Medieval war weapons-
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Q’S AND A’S:
Crossbows
What sizes do they come in?
Cross bows come in all different sizes, the big ones are good for firing over
castle defence and the small ones are good for castle defence.
How many different types were there?
There are about 10-20 different types of crossbows.
What are the names of the cross bows?
There are lots of different types of crossbows, the names of the main ones are:
Giant Medieval Castle Defence Crossbow
Large Rams Head Crossbow
Maidens Crossbow
Medieval Crossbow
Medieval Gun Crossbow
Slingshot Crossbow
Small Medieval Crossbow
Tower Guards Crossbow
Who used them?
Romans and Normans used crossbows. These Medieval Crossbows were used in
open warfare as well as for hunting.
Were the cross bows effective?
The large crossbow was more powerful than any longbow and whereas the
lighter crossbows were quite effective for use in the field by armor clad
soldiers, the large and giant crossbow were used in the attack and defense of
fortified places such as castles. These giant crossbows were crucial in attack
and were able to shoot a bolt or burning missile with such power to spear a
stone wall.
When was the first crossbow made?
Romans made crossbows as early as the fourth century.
Swords:
How many different types of swords were there?
There are 6 different swords that are most popular and commonly used.
Which one was the strongest sword?
There was no sword that was the strongest; every sword had its own propose.
Who used swords?
Knights and occasionally foot soldiers used swords.
Were they expensive?
It depends on how strong it is and what it is made of.
Were the swords heavy?
Yes, most swords were heavier then they looked.
What are the names of the most commonly used swords and a short
description?
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The Broadsword - The earliest of the Medieval swords from the 6th
Century. The Broadsword had a two-edged blade measuring 2-3 inches
wide at the base and tapering to a point. The length of the Broadsword
ranged from 30 - 45 inches and weighed between 3 - 5 pounds.
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The Falchion Sword - A Falchion sword was favoured by some Medieval
Knights who had been on Crusade. This sword was similar to a heavy
scimitar. The Medieval Falchion swords had a short, heavy blade with a
single edge.
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The Greatsword - The Greatswords were large two-handed swords. The
length of the Greatsword ranged from from 50 to 72 inches, with a
handle that measured 18 - 21 inches in additional length. Greatswords
weighed between 6 - 10 pounds. The Greatsword featured an extended
handle that allowed the blade to be used in two hands.
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The Longsword aka as the Bastardsword - Longswords (Bastardswords)
are also known as Hand and a Half swords. The length of the Longsword
(Bastardsword) ranged from from 44 to 50 inches in length.
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The Scimitar - The scimitar was a type of sword most commonly
associated with the Saracens in the Holy Land who fought against the
Crusaders. Scimitars had a distinct curved blade ending with a sharp
point.
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The Cutting sword - These swords were at first used by early Medieval
Knights and were also particularly favoured by the the Vikings. A slashing
stroke would be used but this became ineffective against heavy body
armour.
Names of different parts of Medieval Swords
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The Blade - The blades of Medieval swords which were used in England
were usually straight with two sharpened edges. The history of Blades
shows that they were first made of Bronze, then iron and culminating in
the steel Medieval swords.
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The Crossguard or Quillion - This was the handle of the sword resembling
the shape of the Christian cross. Expensive to produce and sometimes
covered in precious metals - bronze, silver or gold.
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The Edge - The cutting part of the blade. Medieval swords were designed
to be used for blows directly against the opponent's body or shield and in
the edge to edge style of sword fighting.
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The Forte - The strongest part of the swords blade, nearest the hilt.
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The Fuller - The central shallow on a straight double edged blade - also
referred to as the 'Blood Gutter'!
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The Grip - The hilt of swords held in the hand of the Knight. The Grip was
often made of horn or wood, covered in leather and contoured to fit in
the hand.
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The Hilt - The Hilt is the handle of the sword made up of the crossguard,
grip and the pommel. The personal engravings on the hilt, and its expense,
would often ensure that when a blade was disguarded the hilt would be
re-used.
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The Pommel -The pommel was part of the hilt which acted as a
counterweight to the blade on Medieval swords.
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The Tang - The tang was the unsharpened end of the sword blade covered
by the hilt.
Siege Weapons
How many types were there?
There were 4 different types of siege weapons.
Who used them?
Normal soldiers used them.
Were they effective?
Yes, they were used to take down castle walls and other fortifications.
What was the strongest siege weapon?
The Trebuchet was the strongest siege weapon.
