FREE ESSAY ON WEAPONS OF MID-EVIL CIVILAZIONS

WEAPONS OF MID-EVIL CIVILAZIONS

The Weapons of Mid-Evil Civilazions Weapons are the tools of today and the death of
tomorrow. At one time all weapons were tools. They were a means of survival amoung a
harsh planet and cruel animals. The age of knights changed the true meaning of these
tools forever. They now possessed the power of life and the power of death. Europe was an
ever-growing bushel of civilizations. These civilizations were always under threat from
other growing civilizations. At this point tools became weapons. Weapons are the tools of
life, and the objects of death.The year is 1232. Somewhere in northern Europe, a Saxon
castle is under attack. In the fields for miles around, thousands of soldiers viciously
fight. Metal strikes metal, arrows strike flesh, rock strikes rock. No matter how good
these soldiers are, weapons will ultimately decide the battle. These weapons can be
divided into three categories. Melee, or hand-to-hand weapons, includes clubs, swords,
daggers, saxes, hand axes, and some spears. Small-scale missile weapons include other
spears, bows and arrows, throwing axes, and crossbows. Siege, or large-scale weapons,
include catapaults and battering rams. Melee weapons were, perhaps, the most important
ones in any medieval battle. The earliest melee weapons were clubs. Existing from
Neanderthal times, these simple thick sticks were quickly replaced by blade weapons
(Tunis 18.) However, some tribes continued to use clubs as throwing weapons. Others gave
clubs to their leaders as batons of command. Still other tribes placed spikes on the ends
of the clubs, turning them into maces. Soon enough, maces evolved into morning stars.
These were much like maces, except there was a chain between the handle and the spiked
head (Gibson 21 #15.) These turned out to be cumbersome, and for the most part,
ineffective, so they were retired to tournaments and torture chambers. Swords quickly
became the most important weapon of medieval times. This weapon was incredibly valuable
to the medieval warrior. Since they were so difficult to make, they were very expensive,
and they were passed down from generation to generation. Once a warrior had a good sword,
he protected it with his life. Swords can be divided into three main parts. They are, in
order of importance, the blade, the hilt, and the scabbard (Tunis 38-40.) The blade of
the sword was usually small and heavy. The average dimensions were 2.25' by 2.3, and the
average weight was 1.5 pounds (Gibson 20.) Until the invention of steel, blades were made
by a very complex process called pattern-welding. With the arrival of steel, the welding
of hard, sharp blades became very easy. The blade was flat, straight, and double-edged.
It had a groove down the middle called a fuller. Romantically, it was called the 'blood-
channel,' but realistically, it was a method for lightening the blade (Nicolle pgA.) The
hilt of the sword is commonly called the grip, but in addition to the grip, the hilt
includes the pommel and the upper and lower guards (upper and lower from the perspective
of the blade being at the bottom). Most hilts can be classified according to three types.
Type one had short, fat guards, an indented grip to make it easy to hold, and a small
flat pommel. Type two had wide guards, a wavy, difficult to hold grip, and a decorative
pommel. Type three had fat guards, a simple, flat grip, and a smooth, round pommel. The
scabbard was the tight case the sword was carried in. Its purpose was not only to protect
the wearer and nearby people from the blade, but also to protect the sword, as swords
were very valuable. The scabbard was made of thin wood slats, bound together with
leather, parchment, linen, or velvet. It also had a fur or linen lining to protect the
sword itself. The scabbard was mounted with metal chaps, with different kinds of mounting
for each of the three kinds of hilt (Clement.) Similar to swords was the elegant dagger.
These miniaturized swords did not become important until the 12th or 13th century, at
which time they became a standard part of any knight's repertoire. The most popular type
of dagger was the rondel dagger. This dagger had a double-edged, tapered blade and a
simple hilt with circular guards. Another popular form of dagger was the ballock knife,
also known in England as the kidney dagger (Clement.) The distinctive feature of this
knife was the hilt. Where grip joined blade, the grip swelled out each side into two
lobes. These acted as a hand-stop (Gibson 20.) All blade weapons may have evolved from
the sax, a short, northern European knife used for combat in close quarters, especially
by the Saxons. In fact, it is believed that the Saxons were named after this weapon
because they used it so much. The Saxon sax was an average of six inches long, and was
inscribed with Runic inscriptions, which were more for identification than for good luck.
