Medieval Weaponry

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Recommended: Small summary explaining medieval weapons

A swordsmith’s goal was to produce a sturdy fighting blade hard enough to hold a fine edge or point, yet was also resilient. He was far more than a blacksmith, who would hammer out or cast common tools from soft iron. A swordsmith had to know how to make steel the harder form of iron that contained little traces of carbon, Steel, or carburized iron, enabled a metal blade to have a far sharper edge and to withstand much greater stress without breaking or staying bent. In order to be both strong and light for striking cuts or thrusts against either hard or soft targets, different sword blades would require not just different lengths and widths but different cross-sections. A swordsmith had to skilfully create these shapes, perhaps in some small …show more content…

The skill required to make a long blade that was flexible enough to use in battle without shattering but hard enough to hold a razor edge was high and only the richer warlords or warriors could afford such a weapon. Most early Medieval warriors made do with spears, with a long knife or ax as a side-arm. This is why so many swords and swordsmiths in early Medieval epics and poems are considered magical and why swords were prized as gifts to warriors in return for service. In the later Medieval period 1000-1500 AD more advanced smithing technology made steel production and sword making progressively cheaper; High-quality blades remained expensive, but by the Fourteenth Century not only could poorer men afford a cheap sword, but some laws required them to own …show more content…

The aim was to create a sturdy sword which was soft enough to hold a fine edge but resilient.
The medieval times were very classist, you showed your wealth not by buying the new apple watch but by having swords and knights that wielded them. At the start of the middle ages around 600 ad swords were for the elite only bought by the rich kings for their knights. after 1000 ad things had changed most poor farmers were even expected to own a sword or a bow.
There were many different types of swords each serving a different purpose in combat and on the market. Ranging from huge swords still wielded by the elite to smaller more affordable blades which led for more people having swords and more people able to be call upon in war time if necessary by the

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