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Armies and Combat in Medieval Times

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Medieval Weapons
and Warfare
Armies and Combat in Medieval Times

Paul Hilliam

rosen.
central

The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., New York

 To my family

Published in 2004 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright © 2004 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hilliam, Paul.
Medieval weapons and warfare: armies and combat in medieval
times/Paul Hilliam.
p. cm.—(The library of the Middle Ages)
Summary: A discussion of the tactics and technology of warfare
during the Middle Ages, including the tradition of personal combat,
the use of armor, castles-and-siege weapons, and the dominance of
the mounted knight.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8239-3995-2 (library binding)
1. Military art and science—Europe—History—To 1500—Juvenile
literature. 2. Middle Ages—Juvenile literature. [1. Military art and
science—Europe—History—To 1500. 2. Middle Ages.]
I. Title. II. Series.
U37.H533 2003
355’.0094'0902—dc21
2002151332

Manufactured in the United States of America

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King Henry V of England crosses the Somme River to attack French forces just before
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Battle of Agincourt in 1415, from a fifteenth-century French manuscript illumination
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 Knights During
the Middle Ages
nights in armor, soldiers clashing on the battlefield,
and castles under siege are images that excite the
imagination. The period of the Middle Ages,
between about the years AD 1000 and 1500, may appear on
the surface to be one of chivalry and romance, but the real¬
ity of war touched everyone, whether noble or common
folk, bringing horror and devastation.
Today you can piece together the past by visiting
museums, battlefields, and castles. Statues of knights
on tombs in churches and cathedrals help to show us
what they wore, and written accounts, paintings, and
tapestries from the period tell us more about their lives
and deeds.

Becoming a Knight
During the early Middle Ages, the term "Imight" simply
referred to a soldier who went into battle on horseback. As
the art of warfare in medieval Europe developed, only the
rich could afford to equip themselves with the latest
weapons, armor, and suitable horses. Accordingly, knights
almost alwavs came from aristocratic and noble families.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, an English knight, with two female admirers, from the fourteenth-
century Luttrell Psalter, a book of psalms

Preparing to become a knight took many years of training.

At the age of about seven, a boy from a noble family would be
sent to live at the home of a relative or a neighboring knight.
There he served as a page, waiting upon his master at the
table and carrying out errands. In return, he was taught
the first steps of fighting, using blunt wooden swords. He
also learned to wrestle and ride a horse. Later he might prac¬
tice jousting by charging at a quintain, which was a target at
one end of an arm, mounted on a revolving post. If he was too
slow, a weighted bag at the other end of the arm would swing
around and Icnock him off his horse!
 Knights During the Middle Ages

A knight undergoing religious purification before

setting out on a quest, or a military campaign,
from a fifteenth-century manuscript illumination

At the age of fourteen, a page

was sent to another home or castle
where he became a squire. The
word "squire" comes from the
French word ecuyer, meaning
"shield-bearer." It was now his job
to help a Icnight put on his armor
before battle, and he would also
assist a Icnight if he was injured
or unhorsed. Squires were expected
to be very fit. They spent long hours developing their sword
and jousting slcills. It was also important to learn the rules of
chivalry, a code that defined how a Icnight was to behave in
times of war and also at court during times of peace. The
word "chivalry" is derived from the French word chevalier,
meaning "horseman."
At the age of about twenty-one, a squire was ready to
become a Icnight, but first it was usual to undergo a ceremony
of purification. Often this involved a bath to wash away sins,
which was followed by putting on colored robes to symbolize
his new position—^white for purity, red to show he was pre¬
pared to shed his blood for a just cause, and black to show
that he was prepared to die. FFe then spent a night Icneeling
before the altar in church. The following morning his sword
was blessed and he took a vow "to fear God, serve the king,
protect the weak, and live honorably." In full armor he then

o
 Medieval Weapons and Warfare

loielt in front of the king, who dubbed (or touched) the knight
on the shoulder with the flat side of his sword.