In other areas, the sax was usually used for chores on the farm or at home, much as we
use a carving knife today. It would only be used as a weapon when the average man had to
take up arms. The Norse sax was an average of 21 inches long, and was the first sax to
include a hilt. Finally, there was the Frankish sax, which was an average of ten inches
long. A similar weapon to the sax was the ax. This too, was used mainly for domestic
work, rather than combat (Tunis 36.) However, the ax maintained the same basic shape
throughout Europe for hundreds of years, with one exception; Scandinavian axes have a
slight difference from other axes. This is the form of the socket, the hole in the top of
the axe-head through which the haft goes. In the Scandinavian axes there is a sharp
projection in the metal of the axe at each side of the hole whereas in the Frankish one
this projection is at the top of the hole with another similar one at the bottom (Tunis
36.) Some axes were used as throwing weapons. A particular one is the Francisca, a small
axe with a peculiarly shaped shaft and head. The Franks used this axe quite often,
leading to the belief that the Franks were actually named after the Francisca. How ironic
that the entire French civilization was named after a rude little throwing axe. The last
important melee weapon is the spear. This is a long wooden shaft with a sharp metal tip
on the end. There are three types of spears: the throwing spear, or javelin, the
thrusting spear, and the Norse hoggspjot, a hewing spear. The differences between these
are superficial, and in some cases, may only be observed in the way they are used. All
spears ranged from five to eleven feet long, this being the choice of the soldier using
it. Spear fighters need a great deal of agility and speed, to dodge a quick spear. Some
of the best fighters could even grab a javelin in mid-air, turn it around, and throw it
back at the enemy in a fraction of a second. One particularly interesting variety of
javelins is the Angon, used mainly by the Franks and Saxons. The Angon had a barbed head,
causing it to lodge in an enemy's shield or flesh. Normally, a soldier would use his
sword to cut off the shaft of the spear, but the Angon had a long metal neck, making this
impossible. Thus, once an Angon hit a soldier, he would have to drag it along with him,
making him easy prey (Tunis 23-29.) The second class of weapons is that of small-scale
missiles. There are far fewer of these than melee weapons, because the first missile
weapon to be invented, the bow and arrow, remained in effective use all through the
Middle Ages, so no more were invented. When Europeans overcame the cowardice associated
with use of the bow and arrow, it became one of the most important weapons of medieval
times. This is reflected in the poetic nicknames for arrows, such as 'Swift-Flyer,' 'Hail
of Battle,' and 'Corpse-Twigs.' The arrow was an average of two to three feet long, and
was made of four flights bound in with tarred twine. They were often decorated with gold,
and some bore Runic inscriptions or their owners' names (Tunis 59.) The arrowheads, or
piles, as they are correctly called, were long and narrow, and could be barbed or not. As
for the bow, it was an average of five or six feet long, and consisted of a curved piece
of wood and a taut string. In general, bows are very uninteresting, but they are very
important. The only major variation on the bow and arrow was the crossbow, also known as
the arblast. It was made of a short bow set at a right angle to a straight stock, which
held the intricate mechanism that drove the crossbow. A soldier using the crossbow had to
use all his strength to load the crossbow with a quarrel, the crossbow's equivalent of an
arrow. Even though the Pope condemned the crossbow, it still became even more important
in combat than the regular bow and arrow (Gibson 20.) The third and final class of
weapons is large-scale or siege weapons. These were used when attacking an entire castle
or town. One of these is the battering ram, which consists of a long log with a metal
knob or point, hung by ropes from the roof of a movable shed. The shed was covered with
animal hides to protect the operators of the ram from oil and other things dropped by the
defenders. The operators would swing the log back and forth against a city or castle's
wall or gate. Hopefully, the wall or gate would crumble or fall, allowing the attackers
to enter the city (Tunis 31.) Another siege weapon is the catapult. This weapon was used
to propel stones, spears, or darts at or into a city. Technically, though, a catapult is
a weapon to throw arrows or darts, while a ballista is used to throw stones. However,
this distinction has not usually been made since the Middle Ages. Most catapults
propelled the projectile by a release of tension on rope or wooden beams. One type of
catapult, the trebuchet, used a system of counterweights (Tunis 33-34.) The weapons of
the Middle Ages were diverse in appearance and function. From swords, to crossbows, to
catapults, weapons make the battle. The soldiers may be the ones fighting, but without
the swordsmiths and arrowmakers, there is no way to win.Weapons are an intricate part of
history, as well as the future. Weapons of the middle age began to show the signs of
their user and his attitude. While a knight would usually use a sword for a good clean
cut and a quick death, others may use a more painful weapon such as a flail. This causes
great pain with a sure death to come. The Middle Ages were the beginning of a new era in
weaponry and they will continue to influence it today. The knights of the Middle Ages may
have died without realizing that they were not just fighting for a kingdom, but the right
of who they were leaving the future of the world too.