would be called the victor.
But if it’s a smaller arena… and the lion can’t flee… well then you’ve got a big cat cornered with a decision to fight for its life. I’ve seen an 8lb house cat cornered in real life by a human before and it was terrifying.
Winner: Lion (in round 1)
I think you gotta consider that a knight has likely never seen a lion or a beast of such proportions before. If you put the knight into a moderate-sized arena with a large cat, I’m willing to bet the bravery of the knight fails him and he is mauled to death by the lion.
It all comes down to the mental game.
Wait, there will be rounds in a fight to the death? Does this imply the use of some cleric or shaman?
I hadn’t considered the dark arts… lions can’t do magic, so that’s obviously an advantage for the knight.
You do realize that like 90% of knights had a lion on their crests and coat of arms?
Yeah, but like, seeing a 2-inch by 2-inch medieval depiction of what a lion is and actually seeing a 420lb roaring beast are two different things. They didn’t have TV or Internet, so like, most people on the planet would never be within 100 miles of a lion in their whole lives.
Nam sayin’?
But they know they exist and they are probably familiar with wolfs and bears, so it’s not like they would be totally awestruck and not know what to do or expect.
IDK man. Knights know what a bear is, lions aren’t that much scarier than bears and bears are larger. And AFAIK, knights should be trained to stand their ground if fleeing is not an option, which it clearly isn’t, because large animals are always faster than humans on foot and anyone who ever hunted from horseback (which was very common for knights) would know that.
In contrast, has the lion ever had experience with being hit by a sword, spear etc.? I know boars will often just keep attacking, but is that true for big cats, too, or will they decide that the fight isn’t worth it and try to fuck off?
If the arena is a forest, I think you’re right that there’s a chance the knight plucks up the courage to fight and the lion runs away. In that case, the knight would be called the victor.
But if it’s a smaller arena… and the lion can’t flee… well then you’ve got a big cat cornered with a decision to fight for its life. I’ve seen an 8lb house cat cornered in real life by a human before and it was terrifying.