The Feudal System

In 1066, Duke William of Normandy, an area in northern
France, conquered England at the Battle of Flastings. The
story of the invasion is depicted on a tapestry, which can
still be seen in Bayeux, a small town in northern France.
William rewarded the nobles who fought for him by giving
them land. In return for these gifts of land, William
demanded to be paid homage and to be given military serv¬
ice. This became known as the feudal system, from the
Latin word feudum, meaning "land held." Each noble knelt
before William, who was now king, and said: "I promise to
become your man, to hold these lands faithfully and per¬
form my due service." The king told his nobles they must
always be ready to fight for him, and he also told them how
many knights they were expected to bring with them.
Bishops were also granted land, and they, too, were
expected to provide a certain number of knights when
required. William was determined to keep a strong hold on
the country he had conquered.
The number of knights each duke, baron, or bishop was
expected to provide varied according to the amount of land he
governed. The Normans anticipated resistance from the
Englishmen they had subdued, and so a program of castle
building was quicldy undertaken. At first, these castles were
made of wood, consisting of a stockade on a mound of earth.
Gradually, these were replaced by impressive stone castles,
which gave considerable protection for the occupants.

e
In this fifteenth-centuiy Italian nnanuscript, a knight pays homage to his lord
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Nevertheless, it was not long before William called upon his

nobles for military support when faced by rebellion in the
north of England during 1069.
Some nobles housed the knights they commanded in the
castles they built. Other nobles granted loiights their own
estates of land, called manors. These knights were expected
to swear homage to their local lord. However, William made
sure all knights first swore allegiance to himself as king. He
did not want to face rebellion from his lesser vassals. In each
village, the peasants were expected to serve the loiight who
was their local lord. In times of war, this might mean going
into battle carrying whatever makeshift weapons were avail¬
able, if only a farm pitchfork.

Tournaments
It took many years of training to become a knight, so it was
important in times of peace to maintain the skills that had
been acquired. Tournaments originated in northern France
between about 1050 and 1070 and were an excellent way for
a knight to prove he was fit for war.
Two types of events developed. The first was a mock
free-for-all battle called a melee. This was sometimes held
between knights from nearby castles, with the aim that one
set of knights should capture and hold as many opposing
knights as possible. Later, the winning side would ransom
the knights it held. Watching knights fight in single combat
soon became popular, and stands were specially constructed
for the spectators.
In the later Middle Ages, jousting was probably the most
spectacular event at a tournament. Jousting involved pairs of
 Knights During the Middle Ages

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Two knights jousting, from a fourteenth-century manuscript. Jousting was a way to train
for reai combat.

Icnights on horseback charging at each other with lances,

which were usually blunted with crown-shaped ends called
coronals. Knocking another knight off his horse became more
difficult as higher-backed saddles were designed. Although a
barrier separated horses so that head-on collisions were
avoided, the force with which the lances struck and splin¬
tered often caused injury and sometimes death, despite the
full body armor knights wore in later years.
At the height of their popularity in the thirteenth cen¬
tury, tournaments became as much a spectacle as they were
a serious part of a knight's training. Tournaments were held
over several days, and there were valuable prizes to be won.

O
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

such as a new suit of armor or a warhorse. Each day heralds

announced who would be participating, identifying each
Icnight by the symbols on his shield and surcoat. The top of
a knight's helmet might feature a symbol from a coat of arms,
such as a colorful animal.
Entertainment was provided in the evenings. Important
guests would banquet and dance at the castle, providing the
chance for romance between contestants and noble ladies. The
next day, a knight might be granted the favor of a lady by wear¬
ing her scarf on his sleeve. This was also the age of courtly love!

Orders of Knights
During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, several groups of
military monks were founded. There were three main
orders, as they were called: the Knights of St. John, the
Knights Templar, and the Knights of the Teutonic Order.
The knights who joined these orders took religious vows,
promising to be poor, obedient, and chaste (meaning having
no sexual relations with women). However, they also prom¬
ised to use their military skills in holy wars and to protect
fellow Christians.
This was the time of the Crusades. Muslim Saracens from
the Middle East had captured Jerusalem and the area regarded
by Christians in Europe as the Holy Land. In 1095, Pope Urban
II called upon the kings and princes of Christian Europe to
recapture Jerusalem. The word "crusade" comes from the Latin
crux, meaning a cross, because the pope told warriors to sew a
cloth cross onto their tunics as they went to war.
The Knights of St. John, founded in 1099 when
the Christians captured Jerusalem, were also known as the
 Knights During the Middle Ages

■ \ ,, ,w,.. ,

A manuscript illustration showing the Knights

of the Order of the Star paying homage to
their lord and banqueting. Such orders were
groups of knights who took religious vows to
fight for a particular cause. They were very
prominent during the Crusades.

