"A frined of mine told me he was in a re-enactment battle (not even a competitive one) when a single horseman came charging towards him. He said it's the only time he's genuinely routed, even though he knew he was in no actual danger."
I think there's a difference between this and the sword charge vs. spear and shield wall thing.
The SCA's success in sword charge vs. shield wall relies, unless I'm mistaken, upon "Sure, what the hell, I'll charge flat out." You know beforehand that it's going to happen, you know beforehand that you're not going to get seriously hurt (let alone die), you get yourself psyched up to do it beforehand, there are no surprises, you know beforehand that in a couple of hours you'll be yapping about it to a buddy over a beer, and there's no reason for you not to do this thing which, were those actual spears, would seem appropriate for a kamikaze pilot.
On the other hand, suddenly being charged by a horse has got to be a primally frightening thing, regardless of the context. You typically don't think about how big and powerful horses are, but then all of a sudden there's an undeniably big and powerful thing up close and personal, charging REALLY fast right at you.
So, I can easily see how battlefield scariness carries over to the SCA in one situation, but not the other.
Bob Vesterman.
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