Weapons Innovations of the Medieval Era

By: Lawrence Heller
Submitted: 2007-01-17 10:57:30
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Although many when many people think of the Middle Ages as "The Dark Ages", there were actually many brilliant innovations in the arts, politics, and medieval weapons made during this time.

Everyone knows about medieval swords and daggers, and how they were used in everyday life. There were so many other weapons created and perfected during this time period other than the knight sword. New medieval warfare weapons were created to take down bigger and stronger castles.

If a medieval knight found himself in an equine battle (on horse), he looked to his trusted pole arms for defense and attack. Pole arms are essentially weapons on long poles. One of the most popular are axes medieval weapons or the battle axe. They offer excellent leverage in mid range combat, as well as the versatility to be used as a melee weapon--depending on the length of the handle. Other pole arm weapons were spears and halberds. Both were used primarily to try to throw the enemy from his horse, giving the knight an advantage over his enemy.

Medieval knights and warriors required several different types of weapons during a battle, depending on what sort of combat situation they found themselves in. If they were in close combat with the enemy, they would need a melee weapon. These types of medieval weapons are very effective in close combat because they can be used to attack the enemy repeatedly in quick succession. One of the most deadly of all melee weapons is the mace, or morningstar. Flails were also popular among warriors as deadly medieval chain weapons.

The Middle Ages was also a time of invention. Warriors and builders perfected the already existing trebuchet to create monstrous medieval siege weapons. This is how the catapult came about. Trebuchets before this were very primitive in design and worked alright against the enemy, but the medieval catapult could project higher and further than any trebuchet before.

With all of these innovations in medieval armor and weapons, the Middle Ages was an exciting (if deadly) time period. Through all of the battles and bloody victories, the concept of chivalry and the importance of one's honor stayed prevalent in medieval society.

As with the medieval ages, there was also a time of weapons innovations more recently during the 20th century. Pistols and rifles were around during the time of the Gold Rush and the Old West pistols were slightly more advanced than some. Pistols, rifles, and even swords were around during the Civil War, but they were not improved until the next war. Then, you can see further weapons evolving into sophisticated firearms during WWII.

If you want to see the weapons discussed in this article, please visit A Squared Armory to see these replica medieval weapons.

To read other articles about medieval swords and weaponry by Lawrence Heller and view replica weaponry, please visit our website.

Article source: Expert Articles