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Originally Posted by kronckew
Well, Little people could be very powerful royal attendants, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_dwarf. Can't see why they would not also be armed with custom made arms and armour...they are no different than us, just a bit shorter. An example below of a recognisable one from a well known fiction, along with a painting of a real example from history. |
Interesting note Wayne, and well placed. We have had some interesting concurrent discussions on other threads concerning a breast plate which seemed unusually small; a katar whose hilt seemed too small for the hand of an average person; and I brought up armor said to be of Joan of Arc, but thought to be too small.
Clearly 'size does matter', and the examination of both seemingly unusual sizes both too small, or notably large, are of interest..
The occasional note of dwarves has come up in some of these discussions, and while this anomaly as we regard it today, may not have been prevalent (or at least notable) in earlier times. As has been noted, the smaller average stature of humans was the case at large, so perhaps figures even in the range of what we consider today 'dwarves', may not have been deemed 'unusual' enough for special notice.
I thought of mentioning Attila the Hun, who has often been noted as having been a dwarf, but am not confident in the popular culture notions which reign in lore. Actually there seems to be little accord in the material concerning the Huns or Attila himself, but there are many references which call them, and him of course, as small in stature.
It does appear that general discussion on these aspects of arms and armor must be observed on the merits of each individual item, in which of course we can only speculate on its details. As Wayne notes, it does seem feasible that arms or armor may have been specifically made for such persons.
I did note however, that most authorities consider that the Huns did not have ability or materials for forging or making weapons, therefore they must have relied on captured or otherwise obtained weaponry. If they were in any way unusually small in stature, this would seem to have presented a problem.