Middle ages; Battle and Equipment
Jack Helberg
2/13/13
Period 3
Battle in the middle ages was brutal and extremely violent. The warriors in
the battles were known as knights. Foot soldiers and archers accompanied the
knights into battle; they also were peasants who fought for money. The long-range
weapons used by archers during this time were the longbow and the crossbow. The
crossbow took longer to reload than the longbow but it could pierce a knight’s thick
armor better than a longbow could. The knight’s armor was made of layers of chain
mail a series of metal rings all hooked together. On top of that they wore thick iron
plates covering almost their entire body. The knights were mostly nobles or upper
class people. When a knight went to battle, he rode on a horse and carried a sword
and shield. Most knights were men and so were the other fighters. The knight’s
armor was very heavy and cumbersome so once they reached their target they set
up catapults and hurled rocks at the enemy castle. They also hurled decapitated
heads and dead animals to spread disease. Once the siege has begun they would use
scaling ladders to climb up the walls and secure the castle. These few items and
apparel helped the middle ages knights and their armies win battles.