Medieval Knight Armor and Weapons

Jake Hanashiro

#8 6A

January 22, 2016

Medieval Knights Research Notes

Armor

chainmail armor

interlocking iron rings

leg and arm pieces are covered by hard leather

early plates in Italy were made of iron

the small skull helmet evolved into a bigger helmet

new helmets introduced in early 1300’s

calvary always dominated because of armor

armor quality deteriorated because of stronger, newer armor

in the early 16th century, armor weighed 25kg

early firearms weren’t able to penetrate a full set of armor

the use of firearms accelerated the growth of armor

a knight's horse was given some armor to protect itself

a horse allowed the knight to see further distances

when muskets were introduced, they could penetrate plate armor

even when the knight’s age ended, many American Civil War soldiers still used steel plate armor

the German cavalry used helmets and armor

many knights used shields

Pole Arms

close combat

effective length

pole weapons were used in calvary

a bayonet is still a pole weapon

quarterstaves

6-7 ft in length

a simple weapon to make

spears

pole weapon

wooden shaft

another material such as obsidian or steel would be fastened to the shaft

a common spearhead design would be a leaf or triangle

most common personal weapon

both ballistic and close quarter

used for thrusting

those designed for throwing are called javelins

the spear continued to be used after the fall of the Roman Empire

considerably longer

evolved into pikes

the spear was still in use during the Renaissance

winged spears

had wings on head

lances

lances are more commonly known as javelins

thrusting spear aka pike

lancers also wore swords

became popular among footmen

used in jousting with blunted tips

Crimean War used lots of lances

pikes

counters cavalry assaults easily

extremely long

hedgehog formation

corseques

three bladed

three grayned staff

Clubs and Maces

simple weapon; weighted ball on chain delivers devastating blows

head made of stone, copper, iron, or steel

cheap

horseman’s picks

Islamic origin

used in the calvary

penetrated armor

war hammers

design resembles a hammer

later had spike on end

spike easily penetrated armor when it hit thin areas

flail

has ball and chain attached to a handle

morning