Could Styr defeat an average Westerosi knight in single combat?

[Oakhearts head]

While the Free Folk are generally regarded as untrained savages, the Thenns are the exception to the rule. Thenns are still known to be brutal fighters, they are a breed apart due to their discipline in comparison to other Wildling cultures and a feudal system similar to that of the rest of Westeros. They forge their own arms and armor of bronze instead of pilfering from others. The Magnar of Thenn is essentially viewed as a god in Thenn society.

As far as I know, we never see Styr or any other Thenn fight a well-trained knight on page in the books. Also, while better equipped than your average Wildling, bronze does not really compare to a knight in full plate armor. So, there is that aspect to consider, but there is something to be said for being a born-and-bred warrior and literally growing up in a warrior culture, as opposed to simply being a noble with proper training. Knights are trained to deal with opponents larger than themselves, though it his hard to contend with a bigger man who is considerably more experienced in real battle. Consider also that Styr is a huge man that was literally chosen as the leader of an incredibly hard civilization. Styr would be reasonably equipped while having the strength and reach advantage over most of his opponents.

So, for the example, as per usual I'm going to use Meryn Trant. Occasionally there is a small contingent who take exception in using Trant as an example, but frankly there are multiple instances in the books where Trant is mocked for his middling skill level and is generally used as an example for how the Kingsguard has fallen. Sure, he is likely more competent than Boros Blount, but 'adequate' is the adjective used to describe Trant's ability at least a small handful of times in the books. So, with that in mind...

 

The Magnar of Thenn, Styr vs. Ser Meryn Trant.

The conditions are :

- Trant is in full plate armour and is wielding a longsword and shield.
- Styr is in his traditional bronze scale armor and helm and equipped with his bronze weirwood spear and shield.
- The fight takes place on foot in a neutral setting.

How would Styr's size, equipment and overall mindset stack up against a well-trained knight?

[Lion of the West]

You realize that you are asking for a Bronze Age warrior to go up against a Late Medieval knight? The only thing that can save Styr in this is a Plot Armour and a Hammer of Author Intervention. In all, I don't think that Styr will stand a chance barring some miracalous mistake by Trant. Such as removing his helmet in the middle of the fight, or something like it.

[Oakhearts head]

11 minutes ago, LionoftheWest said:

You realize that you are asking for a Bronze Age warrior to go up against a Late Medieval knight? The only thing that can save Styr in this is a Plot Armour and a Hammer of Author Intervention. In all, I don't think that Styr will stand a chance barring some miracalous mistake by Trant. Such as removing his helmet in the middle of the fight, or something like it.

I'm sorry, but how do you think the fight would go specifically? I missed that part.

[Universal Sword Donor]

2 minutes ago, Oakhearts head said:

I'm sorry, but how do you think the fight would go specifically? I missed that part.

Wouldn't go well. He has a bronze spear against plate armor and a steel sword. It'd be the opposite of the Ser Vardis/Bronn duel. Remember when the IB under Asha cut down a ton of Northern mountain clansmen? It'd be like that, except quicker.

[Lemon of Lemonwood]

1 hour ago, LionoftheWest said:

You realize that you are asking for a Bronze Age warrior to go up against a Late Medieval knight? The only thing that can save Styr in this is a Plot Armour and a Hammer of Author Intervention. In all, I don't think that Styr will stand a chance barring some miracalous mistake by Trant. Such as removing his helmet in the middle of the fight, or something like it.

On a first glance I would say so myself, but let's keep in mind that Andals did loose battles against First Men when they landed, especially in the North, which means that bronze against steel can be effective sometimes.

The Thenns have probably the most similar equipment and fighting style to that of the original First Men. The Knights though, are a bit less clear, since we don't know if their armor during the Invasion was chainmail or was proper plate armor. However, even if the current average knight wore plate, as the fight between the Mountain and Oberyn Martell taught us, armors have weak points, especially at the foot joints, so it is possible for a lucky spear thrust to injure the knight's knee and bring him down, after which he becomes much more vulnerable.

Another question is where would the fight take place. On a dry and flat plain down in the south the knight is benefited by the spacious surroundings and able to easily swing his arms and get a decent range. On a rough and potentially snowy and forested terrain in the North, though, particularly above the Wall, Styr gets the advantage of the rough terrain he is accustomed to.

[Lion of the West]

5 hours ago, Oakhearts head said:

I'm sorry, but how do you think the fight would go specifically? I missed that part.

Forgive me, I thought I had that part covered. My simple belief is that Trant will kill Styr and feed his corpse to the ravens, vwithout Styr having much of a chance.

3 hours ago, Lemon of Lemonwood said:

On a first glance I would say so myself, but let's keep in mind that Andals did loose battles against First Men when they landed, especially in the North, which means that bronze against steel can be effective sometimes.

