The staple for the medieval period weaponry and symbol of class is the classic sword. Different civilizations have made their own take on swords, changes its design are obvious at each one studied in the world. However, the basic makes of swords always came down to whether it was 1 sided or 2 sided cutting edges and if it was straight or curved, (McDonald, 2010). The most commonly known sword today is what is known as the arming sword. The arming sword was anywhere from 30-32 inches long and were used by many knights throughout medieval history. The longsword was also a favorite for the medieval infantryman for being a powerful and versatile weapon. Its long blade up to 42 inches and long hilt and blade guard, the longsword was often used as …show more content…
Along with the sword, there are many different variations of the bow, from long to short, various bow strengths and material makes. The two parts of the bow were the bow body and its string. The sting from the bow was usually made with fibers of plants that were strong and non-elastic, such as hemp, (Alchin, 2018). The make of the arrow and the design it has can also affect its usefulness in battle. An obvious example of differing design is the longbow and crossbow used in the armies of Medieval Western Europe. These longbows were made up to 6 feet long and were made with a variety of woods from oaks to ash, (Kaiser, 1976). Crossbows were also a projectile type weapon that was used during this period. A form of composite bow, it was used along with shorter and stockier versions of arrows, called bolts. Made by combining both wood and iron pieces, the crossbow could achieve higher draw strengths than the normal longbow, thus proving to be a dangerous weapon against knights in heavy …show more content…
While most siege weapons shared the same objective, throwing a massive projectile at someone or something, they came in various shapes and sizes, with different types of material being tossed. Counterweight trebuchets, onagers and mangonels, and ballista are some of the most common ones used during the medieval period. Most of these projectile siege weapons were made of wood, with many gears and ropes providing the way to transfer momentum with the help of a lever from the counterweights to the projectile. For the counterweight trebuchet, this was exactly the way to go. While the trebuchet was a siege engine good for long distance, it had unfortunate characteristics of being big and therefore hard to move. This was not such a problem for the onager, which was a smaller catapult used in the post roman period. The onager used torsional pressures from twisted rope to fire projectiles from a sling, (McDonald, 2010). The mangonel was a less powerful design that used a fixed bowl to fire its projectiles and had a lower angle of travel for its
Saber a sword was only the Calvary and generally in the beginning of the war were used regularly and to their full extent Saber became marks of ranking later years and were abandoned in favor of efficient weapons.
This is a brief paragraph or two on each of the major siege weapons. For the not just the besiegers but also the defenders. Please note most of these weapons were not used alone and often had many different versions of the same weapon.
According to Chevedden et al., (2002) the Latin word for trebuchet was “ingenium” and those who designed, made and used them were called inginators. These early engineers kept modifying the trebuchet to increase the range and impact force. One of the improvements engineers made was varying the length of the sling ropes so the shot left the machine at a ? angle of 45 degrees to the vertical (shown in the figure above), which produces the longest trajectory (Chevedden et al.,
The arrows used in shooting the longbow were the long and short bodkins. The long bodkin was about four inches tall and three inches wide. These were used for piercing through mail. The long bodkins were not used often because they were expensive to make at around four American dollars to make. Soldiers carried around about 8 of these arrows. The short bodkins were about two inches tall and an inch wide. These arrows were used all the time and were used for piercing through plate armor. These were far less expensive at around four American ce...
In Spain they were master swordsmen that preferred short swords. This is because they are great at close up combat. In Southern Gaul they made great armor and preferred long swords. Mainly because they weren’t afraid of their opponent’s swords penetrating the armor. Nothing really changed in Britain because they fought with chariots.
Catapults are devices used to launch items far distances. One type of catapult that uses a sling and weight to fly items is called a trebuchet. Trebuchets were heavily used in the Medieval Ages as weapons to fling stones toward enemies. A diagram of a trebuchet is shown in Figure I.
A popular ancient Japanese saying states that “The sword is the soul of the warrior.” (Buchanan 120) The warrior in the proverb pertains to the samurai of feudal Japan and the sword refers to their most prominent weapon, the Katana. An ancient blade made through a complicated forging process, the Katana is truly a work of art. Also known as the Japanese long sword or the samurai sword, the Katana is a curved, single-edged blade with ridges along its exterior. It is primarily used as a weapon to cut down or slash its foes (Robinson 28). The ridges along the blade, called the hamon, divides the soft metal components, the shingane, from the hadagane of the hard metal components used to forge the sword to give it its trademark razor sharp edge and flexibility (Turnbull 12). The blade of the Katana is around sixty to seventy centimeters in length and is often likened to the arc of the new moon. With its signature curved edge and its fusion of hard and soft metals, the Katana is considered to be the greatest offensive weapon ever created (O’Neill 114,116). It is a hallmark of Japanese sword history and is a noteworthy aspect of Japanese craftsmanship. The Japanese Katana is an important symbol of Japanese culture whose significance must be asserted.
