Military Weapons In The Middle Ages

Humanities Essay Term 1

The Middle Ages was the time period between the 5th and 16th centuries, and was a time of great change in the subject of military technology and tactics. There was substantial development of castles/tactics to attack them, military weapons, and defensive utilities over the course of the Medieval Era. Numerous things evolved throughout the Middle Ages, which would change the course of warfare in the years to come.

Castles were huge fortresses which were introduced in England after the elusive Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Norman invasion. As they developed in size and defense, ways of overcoming them adapted to those changes. The first castles built after the invasion were Motte and Bailey castles, which were very

Swords and other melee weapons were highly used throughout all the Medieval Era. The increase of skill and better use of materials in the work of a blacksmith progressed swords and their efficiency. Bows were also a huge part of medieval warfare, which originated from, and were used in, the later centuries. Furthermore, ranged weapons were critical for many battles. Charles Martel, the leader of the Frankish soldiers at the Battle of Tours in 732 AD is shown carrying a simple mace (Charles Martel in full armor). Records of the battle show no use of ranged weapons, only melee weapons. The Battle of Agincourt was a major battle in 1415 AD between England and France. English archers, who wielded innovative longbows, were the ones who won this decisive victory for the outnumbered English army. Moreover, the swords were sharper, thinner and sleeker than previous versions (Payne). This clearly shows how ranged and melee weapons developed to become more effective and useful. After the age of cold weapons, a game-changing innovation came about. Gunpowder spread across Europe, and soon cold weapons were in the shadow of firearms. Weapons flourished in improvement over the Middle

As armour developed, weapons developed with it, and this was called an arms race. The protection of soldiers in the early Middle Ages was mainly wood and animal hide, but soon thereafter, chainmail took the world by storm. From the 5th to the 14th century, chainmail was highly used and very common. From the 12th to the 14th century, several materials and metals were added to the chainmail chest piece, to make it thicker. This eventually led to plate armour, which expanded upon other parts of the body. Development in metal working skills led to stronger pieces of armor plates. Soon plate armour covered the entire body, and the 15th century was the pinnacle of medieval armour, which revolved around a complete set of armour on a knight’s body. Shields were useful to knights too, and varied in different shapes and sizes over the centuries. They developed side-by-side with body armour. Charles Martel is shown to have minimal body protection in 732 AD (Charles Martel in full armor), while the French knights have completely full body armour in 1415 AD (Payne). Armour and shields thrived through the Middle