The name and description of Siege Weapons
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The Battering Ram
The Battering Ram and the Bore were used to literally 'batter' down,
pound, punch and shake and drill into castle gates, doors and walls.
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The Ballista - The Ballista was similar to a Giant Crossbow and worked by
using tension.
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The Mangonel - Missiles were launched from a bowl-shaped bucket at the
end of the one giant arm of the Mangonel.
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The Trebuchet - The massive Trebuchet consisted of a lever and a sling
and was capable of hurling stones weighing 200 pounds with a range of up
to about 300 yards.
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The Siege Tower - A siege weapon designed to protect attackers and
their ladders whilst storming a weak area of the castle wall. The tower
was usually rectangular with four wheels and a height equal to that of the
wall, or sometimes even higher.
What was the strongest and most effective weapon?
What is the name of the weapon?
The name of the weapon is the Trebuchet.
What size is the weapon?
It is approximately 20-30 meters in height and can stretch up to 20- 30
meters in length and is 5-10 meters in width.
Who used the weapon?
Normal foot soldiers operate the weapon.
What materials were used to make weapons?
Wooden weapons were usually made of oak or ash, and arrows were made of maple most
metal weapons were made of steel.
Who had what types of weapons?
What Weapons did knights have?
The lance, sword and dagger were used most often by knights.
What weapons did rich people have?
Rich people had guns, in medieval times guns were very expensive as they were just
invented.
What weapons did the middle class people use?
Pole arms Battle Axes, Maces, Billhook, Caltrops, Flail, Halberd, Longbow, Bows,
Crossbow, Pike, Poleaxe, Quarterstaff, Spears, War hammer ,Batons ,Scimitar were
used by the middle class.
What was the most expensive hand held weapons?
The most expensive hand held weapons were small guns. However back then the guns
were very inaccurate and short range. Some types of cross bows were expensive too.
Foot Soldiers
What type of weapons did the foot soldiers use?
Foot soldiers used the middle class weapons and also operated the siege weapons.
What were the names of the weapons?
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Arbalest - This is the correct term for a Medieval Crossbow
Axe - Single and double-handed battle axes
Basilard - A two-edged, long bladed dagger
Bill - A polearm with a wide cutting blade occasionally with spikes and
hooks
Billhook - Capable of killing Knights and their horses
Medieval Bow and Arrow - the most common of all weapons
Caltrop: Sharp spikes on 12 - 18 feet poles used, in formation, to maim a
horse
Crossbow - The crossbow range was 350 – 400 yards but could only be
shot at a rate of 2 bolts per minute
Dagger - A short pointed knife coonly used as weapons
Flail - A jointed weapon consisting of a spiked or knobbed steel head
joined by a chain to a short wood handle
Glaive - A broad-bladed, single-edged polearm similar to a long butchers
knife on a 6 foot pole
Hache - An axe shaped cutting blade on one side and a small hammer head
on the other on a 6 foot pole
Halberd - A broad, short axe blade on a 6 foot pole with a spear point at
the top with a back spike
Hammer - Side-arm for combating armor pointed head
Longbow - The Longbow could pierce armour at ranges of more than 250
yards - a longbowman could release between 10 - 12 arrows per minute
Mace - The Medieval mace was an armor-fighting weapon. The Mace
developed from a steel ball on a wooden handle, to an elaborately spiked
steel war club
Pike - A long spear measuring 18 feet
Poleaxe - Polearm - Polehammer - Bec de Corbin - Bec de Faucon - A group
of pole-mounted weapons. Were all variations of poles measuring 6 feet
long with different 'heads' - spikes, hammers, axe etc
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Quarterstaff - A long, thick pole measuring between 6 - 9 feet
Spear - Used for thrusting
Warhammer - A hammer head on one side and a spike on the other
What weapons did the foot soldiers use the most?
Foot soldiers used a long spear called a pike, a sword and a dagger.
Knights
What type of weapon did a knight use?
A knight used simple sharp metal weapons.
What were the names of the weapons a knight used?
Daggers, Lance, Maces, Flail, Medieval Swords, Broadsword, Falchion sword,
Great sword, Long sword were the weapons a knight used.
What weapons did knights use the most?
Daggers - Short pointed knives
Flail - A jointed weapon consisting of a spiked or knobbed steel head
joined by a chain to a short wood handle.
Maces - Maces developed from a steel ball on a wooden handle, to an
elaborately spiked steel war club.
Lance - A long, strong, spear-like weapon. Designed for use on horseback.
Swords - A variety of different types of swords were used as Knights
weapons.
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