Realistically, as romantic as swords are, a battle would probably include military weapon. That could be a longbow or a polearm. If you were fighting a plate armored opponent, you’d probably want a warhammer or something similar that could be effective against plate.
As for armor, depends on your weapon and who you’re fighting. If you’re fighting a bunch of peasants armed with sticks and you’ve got a longbow, then you probably want to stay light. Chain mail would probably be overkill. If you’re going up against someone who is armored, you kinda want to fight fire with fire and be sure to have the best protection you can get too.
Another question is about whether you’re mounted or not. Being on a horse changes battle dynamics a lot. In antiquity, horses weren’t bred that could carry an armored rider. That came a lot later.
Really depends who you’re fighting.
Realistically, as romantic as swords are, a battle would probably include military weapon. That could be a longbow or a polearm. If you were fighting a plate armored opponent, you’d probably want a warhammer or something similar that could be effective against plate.
As for armor, depends on your weapon and who you’re fighting. If you’re fighting a bunch of peasants armed with sticks and you’ve got a longbow, then you probably want to stay light. Chain mail would probably be overkill. If you’re going up against someone who is armored, you kinda want to fight fire with fire and be sure to have the best protection you can get too.
Another question is about whether you’re mounted or not. Being on a horse changes battle dynamics a lot. In antiquity, horses weren’t bred that could carry an armored rider. That came a lot later.