Weapons of the Middle Ages

Weapons used during the Middle Ages are not like common weapons used today. Most required skill, strength and training in order to use them. The most common types of medieval warriors were knights, archers and foot soldiers, with the latter two considered lower than the knights. Keep reading to learn about the weapons of the middle ages employed by these medieval warriors.

Hand to hand combat - foot soldiers

There were numerous weapons that foot soldiers were trained to use. Most of these weapons are seen in popular movies like Braveheart and Robin Hood. The mace was a simple but powerful weapon. It was made of a wooden or metal handle with a heavy ball of wood or stone attached to the end by a chain. Depending on the length, foot soldiers could even knock knights off their horses and seriously compromise their armor.

Terror in the skies - archers

Archers were very important aspects of medieval was as they could attack from great distances with arrows. Archers also sometimes doubled as foot soldiers. Weapons of choice for archers were cross bows, long bows and short bows. Although the cross bow was one of the deadliest, it also took the longest time to load. The long bow was not as deadly as the cross bow, but it was lighter to carry and faster to use. The traditional bow and arrow was also common; however, the arrows would normally bounce off armor or were pulled easily from the flesh.

Knights in shining armor

Knights typically fought on horseback and used long weapons like swords and lances. These medieval warriors were also provided with heavy shields to protect themselves. The knights typically had to fight less harsh battles than other soldiers.

Weapons in the middle ages required specific skills, training and endurance for proper use during battle. Foot soldiers, archers and knights utilized the weapons discussed above as they entered into battles that were literally a matter of life and death based on skill levels with respect to the use of these weapons as well as the weapons they chose to employ.