Implications of a Lightsaber on the Middle Ages

Question

Imagine if by chance, a Lightsaber was transferred using a time machine to the middle ages.

At first it was found by a peasant. The poor fellow didn't know what to do with it, so he sold it for a few coins to an artifact collector who was obsessed by cleaning and shining his artifacts. After three years, one time while the collector was busy shining the Lightsaber he accidentally activated it while pointing it to his heart; he died immediately.

The son of the collector found the Lightsaber next to his father's corpse and immediately knew that the artifact was diabolic, so he ran to the town's priest and told him about his discovery. The priest had equipped himself with some religious tools (a bible, a cross and some holy water) and went along with the son to the collector 's house. Scared from the laser coming out of the artifact, he told the son that this was indeed the devil's work, but in order to maintain his credibility he had to do something holy about it, so he put the cross on top of the Lightsaber and accidentally deactivated it.

Now, the priest suggested to purify this artifact with fire (bad idea), so the next day, he gathered the people in the town's center where he prepared a huge fire. He grabbed the Lightsaber with his hand and while walking towards the fire he tripped, and while falling he accidentally activated the Lightsaber and killed himself. Shocked by this unholy scene, the town's people ran away screaming, except for one clever fellow who happened to be an engineer.

Out of curiosity he wanted to investigate this artifact, so he grabbed the Lightsaber and inspected it carefully,. After hours of deep inspection, he concluded that this artifact was nothing but a sword of some kind he never saw before. Then he decided to test its might and was amazed by the power of this thing, so he decided to give it as a gift to the King for a position in the king's court. The king called his Lightsaber 'The Sword of Power', claiming that God wanted him to have it because he is the true king that shall rule this Earth, and so ballads have spread across the Earth praising the Sword of Power and his king, and the eyes of everyone have turned towards this kingdom, which brings me to my question :

What implications will this Lightsaber have during the Middle Ages on :

1 - Society.

2 - Warfare.

3 - Technology.

Answer 1

There's the preliminary question: How long does the light saber continue working? How long do the batteries last? Or how long before something breaks or wears out and it needs to be repaired? If it's like a cell phone and the batteries die in a week, then it quickly becomes a useless metal artifact, and the people who said it emitted a blue light that killed people are thought to be gullible and superstitious, or particularly inept con men trying to pull a lame hoax. But assuming that it works long enough for many people to see it in operation ...

I'd say the real implications in all three categories would be: Very little. Let me take them out of order.

Technology: I'd guess probably zero impact. The technology is so far beyond what the people possess that they are unlikely to be able to learn anything from it. If you took some piece of advanced technology from today back in time 10 or 20 years and showed it to a talented engineer, it's likely he'd figure out how it worked and leapfrog the technology. Take it back 50 years and it would probably take a genius to figure it out. But take it back 200 years or more? I doubt even the greatest genius could figure out all the steps that would lead to that technology. I'm not sure how a light saber is supposed to work, but it's beyond us. Suppose you took a cell phone or a computer to the Middle Ages. They don't understand electricity. How could they possibly figure out what integrated circuit chips are? They'd just look like funny little boxes. Maybe, possibly, they could play with the battery and wires and jump start understanding of electricity.

Warfare: One light saber will not seriously change the power structure. Sure, the man who has it has a distinct advantage over opponents armed with swords and spears. But even one-on-one he's not invincible. If he faces someone much more skilled in melee combat, the guy with the primitive weapon might well duck and dodge the light saber and get in a killing thrust. Someone with a bow and arrows could take him out long before he's in range to use the light saber. Even assuming he uses it effectively, so in a battle he kills dozens or a hundred or more of the enemy. Good for him, he's a hero. In a close case, that might make the difference between victory and defeat. But if his army has 1,000 men and the enemy have 10,000 men, it's unlikely he can win the battle purely because of the power of the light saber.

Society: Here it gets very speculative. Maybe people would say, "Wow, here is technology far beyond anything we have. We must devote greater effort and resources to scientific research and engineering, so that we can eventually build things like this." In the most optimistic scenario, a few very intelligent people are inspired and go on to found some great movement.

Or maybe, as you suppose in your scene, they think it's magic or demons.

I think the most likely scenario is that it's put on a shelf and remembered as a curious oddity. Eventually it quits working and/or is lost in a fire or flood or war or whatever, and it becomes a legend. Many say the legend is a silly myth, some absolutely believe it. It then has the same sort of impact on society as legends we talk about have on us. Think of Atlantis, Bigfoot, King Arthur, the Holy Grail, etc. Whether these and similar stories are total fiction or absolute truth, I don't think they have any great influence on society. They inspire some people. Maybe you could trace some important events to belief in these stories. But it's not like people think of them every day and this changes what they do in some direct way.

Answer 2

So, a king has a magical sword that makes him exceptionally powerful in combat. It's seen as a sign of his divine right to rule. Supporting him is a wise man who understands, to a certain degree at least, how the magic works.

