Medieval Warfare, Weapons and Tactics
Advances in weaponry and the more effective use of gunpowder continued. The invention
of the harquebus was a watershed invention in weaponry. The harquebus is also known as
the arquebus or the hackbut. This is a very primitive firearm used between the fifteenth and
seventeenth centuries. The musket is a successor of the harquebus. It was a smooth bore long
firearm. A matchlock is used to fire the harquebus. The matchlock is a device used to “cock”
the weapon and have it ready to fire. It had a long barrel with end flared to make it easier to
load. The fighter with the harquebus was the harquebusier. The harquebusier would brace
the barrel of the gun onto a pole with a forked end when firing.
The use of the harquebus during the battle of Pravia in 1525 where the French knights
were defeated by heavy fire from harquebusiers provided incentive for others to acquire the
harquebus. During the sixteenth century the harquebus began being replaced by the lighter
and more accurate musket.
With large cannons and the lighter harquebus the old aristocratic castles were no longer
sufficient defenses. The role of the medieval cavalry had been fading during the late middle
ages and the power of the aristocracies began to fade too.
Large armies could be devastated with the use of the English longbow and the Swiss pike.
A long bowman could fire 12 arrows per minute which is much faster than a crossbow. The
Swiss pike is a long pole weapon whose primary use was against cavalry assaults. These pikes
had the resemblance of a spear and were typically between 10 and 14 feet long. Steel tips
were added to the end to increase its effectiveness. These pikes would be used in a large
square formation (called a "hedgehog formation) to protect archers and harquebusiers from
cavalry assaults.
Although both of these weapons were effective it was very difficult to amass large armies
with the skills necessary for their effective use. The longbow took years to learn to use
effectively and the Swiss pike required large groups of very well disciplined fighters moving in
complex formations. This is in stark contrast to a soldier who could be trained to effectively
use a firearm in weeks instead of the years of training needed for the longbow and pike.
There was no need to learn marksmanship skills because these early firearms were extremely
inaccurate. Firearms did not take great physical strength and could still annihilate armored
cavalry forces. The harquebus was the first relatively light weight firearm. Even though it had
to be placed on a stand for firing, it could be operated by only one soldier. The advantage for
firearms was that they could inflict a lot of damage over a great distance, but at close
distances the cavalry could annihilate the firearm carrying soldier. The use of pikes to protect
the soldiers with firearms was used for years. Interestingly enough, the bayonet combined
the effective use of the two weapons.
The harquebus gave way to the muskets which were expensive to make and required a
designated infrastructure to produce. The wealth and industrial capacity of a country became
the most important factor in determining its military success. This meant that the trading
nations of Western Europe had a significant advantage over the more agricultural nations.
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The aristocrats who had routinely put down revolts in the past with their cavalry and armies
could now be threatened. These new armies cost a lot of money and required a great deal of
infrastructure to maintain so the countries became more dependent on taxation in order to
maintain their armies. The inaccuracy of the firearms meant that the armies had to be very
large in order to be effective. Since any man could be trained in a very short period of time in
the use of a musket it became easier for a country to rely on the population to enter combat
on its behalf. By today’s standards, these wars were not especially deadly. The lack of good
roads meant the armies moved very slowly. The most common battle tactic was the siege.
The changes and advancements in weaponry made the use of mercenary forces like those
used during the Renaissance obsolete. As the Renaissance era ended, the mercenaries were,
for a short time, used for training and administration of the armies and the infrastructure.
These tasks were eventually taken over by the state with centralized administration. Some
people believe the bureaucracy of today is an outgrowth of the centralized administration of
the huge armies and the required infrastructure necessary for its support started during the
Renaissance.
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Exhibit A: Medieval Warfare
Exhibit B: Medieval Warfare
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Timeline Renaissance Warfare
1337-1453:
Hundred Years' War
Saw England and France battle for the French throne. The Hundred Years' War saw the
rise of the longbow and the decline of the mounted knight. Helping to launch the concepts
of English and French nationalism, the war also saw the erosion of the feudal system.
1453:
Battle of Castillon:
English driven from France; End of the 100 Years War
Turks capture Constantinople and kill Emperor Constantine XI, end of the
Byzantine Empire
1455-1487:
Wars of the Roses:
England: The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars fought in medieval England
from 1455 to 1487 between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The name Wars
of the Roses is based on the badges used by the two sides, the red rose for the Lancastrians
and the white rose for the Yorkists. Major causes of the conflict include:
1) Both houses were direct descendants of King Edward III
2) The ruling Lancastrian king, Henry VI, surrounded himself with unpopular nobles
3) The civil unrest of much of the population
4) The availability of many powerful lords with their own private armies
5) the untimely episodes of mental illness by king Henry VI.
1477:
Death of Charles the Bold (last duke of Burgundy) in Battle of Nancy: Burgundy becomes
part of the Austrian Empire. Rise of the Swiss as European mercenary armies.
1485:
Battle of Bosworth, death of Richard III, Wars of the Roses ends.
Accession of Henry VII the first Tudor monarch.
1491-1492:
Siege of Granada: Christian Spanish capture Granada in Spain from Muslims
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1515:
Battle of Marignano: A milestone battle which showed the cannon and gun to be more
powerful than the pike and the sword. The Swiss mercenary troops, the best in Europe,
were defeated by French guns.
1529:
Turkish Siege of Vienna: The Ottoman threat to Europe is exposed
1562-1598:
Huguenot Wars: wars of religion in France
The Huguenot were the Protestants of France. The massacre of Huguenots at Vassy in
1562 began the Wars of Religion between the Catholics under the leadership of the Duke of
Guise and the Huguenots under the leadership of Prince de Conde and the King of
Navarre. After both, the king of France and the Duke of Guise were assassinated Henry of
Navarre, a Protestant, became the legitimate heir to the throne. In order to pacify the
nation Henry converted to the Catholic faith uttering the words: 'Paris is well worth a
mass'. In 1598 the new king promulgated the Edict of Nantes, which granted the
Huguenots their religious and political freedom.
1568-1648:
Dutch Wars of Independence:
The Netherlands win their independence from the Spanish Empire. Allowing them to
become the strongest colonial power in Europe and a stronghold of Protestants.
1588:
English defeat Spanish Armada, under Queen Elizabeth I
1600:
Signals the end of the Renaissance, the Baroque period begins
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