Medieval weapons and armor were an essential part of life during the Middle Ages, shaping the way wars were fought and determining who survived on the battlefield. From the sword carried by a mounted knight to the longbow used by ordinary foot soldiers, the weapons of the Middle Ages were carefully designed for the demands of medieval warfare. As well, the armor worn by knights and soldiers evolved significantly over the course of the Middle Ages as new weapons were developed and military technology improved.
What Were the Middle Ages?
The Middle Ages, also known as the Medieval Period, lasted for approximately 1000 years from the 5th century to the 15th century. Due to its timeframe, the Middle Ages in Europe is divided into three smaller periods referred to as the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Life in the Middle Ages was characterized by religious faith in the Catholic Church and the social structure of feudalism. Feudalism was a form of government common during medieval Europe that involved society being structured in a very rigid and hierarchical way. It was popular in European society from the 9th century until the 15th century and was the form of government in which the country was dominated by an absolute monarch, in which all power was held within a single king. Warfare was a constant feature of the Middle Ages, and as such, weapons and armor were among the most important and valuable items that a person could own during this period.
Medieval Weapons – Sword
The sword was the most important and iconic weapon of the Middle Ages and was most closely associated with the knights who dominated medieval warfare. More specifically, the sword was not only a weapon but also a symbol of a knight’s honor, status, and identity. In fact, the sword played a central role in the ceremony in which a young man was officially made a knight, and many swords were blessed by priests and treated with deep religious significance. Medieval swords were typically made of iron or steel, had a double-edged blade, and were designed for both cutting and thrusting in close combat.
The design of the medieval sword changed significantly over the course of the Middle Ages. For example, in the Early Middle Ages swords tended to have broader, heavier blades designed mainly for slashing. As armor technology improved during the High and Late Middle Ages, sword designs adapted accordingly, with blades becoming more pointed and narrow to allow knights to thrust their swords through the gaps in an enemy’s armor. A typical sword blade during the High Middle Ages measured approximately 70 to 80 centimeters (28 to 31 inches) in length. As well, larger two-handed swords, sometimes called great swords or longswords, were also developed, measuring over 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length, and were capable of delivering devastating blows in open battle.
Medieval Weapons – Lance
The lance was the primary weapon used by mounted knights when charging into battle on horseback. It was a long wooden pole with a sharp metal tip at the end, and its great length gave the mounted knight a significant advantage over enemy foot soldiers who could not easily reach him. For instance, when a mounted knight charged at full speed with a lance lowered toward his enemy, the combined momentum of the horse and rider made the lance an extraordinarily powerful weapon capable of piercing even heavy armor. In fact, two knights charging each other at full speed could reach a combined impact speed of approximately 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour), making the lance one of the most dangerous weapons on the medieval battlefield.
As well, the lance was an important weapon in tournaments, which were competitions in which knights practiced their fighting skills. In tournaments, lances were sometimes made of hollow wood with rounded tips to reduce the risk of serious injury, though accidents were still common. The lance was closely associated with the ideals of chivalry and knightly honor that were so important in medieval noble culture.
Medieval Weapons – Mace, Axe and Dagger
Knights and soldiers in the Middle Ages carried a variety of weapons beyond the sword and lance. The mace was a heavy club with a large metal head, designed to crush and batter an opponent rather than cut them. For example, the mace was particularly effective against heavily armored enemies, as it could inflict serious injury through armor by the force of its blow even when it could not penetrate the metal directly. As armor became heavier and more complete during the later Middle Ages, blunt weapons such as the mace and the war hammer became increasingly important on the battlefield.
The battle axe was another common weapon of the Middle Ages, used by both knights and ordinary foot soldiers. Axes were cheaper to produce than swords and could be highly effective in close combat. Furthermore, the dagger was an essential secondary weapon carried by almost every soldier and knight during the Middle Ages. Daggers were short, pointed blades designed for close combat and were often used as a weapon of last resort when a knight had lost or broken his primary weapon. More specifically, daggers were also used to deliver the final blow to a fallen enemy by thrusting through the gaps in their armor, a practice that gave some daggers the name misericorde, meaning mercy blow in French.
Medieval Weapons – Longbow and Crossbow
Not all medieval weapons were designed for close combat. The longbow and the crossbow were two of the most important ranged weapons of the Middle Ages and played a major role in some of the period’s most famous battles. The longbow was a tall bow, typically made from yew wood in England, that could fire arrows with great accuracy and force at distances of up to 250 yards (229 meters). For instance, the longbow proved devastatingly effective at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, and the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, where English and Welsh longbowmen cut down large numbers of heavily armored French knights with rapid and accurate fire.
The crossbow was another important ranged weapon, particularly popular in continental Europe. It was easier to use than the longbow and required less physical strength and training to operate effectively. As such, crossbowmen could be recruited and trained much more quickly than longbowmen, making the crossbow a practical choice for rulers who needed to field large armies quickly. With that said, the crossbow fired more slowly than the longbow, which was a significant disadvantage in battle. Both weapons changed the nature of medieval warfare significantly by allowing foot soldiers to kill armored knights from a safe distance.
Medieval Armor – Chain Mail
Just as weapons evolved over the course of the Middle Ages, so too did the armor worn by soldiers and knights. In the Early and High Middle Ages, the most common type of armor was chain mail, which was made from thousands of small interlocking metal rings linked together to form a flexible protective garment. The most typical piece of chain mail armor was a long tunic called a hauberk, which covered the body from the shoulders to the knees. A chain mail hauberk could weigh as much as 30 pounds (14 kilograms) and was worn over a padded undergarment called a gambeson, which helped absorb the impact of blows.
Chain mail was effective at protecting against cutting weapons but had significant weaknesses. For example, it could be pierced by arrows and by pointed weapons such as lances and daggers, and it did not provide good protection against blunt force from weapons such as the mace. As well, chain mail was expensive and time-consuming to produce, meaning that it was mainly worn by knights and wealthy soldiers rather than ordinary foot soldiers, who often fought with little or no protective armor at all.
Medieval Armor – Plate Armor
As the Middle Ages progressed, knights began to supplement their chain mail with additional pieces of solid metal plate armor placed over the most vulnerable parts of the body, such as the chest, knees, and elbows. By the 14th century this had developed into increasingly complete sets of plate armor, and by approximately 1420 CE full head-to-toe plate armor had become the standard equipment of the wealthiest and most powerful knights in Europe. This is the image of the knight in shining armor that most people recognize from popular culture today.
Full plate armor was extraordinarily expensive and could take a skilled armorer months to produce. For instance, a complete suit of plate armor in the 15th century could cost roughly the same as a small farm, placing it well beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest members of society. With that said, a well-made suit of plate armor was also highly effective at protecting its wearer. The overlapping plates were carefully shaped to deflect blows and cover every part of the body, and a fully armored knight was almost impossible to kill with ordinary cutting weapons. As such, this drove further developments in weapons such as the war hammer, the crossbow, and eventually early firearms, all of which were designed to overcome the protection offered by plate armor.
Significance of Medieval Weapons and Armor
Medieval weapons and armor were far more than just tools of warfare. They were symbols of power, wealth, and social status, and their development over the course of the Middle Ages tells the story of how warfare itself changed during this period. For example, the gradual development from chain mail to full plate armor, and from simple swords to sophisticated pointed blades designed to exploit gaps in armor, shows how medieval warfare was a constant competition between attack and defense in which each new development in one area drove new developments in the other. In all, the weapons and armor of the Middle Ages helped shape the major events of the period, from the Crusades to the Hundred Years War, and are an essential part of understanding how medieval people lived, fought, and died.