Congratulations, you've just re-invented the Arthur mythos!

What would be the implications? Well, how did things turn out for King Arthur? He built up a great and powerful empire, but he spent so much time establishing and administering it that he neglected his wife, who ended up getting seduced by one of Arthur's strongest supporters, an act which, when it was discovered, ended up tearing the kingdom apart. He lived by the sword, and in the end died by the sword, or may as well have since he's not still around after that point. For all his prowess at being a warrior and a king, his much more basic failings as a man brought him down, and today, centuries later, most people consider his story a myth and openly doubt whether he and his marvelous sword ever actually existed in the first place. In the end, he and his sword accomplished nothing of lasting value except inspiring some really cool stories.

As much of a downer as it is, without the technology in place to reverse-engineer the lightsaber, some variation on the Arthur story is realistically the best that's likely to happen.

Even if he lives a full and fulfilling life and dies of old age, still in possession of the sword, what happens to it then? To own this weapon is to own a kingdom, either by virtue of the legend that goes with it making you be seen as the rightful ruler or, failing that, because having it makes you capable of conquering your way onto the throne. That makes it worth plotting, scheming, and killing for to a great many people, particularly if the king does not have a single clearly-defined heir who is ready and capable of stepping in at the time of the king's death. Can we say "succession wars"? (And even if that doesn't happen the first time, it will eventually, probably within a very few generations. If historical averages hold, that's a virtual certainty.)

Answer 3

I am assuming an infinite self-recharging power supply on the basis that we never see a lightsabre run out of juice in the movies and hey why not it's already a magically advanced technology.

1 - Society

Will largely depend on how it is used and the story told around it. Could go many ways. Any significantly beneficial use however is likely to be hard to keep quiet.

2 - Warfare

In melee it will be quickly irrelevant (irony of ironies).

It will be very intimidating at first but after the first few wielders are easily killed by better skilled melee fighters or ranged weapons it will lose its potency.

Once people realise how good it is at quick and clean amputations it will have a big impact in survival rates for field injuries.

Where it will really shine is against fortifications and similar enemy structural targets. Nothing except a moat will even slow it down. Your opponents castles are useless now whereas yours are still good. Just make sure never to lose it!

3 - Technology

I am assuming the lightsabers can only be disassembled by a force user or very advanced technology.

No one will have a hope of reverse engineering any aspect of it. However it may inspire increased interest in actual science.

It may be very useful as a standard power/light/etc source in experiments.

4 - Production

Its biggest long-term impact however may simply be as a production tool.

Imagine how fast you can quarry rock, fell trees, forge metal, dig tunnels through rock, mine ore compared to the normal methods?

A single person could level a wood in a day.(assuming some skill and risk obviously).

It can be put to these uses 24/7. It will likely be surrounded constantly by a small army to keep it safe from theft. Structures previously considered economically impractical suddenly become easy allowing fantastic tunnels, fortresses etc to be quickly constructed.

Answer 4

Open Warfare

One skilled fencer would be devastating on the field of battle with a light saber. S/He could become a hero of legends. However, light sabers do not instil force powers. One cross bow bolt will still kill them. If someone disarms them, they are lost. A knife in the back still ends a life.

One singular unit could become significantly more effective in combat. However, if the unit is outnumbered, or out-manoeuvred one light saber will not save them.

In even battles this Kingdom shall do better. They are likely to grow and be successful (unless the light saber finds its way into the hands of a force adept swordsman).

Technology

None

Society

The "Sword of Power" would become a symbol much like Excalibur. Passed down as a symbol of the right to rule. It would instil both awe and envy. Wise rulers would draw even more followers. Foolish rulers would draw even more enemies.

Guerilla Warfare

One skilled swordsman with a light saber could take down 5-10 heavily armored warriors (speed difference due to armor. Leading small strikes against the enemy, you could inflict significant casualties with few losses of your own). Most of your unit fights defensively until you have a chance to slice through their armor.

Economy

Put the sword to work.

Mining, masonry, fortifications. You could quickly dig out amazing fortifications out of rock formations, above and below ground.

Once the fortifications are built, put it to work in your most valuable resource mine. I'm tempted to say you just made it 100 to 1000 times more productive.

Dig through mountains to make profitable trade routes.

Answer 5

Society - the item might be seen as magic or having religious significance (as you touched on in your question). It may generate some excitement, and people may travel long distnaces just to get a glimpse of it.

However, a single "magic" object of unknown origin and implications probably won't have much lasting impact. It would be different if the object caused some fundamental assumption of society to be re-thought, but in your scenario, the light saber is simply a complete mystery.

Warfare - The impact in warfare will be quite limited, simply because there is only one.

In combat, the light saber is basically a glorified sword. It is better than any medieval sword by far, but that only gets you so much. Maybe whoever is wielding it could fight off two or three soldiers, but more than a few soldiers with conventional swords (or a few archers) could defeat one person with a light saber easily enough.

