Knights_Armor_&_Weapons

Knights Armor & weapons During the Middle Ages as a Knight's you had to follow special laws everyday, and sometimes for days, months, even years before you come home. That's the life of a medieval knight. Armor went through many changes. In the 12th century, the knights used an armor called mail. Mail was very little chains linked together to make one big suit of armor. These suits took on average about five years to make. These suits also took a lot of money to make. When all this work was done it weighed between twenty and thirty pounds and that was only the chest, arms, and back. When they were in battle the mall guarded arrows but not good strong blows with a mace. The knights took that in consideration and made plate armor. But they only put plate armor in the sensitive parts that could not take as many hard blows. Those suits lasted until the 15th century and then they started to make full body suites out of plate armor. Helmets varied some covered the face and some did not. Some had decorations on them such as eagle’s beaks. Horses had to wear armor too. They wore it around their neck and head. Knights had to wear padded doublet and tied with satin and strips around their knees to keep it from rubbing. It took a squire an hour to put on a suit of armor. A knight had to follow special laws and this was called chivalry. These laws were difficult to follow because there were a lot of them. They had to be well behaved near women. A knight had to keep his word no matter what the case. Even in battle, they had rules to follow. One was if they got captured, they could not try to escape. Another rule they had to follow is that they had to be generous to his defeated enemies. That means they could not leave the other knight to die in the field. As you can see, it was very hard to be a knight because of the laws and the heavy armor. The knight’s weapons crashing into the knight’s armor were the sounds that filled the air with excitement during the middle Ages. Medieval warriors used many kinds of weapons. For example, a knight’s favorite weapon was his sword. There were many kinds of swords, such as the great sword. Great swords were two handed swords. They were larger versions of the ordinary sword. They were swung with both hands to deliver a powerful blow. Large swords began to become popular in the 13th century. A knight would hang a sword in his saddle in addition to his regular sword. The shining sword was also a sword used during the 1460's. This sword has a copper gilt cross guard. This was probably made for a rich knight. Another weapon a knight or a Viking would use was a battle ax. This ax was developed in northern Europe. It was especially popular with the Vikings. It was used by a well-trained infantry. It could prove lethal to horseman especially when mounted on a yard long haft handle and swung with both hands. A more widely used ax was the pole ax. This weapon was very popular in battle and foot combat. It was used to strike the opponents head (the word "pole" meant head) and the solid hammer-head at the back could knock out a man in armor. There was another kind of ax called the short ax. Knights sometimes used two-handed axes, but the smaller, single-handed variety was easier to use on horseback. One of the smallest weapons a warrior used was a dagger. Knights did not use daggers very much until the 14th century. Daggers were used as a back up sword; when the knight’s first sword was knocked out of his hand. Knights used a weapon called a lance. Lances were long and came in many sizes. They were made of wood and were painted. Maces were also another wooden weapon used by knights. They were shaped like clubs with spikes stuck into them. Archers used bow and arrows. One kind of bow and arrow is the longbow. This type of bow was usually made of stave or yew wood about the height of the archer himself. It was usually fitted with horn nocks at the top to take the hemp string. War bows probably needed a pull of at least 80lb, and many have been far more powerful. Crossbows were another kind of bow. They were introduced in the 11th century; they were made of wood or horn. After shooting, the string was drawn back by the archer placing his foot in the stirrup. He then attached the string to a hook in his belt and straightened his back until the string slipped over the retaining catch on the crossbar of the weapon. The bow was usually shot by means of some kind of trigger. Weapons were critical for kingdoms. They were extremely important for warriors to protect and conquer other kingdoms. During the middle ages the medieval weapons of foot soldiers would have to choose a weapon to ride to battle. All knights knew that some weapons were stronger, but they would pick a one handed sword. The less strong the weapon was the more chance of the knight to be defeated. They could have chosen a mace or an ax, but if they didn't know all the strengths of other knights they were fighting against. A knight’s sword was his most important weapon. That is probably why blacksmith's invented the two-handed sword. A two-handed sword could cut through mail and bone! Some swords had serrated edges to cut of the pikes off a halberd axes. Swords were made of light iron. Swords were commonly used by foot soldiers. Swords some times had their coat of arms imprinted on the blade. Some swords had gold or velvet handles. Some swords were so fancy they were used in rituals or ceremonies. Usually swords were only two pounds. Some daggers were hidden in walking sticks. Daggers were usually made of steel or iron. Some daggers were thin but sharp. Longbows were carved from a single piece of wood and as big as the archer. Longbows were used mostly in castle walls. Longbows required excellent skill. Crossbows were stronger than guns until the 1800's. Crossbows were made of wood and iron. Crossbow strings were made of twisted cord. Crossbows were hard to load and easy to shoot. The middle Ages were not just in Europe it was everywhere. In different country’s there were different weapons. Like the African throwing knife it twirled when it was thrown so no matter which side it hit it was bound to do a lot of damage. A tiger claw is a very gruesome remake of a tiger's claw. A wrist knife had a protective cover for easy handling. A catapult was a trajectory weapon that flings rocks. A battering ram was a destructive weapon that tore down castle walls, and had to be carried by many men. A trebuchet was a device similar to the catapult. A ballista was like a giant crossbow that shot giant arrows. Guns invented in the late 1400's were a new generation in fighting. Cannons also evolved during the early 1500's. Guns were not very accurate, but very expensive. Weapons were essential to the king's land, and to people’s lives.