Thomas 1

Garrett Thomas
Thompson/Period B5
October 10, 2014
Weapons of the Middle Ages

Thomas 2

The Middle Ages was full of innovation of weapons and armor. Each weapon in the
medieval era was created to perform a unique task making it different from all other weapons.
Weapons implemented by armies ranged from farming tools, construction tools, to weapons
created for strategic place and use.
The arming sword was developed in the 11th century and was the standard one handed
sword of any given army. It is a different sword for each army but all have similar
characteristics. The blades are generally in between two and three feet long and were always
double edged and straight. The straightness of the blade made for easy sharpening and allowed
them cut enemy flesh easily. Arming swords were typically used with a shield or buckler
(medievalwarfare.info) to increase the effectiveness of the weapon. European knights
frequently used the arming sword and shield combination while fighting on foot, but favored
other weapons on horseback.
A Falchion is a one handed weapon that was invented in the 11 th century. The blade
designs of falchions varied widely (medivalwarfare.info) from machete like blades to heavy
sabers. Its ability to slash into enemies was similar to traditional swords but far more effective
against armor. Falchions where heavy single edge swords with a slightly curved blade. The
weight of the sword allowed it to damage shields and leave dents in armor giving it a distinct
advantage in combat. It is believed that this weapon was for lower class combatants where a
traditional sword was sign of nobility causing the falchion to be less used.
War hammers were often used by infantry men in place of swords. The war hammer is
a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, the design of which resembles
the hammer (medeivalwarfare.info) but with a spike on the back. They were heavy one

Thomas 3

handed weapons used with shield, or as a polearm to give greater reach. The war hammer was
developed to combat advances in the strength of armor. They are blunt weapons used to leave
massive dents in armor and caused internal damage to the enemy. The spike was added to
penetrate even stronger armor and to grab enemies and their equipment.
A mace can be a one or two handed weapon depending on its weight. The mace is one
of the oldest weapons known to man and could be made by tying rocks to sticks or by finding a
large branch. Medieval maces were designed to injure the enemy through armor and shields.
Their high inertia allows them to break shields or vibrate them enough to break the arm behind
them. The heads of the most basic maces are normally about the same or slightly thicker than
the diameter of the shaft (medivalwarfare.info). The flanged mace was developed later in the
middle ages and to penetrate and crack armor by giving it a diamond shaped head.
A Morning star is a mace with one or more spikes, this allows it to pierce armor with
each blow. It was used by both infantry and cavalry; the horseman's weapon had a shorter
shaft (medievalwarfare.info). Many mistake the flail for being a morning star. Flails are
normally the head of a mace attached to a handle with a chain. Flails were normally a peasants
weapon but was very effective because if the head traveled over a shield it would strike the
enemy either on the back of the head or shoulders.
Axes have been used as tools and weapons since pre-history. The first were made of
stone and used as a tool until used as a weapon. Hafted axes were very common in these times
but were blunt weapons because there was little to no edge. Axes were very popular one
handed and two handed weapons in the early medieval era because of their ability to cut
through armor and split shields. As armor became stronger they grew less popular and scarcer.

Thomas 4

Many axes were made to be thrown The weight of the head and length of the haft would allow
the axe to be thrown with considerable momentum to an effective range of about 12 m (40 ft)
(medievalwarfare.info).
The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft
(medievalwarfare.info). They were very versatile weapons with three different purposes. One
use is to stab at distance with the point and to keep horsemen at bay. The axe portion is used
as an axe to slash into enemy. On the back of the axe there is a knife shaped hook that is used
to pull horseman of their horses.
A Lochaber axe is a version of the halberd with a much larger axe head. The head is
much heavier and longer than the usual halberd. Since the axe was so large it could easily
damage armor and kill an enemy. The hook on the lochaber axe was an actual hook that could
easily pull horsemen to the ground and was also used in climbing walls.
Pikes are the longest pole arms ranging from ten feet to twenty five feet long with a
spike on the end. Pikes were used to call the enemies at a greater distance. The pike men were
almost always the front line. Pike men would stand in front and halberds would be wielded
behind them. When horsemen charged the line, they would separate forming squares. The
horses would naturally run towards the spaces between them and the halberds would pull the
off the horse. If the horses charged the pike men the pikes would kill them. But these
formations rendered them vulnerable to enemy archers and crossbowmen who could shoot
them down with impunity (medievalwarfare.info).
Bills were also another form of halberds that is a simple curved blade. This version was
used as a pole arm and a one handed weapon. The shorter versions were more common in