Hospitallers because they kept a

hospital in Jerusalem where
they looked after the sick. The
Knights Templar, also founded
in 1099, took their name from
their headquarters on the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem,
where they swore allegiance to
the patriarch of Jerusalem. The
order grew rapidly in number
and became very wealthy as admirers donated land in
Europe to the knights in an effort to support their work.
The Knights of the Teutonic Order originated in Germany
and were founded in about 1190. They were also active in
eastern Europe, where they helped to spread Christianity to
areas in Poland, in Hungary, and near the Baltic Sea.
The knights in these orders devoted their lives to the
defense of the Holy Land, particularly in the years between
the Crusades. They built huge castles from which they rode
out to protect pilgrims. When the Crusades came to an end,
the orders spread to other areas of Europe, including Spain,
where they fought against the Moors from North Africa, who
occupied Spain until 1492.
A full set of armor for a knight and his horse, from Germany, around 1500. The expense
of such armor, as well as the expense of maintaining warhorses, ensured that only nobles
could afford to equip themselves in this way.

'#
 Weapons and Armor
he sword is the weapon most associated with I
the medieval knight. However, the history of I
the sword can be traced back 3,000 years. Early I
swords were made of bronze, which made them rather ^
' i
soft. Later, iron was used, which was harder but relatively j
brittle, and so swords would often snap in battle. By the J
3
Middle Ages, a technique known as pattern-welding had I
been developed. This involved layering hard and soft iron I
>

rods alternately and then twisting and hammering them i

%

together. Harder rods were then hammer-welded onto the ^

sword to provide the cutting edges. The metal was then i
V

heated in a furnace, plunged into cold water, reheated, |

and allowed to cool naturally. Finally, the sword was ■;
shaped and sharpened. i
Because it took so long to make a sword, they were :
expensive. Good swords were regarded as prize posses- I
sions by those who could afford them, principally knights. ^
The best swords were passed on from one generation to ^
3-

the next. The Vikings from Scandinavia gave their swords I

names, such as Hvati (keen) or Langhrass (long and
sharp), and this tradition carried on into the Middle Ages.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Everyone larows that the sword of the legendary King Arthur

was called Excalibur.
Between the handle and the blade, a sword had a quillion.
This was usually a simple straight bar at right angles to the
blade, providing protection to the hand. At the other end of
the handle was a pommel, to help prevent loss of grip. The
period when a sword was designed can be determined partly
by the shape of the pommel, which was D-shaped at the start
of the Middle Ages. Later, it was shaped like a Brazil nut, and
later still, it became disc-shaped and was often mounted with
a coat of arms. If a sword was used more for ceremony, its
pommel might be inlaid with a precious stone and it was
sheathed in a highly decorated metal scabbard. However,
scabbards were usually made of leather and hung from a
waist belt called a bawdrick.
The length and shape of swords changed during the
Middle Ages. When chain
mail was worn as the
main form of protective
armor, a typical sword was
about three feet long and
double-edged, with a fairly
steep point. It could then
be used for both slashing
A display of Spanish swords
made between the twelfth and
fifteenth centuries. As full plate
armor replaced chain mail, and
it became less important to
carry a shield, both hands
became free to carry a longer
and heavier sword.
 Weapons and Armor

and stabbing. As plate armor developed, it was less effective to

slash at an opponent, and so knights tried to thrust through
chinks and weak spots between various pieces of armor. As a
result, swords were made with a sharper, sloping point.
Wearing plate armor also meant that knights relied less on
protecting themselves by carrying a shield. With two hands
free, swords increased in length to between four and five feet,
sometimes with a fuller, or shallow groove, along the length of
the blade, to help reduce the overall weight. Knights would use
these massive swords to deliver crushing blows in an attempt
to cause injury and to Icnock each other over. A short dagger,
called a misericord, meaning "dagger of mercy," would also be
carried, so a fallen foe might be dispatched quickly.

