A knight’s life was largely spent learning how to use various firearms. In this article, we will take a look at some of the more prevalent weapons used during the Middle Ages.
The reign of the knights lasted for hundreds of years, and during that time there was a great deal of innovation in the kind of weaponry they employed. Modernizations in metalworking and weaponry contributed to this shift. During this time, advancements in armor forced the development of superior firearms. The introduction of plate armor was a major step forward. To counteract this new form of protection, many of the knight’s conventional weapons like captain america shield had to be redesigned. Hammer-like or penetrating blows were often used in place of or in addition to slicing and bladed weapons. The introduction of gunpowder in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries marked a turning point in the evolution of hand weapons that had been steadily progressing for centuries prior. Some of the more prevalent weapons used during this period are discussed in this article.
Single-handed and polearm weapons constituted the bulk of a knight’s arsenal before the invention of gunpowder (two-handed). The sword is the most well-known and widely-used weapon that requires only one hand. And technological progress benefited it. They evolved through the centuries to become longer, sharper, lighter, and stronger. Even as other hand weapons fell out of use, a knight’s sword remained an essential part of his armament because of the prestige it represented.
The mace was another one-handed weapon used by knights; it had a ball at the end of a short handle and was used for hitting. The ball was sometimes armed with spikes or flanges that might break through an opponent’s armor. Another common weapon was the flail, which had a short handle and a chain leading up to a ball or flail head. This ball on a chain could create tremendous force when swung, and more significantly, it could be swung over an opponent’s shield. Another common weapon was the Warhammer, which evolved from the blacksmith’s hammer. One end was flat and used for striking, and the other end had a piercing beak that could penetrate armor; this weapon was widely employed, especially in the first few centuries of medieval warfare.
When mounted on their horses, knights frequently utilized polearms, which were long-handled weapons. They averaged around six feet in length but might grow to be as long as twelve or sixteen. When mounted on a horse, a polearm’s primary strength was its range. It could be used to deal damage to an opponent before he draws his weapon. There were numerous other kinds, but the lance, which is still used in modern jousting tournaments, was by far the most prevalent polearm. The lance was a potent and feared weapon used to disperse opposing foot soldiers. Alternative polearms were often modified hand weapons put on the end of a long pole. The poleaxe and the halberd are two such axes that were designed to pierce armor, the former having a hammer or axe blade down one side and the latter with a point at the very tip.
While knights did employ a wide variety of weaponry, there were also some that they flat-out refused to use. The rules of chivalry and the comprehensive code of behavior that came with knighthood dictated the types of weapons they may use. The bow, the crossbow, and the dagger were the three most common weapons that were not used by them. It was seen as unladylike to wield a bow or crossbow in battle, thus they were banned. The dagger’s stealthy, concealed nature earned it a reputation as a dishonorable weapon, and this stigma persisted even after the dagger’s occasional usage as a weapon began around the end of the Middle Ages.
Throughout the Middle Ages, knightly weaponry altered and evolved in response to developments in blacksmithing, engineering, armor, fighting techniques, and even the code of chivalry. There were only a handful of weapons that had stood the test of time on the battlefield despite the dozens of variants that had come and gone over the years.