Thomas 5

India and were useful for pulling at shields. The hook on the bill was not as effective as most
other halberds but many bills were more feared for a spike that protruded from the English bill
used to penetrate armor at a distance.
The spetum was one of the most effective designs of all medieval weapons but was not
widely used. Spetums are swords on poles with curved blades protruding up to a foot in length
out of the bottom of the blade. The long blade on the end was perfect for piercing armor and
traveling clean through the enemy. The curved blades on the side would catch any enemies the
main blade missed causing significant damage. The location of the blades where placed in such
a way that missing a target could be more deadly than hitting them. The side blades easily
removed limbs and even heads from its victims.
Lances were first used in the 3rd century by horsemen and were commonly known as
horsemans spears. A lance is made famous by jousting tournaments between knights. In battle
many lances would have small blades on the end to stab into the enemy. In jousting, the lance
tips would usually be blunt, often spread out like a cup or furniture foot, to provide a wider
impact surface designed to unseat the opposing rider without spearing him through
(medievalwarfare.info). The biggest drawback for lances was the fact that could only be used
once because they broke or were lost in the enemy. Although they were useless after being
used only once, they were still used into WWI by the British army.
Bows are the most common ranged weapon of the medieval era. Many were longbow
measuring six feet in height. The longer bow gave it more power to deliver arrows at a greater
speed than a regular bow. Traditional longbows are made from a single natural piece of wood
(medievalwarfare.info) that was normally a sliver of yew. Recurve bows are bows that, by

Thomas 6

definition, curve away from the archer at the end of yew causing the string to touch the yew.
Recurve bows allow for the same power as a long bow but with a much shorter more mobile
bow.
Crossbows gave soldiers the ability to fight at a distance like an archer without needing
lifelong training. The crossbow is a cheap easy to use weapon that could be built by any army
and given to any soldier. Aiming a cross bow was much simpler than a bow because it had
sights just like that of a modern day gun. Heavy crossbows were used in siege defense and
could penetrate most knights' armor (medievalwarfare.info) and some siege towers.
Slings were weapons used by shepherds and some Spanish and Portuguese troops
during the early medieval ages. It was not used as a military weapon because its purpose was
the same as the more effective bow. Slings threw rocks or lead balls toward the enemy at high
speeds cause blunt force but not enough to damage heavy armor. Projectiles can be slung over
1500 feet (450m) at speeds exceeding 250 miles per hour (400 kph) (slinging.org). Slings
experienced a decline in use as military tactics and technologies improved. Even with all the
advancements made since its invention the sling was still used up until the Spanish war in 1936.
Trebuchets we used to damage the walls of a castle and make entry points for troops to
get in. Most trebuchets consisted of a counter weight attached to a long pole with a sling
extended beneath it. When the weight is released the pole rotates around pulling the sling and
hurling a rock at the castle. Some were called mangonels and the weight was pulled down by a
team of men allowing for better accuracy and could be more easily used against enemy front
lines.

Thomas 7

Many of these weapons were invented long before the Middle Ages and used for long
after. Most weapons were used solely to wound or kill an enemy but some were to remove
them from horses or to destroy castles. Each weapon had its own purpose in an army, yet many
werent weapons when they were invented.

Thomas 8

"The Sling in Medieval Europe" chrisharrison.net. 10 2014

<http://chrisharrison.net/index.php/Research/Sling>.
"Medieval Weapons & Armour" medievalwarfare.info. 10 2014
<http://www.medievalwarfare.info/weapons.htm>.
"Medieval Weapons Glossary" swordsknivesanddaggers.com. 10 2014
<http://www.swordsknivesanddaggers.com/medieval-weapons-glossary.html>.
"Medieval Polearms" weapons-universe.com. 01 2014. 10 2014 <http://www.weaponsuniverse.com/Swords/Medieval_Polearms.shtml>.
Harrison, Chris. "What is a Sling?" slinging.org. 01 2004. 10 2014 <http://slinging.org/>.