About Medieval Weapons

Medieval warfare took place during the Middle Age in Europe, which began in the 5th century and ended during the 15th century. Medieval warfare was significantly different from the wars waged during the Iron Age due to innovations in technology and tactics that relied more upon cavalry and artillery.

Medieval weapons came in three major varieties: the melee weapons wielded by infantry and cavalry, missile weapons, artillery weapons, and the animals that were used in warfare.

Melee Weapons

The melee weapons used during the Middle Ages are placed in the following categories:

Swords - Used by both infantry and cavalry soldiers. Many variants were made for stabbing, slashing, and use from horseback. Examples include the claymore, arming sword, falchion, rapier and sabre.

Blunt and Cleaving Weapons - Commonly used because they were less expensive to produce than swords and were highly effective in fighting armored soldiers. Common examples are the battle axe, mace, war hammer and flail.

Polearms - The most commonly issued weapons in organized armies. Polearms were particularly effective in combat between infantry and cavalry. Examples include the halberd, spear, lance, bardiche, pike, voulge and glaive.

Ranged Weapons

Ranged weapons were used much more effectively in warfare during the Medieval Period versus the Iron Age. They were typically used to disrupt infantry formations before the initial engagement. Ranged weapons used during the Middle Ages include longbows, crossbows, muskets and javelins.

Artillery Weapons

Artillery was used during siege warfare to assault fortifications and in the field to kill enemy soldiers while inciting fear in the enemy forces as well. The catapult, trebuchet, battering ram and ballista were used during the early Medieval Ages, while cannons were predominant during the later years.

Animals

Many animals were trained for warfare during medieval times. These include the horses that cavalry rode upon, as they were also trained to kill, as well as dogs, elephants, pigs, and even pigeons.