Originally Posted by
TouchandFeel
I don't see how it is wrong at all, sword and shield fits exactly to the origins of the idea of the Paladin.
If you go back to the origin of Paladin as a title, they were the inner cadre of knights for Charlemagne and were known to carry swords. They were highly romanticized with tales written about their deeds, much like Arthurian legend. The most notable of the Paladins, Roland, even carried a famous sword that may have a familiar name to fans of the FF series, Durandal.
Later when the idea of Paladin was formulated in modern Western fantasy, it pulled a great deal of inspiration from the knight in shining armor trope with Arthurian legend being the biggest source of inspiration. The whole idea of Paladins being able to heal, such as the ability Lay On Hands from D&D, comes directly from Arthurian legend in which Galahad is able to heal King Pelles by touching his wound. As is common knowledge, or at least I hope, the sword was the iconic weapon of the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend.
Even from a purely historical perspective, swords we're seen as weapons of nobility due to the cost of making one compared to other arms and so they became associated with those of higher societal standing and becoming a symbol of knighthood.