Other Weapons
In the early Middle Ages, knights on horseback charged at
their enemies with a lance, which varied little from the spears
used hy ordinary foot soldiers. It was the use of a stirrup for
the feet, an invention from the Far East, that allowed a knight
to control his horse and balance himself on impact. Over the
years, knights wore more extensive armor, and so bigger and
stronger horses were used. In turn, this meant that much
longer and heavier lances could be carried. They were now
made from tree trunks, turned on a lathe, and made thicker.
Sometimes armor featured a bracket on which to rest the
lance for additional support.
After the impact of a charge, knights might continue to
fight on horseback, at which point a ball and chain, a war
hammer, an axe, or a mace might by used in preference to a
sword. The ball and chain featured an iron ball covered in
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

The heads of two lances, from the sixteenth

century. A line of determined foot soldiers with
long lances might even foil a cavalry charge.

spikes, which was attached to a

short shaft by a chain that was
swung at arm's length to give the
ball extra force on impact. More
common was the war hammer.
This had a fairly short shaft with
a sharp spike on one side of the
head that could pierce through
plate armor. On the other side of
the head there was a hammer
used to dent armor so as to restrict movement. Axes varied
in design. In the early Middle Ages, they were huge, with
long handles. A Danish or Saxon warrior swinging a large
axe could easily knock off a man's head with one blow. Later,
smaller axes with shorter shafts were used. The mace was a
metal club with an enlarged or flanged head capable of deliv¬
ering a powerful blow that could cause injury or concussion.
Bishop Odo, half brother of William I of England, is shown
on the Bayeux Tapestry waving a mace above his head. A
bishop or priest was not allowed to spill blood with a sword,
but battering one's enemies with a mace was obviously
thought to be acceptable.

Armor
During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, loiights wore
chain mail made from rings of iron that were interlocked to
 Weapons and Armor

form a shirt called a hauberk or byrnie. The armor came

down as far as the knees, at which point it was split to make
riding a horse easier. Underneath, a padded garment called an
aketon helped to soften sword blows. Over time, the hauberk
was extended to include iron sleeves, mittens, and a hood.
Helmets were conical in shape and often had a wide nose
guard at the front. The weight of all this chain mail was con¬
siderable. Knights also carried large, kite-shaped shields
made of wood and covered with leather. These shields were
slightly curved toward the body, were decorated on the front,
and had carrying straps on the back.
By the start of the thirteenth century, the great helm
had been introduced to give a knight's face and head extra
protection. This was a flat-topped, round-sided, metal box
with narrow eye slits at the front. It was very heavy, so it was
made long enough to rest on the shoulders, which helped
bear its weight. Because the face was now completely cov¬
ered, loiights on the battlefield recognized each other by
their coats of arms, painted on their shields and surcoats.
Plate armor started to appear in the fourteenth cen¬
tury. Knights had already experimented with body armor
called cuir bouilli, which was made from leather. The
leather was first boiled and then hardened into shape.
Sometimes the leather was reinforced with small metal
plates stitched into place. One piece covering the chest
could be buckled to another on the back. However, plate
armor was regarded as a better defense than leather against
the increasing use of arrows in war. Single pieces of armor
were shaped individually and strapped over chain mail, at
first covering just the legs and arms.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

A suit of full body armor, from Saxony,

Germany, around 1590. A bracket
iiii connects the helmet to the back plate
to prevent the helmet from being
forced back when struck. The plate
covering the left arm has been
extended to form a kind of shield.

As the techniques used

to fashion armor developed,
the helm was replaced by the
bascinet, which was a more
closely fitted helmet with
rounded surfaces to deflect
blows. A removable or hinged
visor was fitted to make
breathing easier, and padding
was riveted inside for addi¬
tional comfort. Chain-mail
neck guards called aventails
were attached to the bottom of
the bascinet with threads.
Gauntlets for the hands and
sabatons for the feet were
made with overlapping plates,
and armor was constructed for
the shoulders, elbows, and
knees to allow for as much natural movement as possible.
With such increased protection, the large, kite-shaped
shields used earlier by the Normans were replaced by
smaller, triangular shields, which were lighter but still
slightly curved to hug the body. At the same time, the long
 Weapons and Armor

