The Great Weapons and Warfare of the Middle Ages

By: Jahmari David

During the Middle Ages, life was great and thriving. Many new technological and economical changes had occurred during this time period and allowed for humans to do tasks more efficiently. One of their technological advances was in the warfare category. This allowed for armies to have an increase in power and advantages over others.

The Beginnings of a Knight

One of the troops that armies usually had were knights. The knight’s needed many years of training in order to fully be prepared for any wars that may have happened. They would first be sent to live at a

home of a relative or neighboring knight at age seven and served as a page (who ran errands for the knight). In return, the training page’s would learn the first steps of becoming a knight by practicing fighting, using wooden swords, learning to wrestle, and riding horses. If they had additional training they could also practice jousting. At age fourteen, they would be sent to another place to become a squire. The training squires would help the knights put on their armor before going to battle and would assist him if injured or unhorsed. Along with doing this they would train for many hours developing their sword and jousting skills. Only then, at the age of twenty-one would the squires be able to become a knight and had to go through a ceremony of purification that would last about 24 hours.

The Melee Weapons Used

Because knights were extremely skilled in melee warfare they had often used swords. Early swords were created with bronze which made them easy to make.A little later, this swords would now be made with iron and would allow them to be more durable and stronger than before. They were being made with a process known as pattern-welding, which is when blacksmiths would layer hard and soft iron rods over each and twisting and hammer them. During this time, swords were typical 3 feet long and were double edged to be able to cut and slash through chainmail, which was the main armor in the beginning of the Middle Ages. When plate armor was developed, swords had to be sharper with a sloping point and since plate armor didn’t necessarily need shields, sword length was increased to 4 and 5 feet. Another weapon that other common troops used was the axe. It was used as a cutting

weapon and was able to penetrate through armor plates and shields. It could easily cut off an enemy's arm or head in one slash. These weapons were able to be thrown and were placed on a short handle of wood or a long shaft. Another variant was the mace which had a blunt, heavy head on the end of the shaft. It was made of stone, iron, or bronze and had a shaft of wood or metal. It was able to be used on horseback and/or by foot soldiers.

The Ranged Weapons Used

For some troops however, using ranged weapons made it easier to mow down troops from a

distance with relative safety. One of these weapons was called the longbow. They were able to be shot quicker than crossbows or any of the guns used during the time. But, using the crossbow was easier to use and operate. It had a trigger and needed very little skill to operate. They were less accurate than the bows but were very strong. A usual weapon of the time period was the hand cannon. It was the first effective firearm in history and had a range of about 50 to 300 meters. It was able to be operated by one person, but needed at least two people to load it.

The Siege Weapons Used

When troops would attempt to raid or take over a castle, it was often difficult to raid it by force. This is where siege weapons came in. It made invading into castles easier and more effective. Ballistas were often used in battle. They were basically extremely large crossbows that fire a large bolt. They

had been used before the middle ages by the Ancient Greek and used during the Roman Empire. It had

become obsolete when the trebuchet was invented. Another effective siege weapon was the battering ram. It was used to destroy and break through fortifications of castles and any other encampments. While it was effective it did make the people using it vulnerable to arrows. In later models, wheels were added to increase momentum and force and canopies were also added to help protect them. They would also often have catapults in the background. They were used to launch projectiles over long distances and destroyed defenses. They were able to fire over castle walls and could fire projectiles as needed. But as the advancing troops would often struggle in invading the castles, the invention and use of siege towers helped fix this issue. They were large wooden towers on

a frame and allowed for them to climb from the inside an avoid arrows being shot from above. They had a drawback as they often had to be created on scene and were prone to fire. But the trebuchet was very unique. It was a type of catapult and launched projectiles by using a large swinging arm. There were a few other variations, but all had the same operation of being used and had became obsolete with the invention of gunpowder.

The Middle Ages were a time period that had allowed for these weapons to thrive and allowed for the battlefield to always be changing. As time went on, new weapons and inventions were created making these weapons have little to no purpose or having to be used for other things. These weapons should be recognized for the ease they had created for the armies they served and the battles won with them.

Research Sources

Hilliam, Paul. The Library of the Middle Ages: Medieval Weapons and Warfare: Armies and Combat in Medieval Times. Rosen Central, 2004. (book)

www.historyforkids.net/medieval-weapons.html “Medieval Weapons - The Middle Ages - Facts for Kids.” History for Kids,

“Medieval Siege Weapons.” History Crunch - History Articles, Summaries, Biographies, Resources and More, www.historycrunch.com/medieval-siege-weapons.html.

Image Sources

“Sword Vector Medieval Weapons of Knight.” Sword Vector Medieval Weapons of Knight, 2018, graphicriver.net/item/sword-vector-medieval-weapons-of-knight/22296421.

Rowe, Richard. “The Most Devastatingly Effective Siege Weapons of All Time .” The Most Devastatingly Effective Siege Weapons of All Time , www.ranker.com/list/siege-weapons/richard-rowe.

“Accolade.” Accolade, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accolade.

“Deepeeka Medieval Crossbow.” Deepeeka Medieval Crossbow, www.amazon.com/Deepeeka-Medieval-Crossbow/dp/B076CQRJ78.

“Have You Ever Wondered How a Medieval Battle Ended?” Have You Ever Wondered How a Medieval Battle Ended?, 2017, about-history.com/have-you-ever-wondered-how-did-a-medieval-battle-end/.