The Thenns have probably the most similar equipment and fighting style to that of the original First Men. The Knights though, are a bit less clear, since we don't know if their armor during the Invasion was chainmail or was proper plate armor. However, even if the current average knight wore plate, as the fight between the Mountain and Oberyn Martell taught us, armors have weak points, especially at the foot joints, so it is possible for a lucky spear thrust to injure the knight's knee and bring him down, after which he becomes much more vulnerable.

Another question is where would the fight take place. On a dry and flat plain down in the south the knight is benefited by the spacious surroundings and able to easily swing his arms and get a decent range. On a rough and potentially snowy and forested terrain in the North, though, particularly above the Wall, Styr gets the advantage of the rough terrain he is accustomed to.

While true that the Andals didn't get many successes in Westeros, in fact they went from losing battles to being butchered in droves in Hot Shots-style, I would think that the Andals at that point didn't have plate but rather mail. Given the seeming historical inspiration from the Anglo-Saxon immigration I would say that the Andals probably had early medieval levels of arms. But this is of course nothing but a guess from my side.

But while you mention Oberyn, I don't think that Styr is another Oberyn, and if he is reliant on a lucky strike, then he is in effect doomed because Trant won't need a luck strike to take down Styr, an ok hit would, again to my knowledge, be enough to take out Styr or leave him wounded and the fight even more tipped to Trant's advantage.

So like I said in my original post, only Plot Armour and the Hammer of Author's Favor could help Styr get out of this one.

[KnightTime]

Bronze is not so inferior to iron... problem with bronze swords is that they tend to bend and needs straightening during fights.

a spear reaches further than swords. And knights armor isn't 100%. 

[Goldhands]

Man, leave Meryn Trant alone, he fought enough for now.

[Oakhearts head]

7 hours ago, LionoftheWest said:

Forgive me, I thought I had that part covered. My simple belief is that Trant will kill Styr and feed his corpse to the ravens, vwithout Styr having much of a chance.

Which would be fine, aside from the fact that for whatever reason you felt it necessary to post a condescending response, in both your initial post and the one I'm responding to at present when 

A. I don't have a horse in this race, I'm basically just curious.
B. There are others in this thread with different opinions to you that have responded with something more substantial.

Tl;dr: don't be a dick.

7 hours ago, Goldhands said:

Man, leave Meryn Trant alone, he fought enough for now.

Trant is just the easiest example to use for an "average knight" so ends up being my go-to. 

[Bironic]

1 hour ago, Oakhearts head said:

Trant is just the easiest example to use for an "average knight" so ends up being my go-to. 

Trant is bad for a KG knight. But he is still a KG, which means that he has more time for training, better sparring partners and coaches and better equipment than the average knight. Average knight is something like a landed knight in the province, not KG in the capital.

IMHO trant wins because he has better equipment.

[Lion of the West]

6 hours ago, Oakhearts head said:

Which would be fine, aside from the fact that for whatever reason you felt it necessary to post a condescending response, in both your initial post and the one I'm responding to at present when 

A. I don't have a horse in this race, I'm basically just curious.
B. There are others in this thread with different opinions to you that have responded with something more substantial.

Tl;dr: don't be a dick.

Trant is just the easiest example to use for an "average knight" so ends up being my go-to. 

It wasn't my intention to be condescending. If that is how I came across then I apologize for it.

[Zoo_Dane]

I think using Oberyn vs. The Mountain isn't a very good analogy for Styr vs Trant. Barristan the Bold vs. Khrazz in my opinion is an exact parallel of how a Styr vs Trant fight would go.  

 

Oberyn was using a spear fitting of a prince, meaning the best spear money can buy. Styr is using a bronze weapon which, as someone pointed out above, will often bend during fighting.

Oberyn also lives in Westeros and has experience fighting against men in full plate. Styr does not. Styr likely has only fought against the "untrained savages" of the Free Folk and poorly trained NW in armour no where near that of plate. 

Oberyn approached his fight intelligently. He had experience and had a plan. Enrage and tire out his opponent. Stay at a distance and strike the vulnerable points. As you said, the Magnar of Thenn is regarded as a god, I don't think much fear/respect of opponents will have room in Styrs mind. Styr will likely approach the fight as if he's already won... Until he realizes he's lost. 

So with a much inferior weapon (bronze), armour which won't be very helpful vs steel, no experience against a fully armoured knight, and a whole lot of overconfidence, I think Styr would lose rather quickly and decisively. 

I think Barristan vs. Khrazz is an excellent example of the type of fight I would expect. Khrazz has  height/reach/strength advantage over Barristand as you noted for Styr vs Trant. Obviously Trant won't have the skill of Ser Grandfather and Styr will have a less savage style as Khrazz. But I think the weapon, armour, knowledge vs Knights, height/reach advantages, and confidence are all almost exact parallels. Trant allows his armour to do all the work and waits for a mistake.