A tournament scene from a fifteenth-century Italian edition of the Bible. A group of

knights are jousting and engaging in a melee, a free-for-all combat involving more than
two combatants.

surcoat was replaced by a shorter jupon, which still showed

the coat of arms.
A loiight's warhorse was both extremely important and
expensive. It was fitted with a cloth covering that bore the
loiight's coat of arms, but underneath, there was a layer of
padding. In the later Middle Ages, armor was made especially
for horses. At the very least, a horse would wear a shaffron to
cover its head and nose, but sometimes more extensive armor
would also cover its neck and sides.
The early fifteenth century found many important cen¬
ters for the production of complete suits of armor, including
Augsburg, Nuremberg, and Passau in Germany,- Milan in
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Italy; Paris in France; and Greenwich in England. Iron ore

was needed, together with coal or charcoal, and some armor¬
ers also used waterpower to work heavy hammers and other
simple machines. The ways in which different craftsmen
worked were jealously guarded secrets, hut the best suits of
armor covered the entire body and allowed a knight to remain
astonishingly nimble. The idea that a Icnight had to be
winched up, hoisted, and lowered onto his horse is not true.
During the sixteenth century, the most expensive suits
of armor copied the fashions of courtly clothing. German
armor often looked as if it was made of pleated fabric,
whereas Italian armor was generally smoother. Suits were
painted black or were given a blue color during heating, while
suits at the top end of the market were engraved with designs
or even gilded with gold.
 . HOLY
(roman
FLANDERS l^MPIRE

NORMAND

IN6DOM
OF SPAIN

Kingdom of
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Mediterranean
Sea
 Going to War
n the early Middle Ages, monarchs relied on the 5-

feudal system when they wanted to raise an

army. During times of peace, there was no need
to have thousands of Icnights continually at the ready. In
England, for example, when Henry II became king in
1154, the country emerged from a time of civil war. Many
i
barons preferred to pay a tax called scutage (shield money) i'

rather than provide the service of knights. Gradually, scu¬

tage became an annual tax, and Henry used the money to
hire knights and soldiers when he needed them in France,
where England owned large areas of land. These hired
troops were called mercenaries.
King Edward I of England, who reigned from 1272
to 1307, fought a series of battles in Wales and Scotland.
He needed troops for long periods of time and recruited
them by means of what were called indentures. Once the
king had agreed with a trusted nobleman how many
troops he would provide and how much he would be
paid, a clerk wrote out the details of the agreement
i
p
twice, on a large piece of parchment. This was then cut
into two pieces along a jagged line. The king kept one

mm
The duke of Lancaster lays siege to Brest Castle, 1373, from a fifteenth-century manuscript
illustration. Note, on the lower left, cannons and a primitive forge to repair weapons.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

A fifteenth-century manuscript illustration showing French cavalry fighting English

infantry during the Hundred Years’ War. The English have lowered their lances as
protection against a cavalry charge.

part of the parchment and the nobleman the other part.

Both parties then had proof of their agreement, because the
two pieces of parchment would fit together like teeth. The
indenture derived its name from the French word dent,
meaning “tooth."

Foot Soldiers
By the fourteenth century knights in an army were greatly
outnumbered by foot soldiers and archers. For example,
Edward I used 25,000 men-at-arms, or infantry, but only
 Going to War

5,000 horsemen in his campaigns against the Welsh and

Scots. These troops wore iron helmets and aketons, or leather
jackets, sometimes riveted with metal plates.
The foot soldier in the later Middle Ages often carried a
sword and a dagger, but it was a weapon variously Imown as
a pike, poleaxe, or halberd that made him so effective. These
weapons combined the features of both the spear and the axe,
giving foot soldiers the potential to defeat mounted Imights.
Indeed, Flemish pikemen at the Battle of Courtrai in 1302
defeated an army of French knights, killing over 1,000 of
them. This was the first occasion that foot soldiers had
scored such a victory. Soldiers also started to make limited
use of firearms during the late fourteenth century.

