melees

Melees refer to close-quarters combat in which participants engage at short range using hand-held weapons or bare hands. The term, derived from the French mêlée, originally described a mixed, crowded engagement within a battlefield.

In military history, a melee denotes the portion of battle fought at close quarters, often under armored conditions, and frequently accompanied by shield use and infantry maneuvers such as lines, wedges, or shield walls.

In contemporary usage, melees also describe chaotic exchanges among multiple combatants, not just a single duelist. In sports and games, a melee is a close-range confrontation involving several fighters simultaneously, such as in some historical martial arts demonstrations or in team-based video games.

Melee weapons include swords, axes, maces, clubs, daggers, spears, and polearms, as well as improvised weapons. Protection has varied from leather and plate armor to shields and modern protective gear. Tactics emphasize terrain, formation, gear balance, and the management of multiple opponents, with common principles including creating space, pressuring weaker targets, and exploiting openings.

Today, the concept appears in history books, reenactment communities, martial arts curricula, and digital games. While melees remain a feature of real-world combat in certain contexts, they are most frequently encountered in fiction, sport simulations, and strategy discussions rather than as the sole basis of warfare.