Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

A Knights Weapons

The Middle Ages Changed the Sword - This occurred between the 11th and 13th century. The most important change was the addition of the quillion (also known as the cross guard). This quillion protected the wielders hand. The Sword at left shows a very large quillion. Learn more about this particular sword The Sword of Strider from Lord of the Rings

First and foremost a knight was a warrior sworn to defend his king or liege. This meant that his first priority was in being proficient in the weapons of the times. The first weapon that he mastered was the horse. In any battle a horse was a tactical advantage with its ability to cross large distances quickly and its ability to bring a powerful charge upon an enemy. From his mounted position the knight could wield many weapons.

There are two types of weapons that a knight used: Melee weapons and Polearms.

Melee Weapons are weapons that were used for fighting up close to your opponent. The most common and most widely used of these weapons is the sword. But there were many other types including daggers, knives, warhammers, maces, flails the morningstar and the club.

Polearm Weapons were usually in excess of six feet long and were used in order to keep a distance between yourself and your foe. Good use of a polearm weapon made it difficult for a foe to get up close and use his melee weapon. Polearm weapons were also instrumental when fighting against mounted opponents. These weapons included the Lance, Spear and Halbard.

Read More about Medieval Weapons - Including pictures and explanations of the sword, warhammer, daggers, maces, flails, lances and more. The Armory of Medieval Weapons

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