The first catapult was invented around 400 BC in the Greek Town of Syracuse. The leader of the townspeople, Dionysius the elder orders the research and development of weapons to prepare the colony for a long war with the Carthage, one of the weapons devised is called the Gastraphete, similar to the crossbow but a greater force must be exerted to release of a larger and more powerful projectile. The Greeks were so impressed that they persevered to develop a bigger and more powerful version of the Gastraphete called the ballista. The Romans took inspiration from the Greeks to create their own catapult, within a few years of development, the Romans have successfully created the mangonel as a lighter alternative to the ballista and wheels are added to increase mobility. Unlike the ballista, the mangonel is less accurate although has a superior range and can hurl projectiles weighing up to 200 pounds. The mangonel reached Europe during the medieval era and was used extensively by the French. It was then introduced to England in 1216 when the French besieged Dover. The mangonel was later refined by the French into the first version of the catapu...
In relation to war, the most preferred weapon was the javelin, which could be used for both close combat and long range. The javelin was a highly effective weapon and it ensured that those using it were not easy to defeat. Furthermore, the javelin was often used alongside a shield, which was essential for not only blocking attacks, but also kept the enemy at bay while the javelin was used to strike. 'The horse' was also used but because of having to use both a shield and
The greatest advantage of the early rifles was that the weapon could be mastered in a matter of months, but it could take up to ten years to master the bow. Eventually the muskets overtook the battlefield, replacing t...
Throughout Medieval times in Europe, longbows did not change at all, as they did not need to because they were the best bows at the time, and were as powerful as possible at the time. Crossbows however, hadn’t been commonly used since the 6th and 9th centuries in Scotland, and changed a lot throughout this time period. In the siege of Jerusalem, the crossbowmen had to lie on their backs and use their feet to draw the string back, these weapons were described as being extremely powerful, penetrating the armour of the time. In the 14th century, huge rampart crossbows were used, these weapons could
Long distance weapons were essential to European combat. The main long distance weapons used by Europeans during that time were the longbow and the crossbow. Each form of weaponry had its unique advantages and their pejorative. The long bow (shown in figure 1) was the original form of distance weapons. The term ‘bow’ means to be made from wood, iron or steel. The Welsh, who inhabited England, were the first people to use longbows. Longbows were 6-7 feet long and had a range of 250 yards, and still had the ability to pierce a knight’s armor (Byam 12). A well trained archer could shot 10- 12 arrows in a single minute. Despite these pro’s the longbow had a lot of disadvantages as well. One draw back was only skilled archers, who were costly to train, could use a longbow. Another disadvantage was it didn’t have a ready loaded arrow (Edge 34). The crossbow (shown in figure 2) on the other had been emphatically different. The crossbow had a span of 2-3 feet and could kill a knight on horseback with one shot, because of good aim (Byam 30). Crossbows had ready loaded projectiles, while the longbow didn’t and the crossbow could be used by anyone since it didn’t require any skill. The crossbow did have a down side though, it had slow reloaded because of a crank and it was expensive. Crossbows were also used for other thi...
In this essay, I will uncover the countless insights that can be learned about the characters in Beowulf, as well as the society as a whole, based on the weapons the characters choose to use in battle. During the Anglo-Saxon time, roughly between 400 and 1066, swords were considered the most precious weapon someone could own. Although it is not certain who wrote Beowulf, and when, many people believe it was composed in the middle to end of the Anglo-Saxon period. Analyzing the different weapons, and significance of each, in Beowulf, and comparing them to the weaponry at the time, provides the readers with a great deal of insight into the society during this period. The use of weapons in Beowulf not only provides the readers with insight into
The bow and arrow dates back to thousands of years ago, it is estimated that they were found anywhere from 18,000BC to 25,000BC. They were used all over the world but the first arrowhead was discovered in Africa. There are many kinds of bows, the most common are the longbow and the recurve, there were many different styles created by several cultures during different times in history. In the Stone Ages, drawings discovered in caves illustrated many simple segment bows with many different shapes; flat, paddle-shaped bows were shot by Andaman Islanders. Some bows were made with wood like elm and yew, while others were made with many different materials like animal bones, horns and tendons; this was called the composite bow. The composite bow could either be made of wood and other materials or be made completely from different materials. In China, composite bows were comprised of newly harvested and dried bamboo. Scientists suggest that the bow originated from spear throwers and in between 18,000BC and 25,000BC fire was used to make stone arrowheads harder and feathers were added to make them more accurate.
First, the bows shape has changed greatly throughout the years. When the bow was first thought of the shape of the bow was a solid piece of wood with a string attached to it. These bows would not shoot too far. These were made from almost all types of wood. They were whittled down with knives in early egypt. These bows were called self bows and they were almost completely straight until they were strung. The longbow was also a big bow that helped along with the shape of the bow. It was just like its medieval ancestors. Now bows are made of Aluminum carbon and carbon. some are made of just aluminum also. These bows are super light and very easy to create, but they are also very expensive...