The ability to deflect projectiles would be of limited use, given the primitive projectiles at the time.

The most interesting ability would be the ability to cut through any surface. This may allow for quite an effective surprise attack, such as sneaking up to a castle and cutting through its walls at night. However, once this ability was discovered, it would be less useful.

The weakness is that you have to get right next to an object to cut through it. This can usually be prevented fairly easily. This also places the light saber at high risk of being captured by the enemy, and most likely whoever owns it will be risk-averse in this regard.

Overall, the saber might turn the tide of a couple battles through a surprise attack, but it is unlikely to be significant enough to make much of a difference in a sustained war.

Technology - Probably no difference. Medieval technology is not sophisticated enough to understand it. It might even harm progress, if resources are directed away from actual achievable goals to study it.

Answer 6

I think his question is actually rather similar to this one.

In the end a single lightsaber wont make much difference. Yes it will be great for morale boosting, and it will be hands down the most effective fighter on the field, but be able to beat armies. It wont be able to stop 1000 arrows flying towards it. The users wont have the force so they wont be able to sense that guy sneaking up behind them.

Ultimately if it was really used in combat it would probably change hands a lot. if it wasn't used in combat it would be basically like a relic of some saint (though would be the most awesome relic ever), used for morale boosting and such but no tangible effect on battle day.

Answer 7

I think that the lightsaber would be subject of enough legends about the mysterious deaths of its owners to make every new owner more afraid of losing the artifact. This instilled fear makes the wearer increasingly paranoid of all around him. I think the end result is that the artifact is denounced as a tool for evil and must be destroyed, similar to the One Ring from Lord of the Rings.

Answer 8

There's one other aspect not addressed so far (who would have guessed that for a question five hours old...): the need to recharge the thing after heavy use. It would seem that it is canon that light sabers do need recharging (see here), which is a feat I assume not that easily solved in medieval times and without proper understanding of the device itself. Luckily it is claimed that lightsabers use very little power only when switched on and more when cutting through matter. So putting it to productive use, e.g. level a wood as suggested by John McNamara's answers, might leave you with a nice and shiny artifact formerly known as a lightsaber in no time.

Answer 9

All of the posts here seem to focus on the point that there is only one so that it would not have much bearing on warfare. Given examples over history where one particular fighter or tactic changed the course of a battle, one light sabre could change course of history.

Not to mention that many battles were settled by a fight of champions, troop morale was a vital factor. Most battles were never even fought, a parley would happen instead after lining up the armies in battle array.

Having a great warrior with mundane weapons were enough to cause terror in an enemy army and caused leaders to submit because they felt their troops would defect during battle.

Also take into account that leaders were afraid to do battle as even a battle won took a toll on the winning army. Eventually you run out of men.

So I do believe that seeing a truly magical, god-like weapon used by a skilled warrior in a moderately sized army would start a living legend and give the appearance of an undefeatable enemy.

Enemy military leaders, troops and civilians would likely become subjects and vassels of this unstoppable army.

A leader with such an army / champion could take over the world with little actual fighting.

Look into history from biblical times up to the most recent wars and you will find that psycological factors had a much greater impact than physical ones.

Answer 10

Society: Criminals would try to replicate it; make it a strong or not strong weapon. They may trick peasants around the world at this age that it is real 'sword' (as they didn't have detectives or social networks back in the Middle Ages) The legend would be told in stories about the original people who found it. People would wonder about the origin and if God may reveal in "centuries to come", it's purpose.

Warfare: Knights would envy or still love their King. New recruits would have the intentions of having the chance to claim the sword, see the sword often for the families or intend to destroy it.

Technology: Kingdoms and blacksmiths would do their upmost to replicate or figure out how to make another.

Answer 11

Unlike other answers, I do believe that the lightsaber would make a big difference in battles.

Knights were the tanks of their time. They were trained since childhood, equipped with horses and armour that took the taxes of entire villages to pay for and were as close to invulnerable as you could get with medieval technology. It depends on the exact time period, of course, but before the invention of the longbow and the crossbow, there was no handheld ranged weapon that could kill a knight, except by extreme luck.

A fighter who can finish off a knight in one single blow, and can do that again and again, could easily cause a panic among the enemy ranks, turning the battle. Do not forget that morale and psychology are often more important in battles than weapons and armor.

Yes, in theory 100 men will always defeat 1 man by sheer numbers. In reality, however, if that one man can kill you and both the people to your left and right with a single swing - are you really going to rush him first?

Taking down the heavily armored knights with an ease that seems magical will have an effect on the battle that goes well beyond the purely mechanical.

The same goes for the other effects. The king already set the stage with the godly wish and the "sword of power" thing. You have here a genuinely magical artifact that no wisdom of the medieval world can even begin to explain. I would not underestimate the effect that it could have, provided someone plays his cards right.