Archers
It was the archers that knights feared most. The Bayeux
Tapestry shows Norman archers using fairly short bows at
the Battle of Hastings, but by the thirteenth century, the
longbow was changing the way in which battles were
fought. Edward I was the first monarch to realize the poten¬
tial of the longbow when he saw it being used by the Welsh.
The arrow, fired from a six-foot bow made of elm, was capable
of piercing an oak door four inches thick. When fired over a
distance, it was accurate up to about 200 yards and could
reach up to 400 yards.
It took great strength and skill to use the bow. Boys started
to practice on smaller bows, and at one stage in England all
male peasants were required by law to practice on their village
green, shooting at targets called butts. An archer wore a bracer
on the left wrist to provide support as he pulled the bowstring.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

and on the right hand he wore a glove to protect the fingers.

Arrows between thirty and thirty-six inches long had a pointed
steel tip capable of penetrating chain mail. At short range, one
of these steel-tipped arrows could also penetrate plate armor.
Goose feathers were used at the other end of the arrow to pro¬
vide stability as it flew through the air.
The bow was strung before battle, and arrows were car¬
ried in a quiver worn on the hip. In battle, the arrows were
usually stuck in the ground in front of the archer so they
could be grabbed quickly. Standing in ranks, archers would
fire wave after wave of arrows high in the air, causing injury
and huge loss of life to enemy troops. Knights might be safe
at a distance, but their horses would rear up and cause chaos
when hit. If enemy knights charged, archers standing behind
rows of sharpened stakes would wait until the knights were
within range and then shoot with devastating accuracy.
The crossbow was very different in design and was favored
by soldiers in most countries on mainland Europe. A much
shorter and stiffer bow was mounted at the end of a wooden
handle called a stock. The string on the bow was pulled back
with a hook and held ready for firing by the nut, which was a
notch in a revolving cylinder. A quarrel, or bolt, was then
placed in a groove running along the length of the stock and
was fired when the trigger released the nut. Crossbows could be
used by relatively unskilled troops and were accurate and very
powerful over quite a distance, though they lacked the range of
the longbow. Later models used mechanical cranks to winch
back the bowstring. The big disadvantage of the crossbow was
the length of time it took to reload, whereas a skilled man with
a longbow could shoot six or more arrows per minute.
 Going to War

King Edward III of England assaults the city of Caen in France in 1346, from a fourteenth-
century French manuscript.

Before a Battle
There were literally hundreds of battles fought throughout
Europe during the Middle Ages, so readiness was impor¬
tant. Fletchers were kept busy producing arrows, craftsmen
made armor, and there was a constant need to breed suit¬
able horses and keep them well shod. If it was going to be
a long campaign, or if an army was expected to travel
abroad, then many people in addition to knights and soldiers
would be off to war.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

The English army would commandeer merchant ships if

crossing the channel to fight in France. When it arrived, the
army would need to be fed. Soldiers raided farms and peasant
homes, carrying off whatever food they could find. Horses
also needed to graze, and if possible, military activity was
planned for the summer months when the grass was tall.
Surprise was often crucial. Spies may have been report¬
ing information about the enemy for weeks or even months,
but as a battle approached, small detachments of horsemen
were sent to carry out reconnaissance. They needed to track
the enemy and also look for a suitable battleground, as geo¬
graphical advantage could make all the difference. Positioning
your forces on a hill meant the enemy would have to attack
by charging up a slope, or perhaps a wooded area might hide
troops until they were required.
Opposing armies might camp quite close to each other
for several days before a battle. At night, nobles and Icnights
slept in tents while foot soldiers huddled around hundreds of
campfires. During the day, soldiers might be ordered to cut
down trees to prepare defensive stakes. Devices known as cal¬
trops were spread over the ground on which the enemy would
charge. These were made of metal and had four sharp prongs
sticking out in different directions. When thrown down, they
always landed with one prong pointing upward, causing
injury if trodden on by a man or horse.
Nobles met to discuss their battle plans, and at some point
a commander might send his herald to the enemy camp to offer
peace terms. If one side greatly outnumbered the other, then per¬
haps the smaller army might be persuaded to turn back.
However, a smaller force might have no other option than to
 Going to War

In this fifteenth-century Italian

manuscript illustration, an
army besieges a castle. On
the left a soldier can be seen
preparing a ballista, a catapult
for hurling stones.

fight. If there was time

before a battle, a priest
said prayers and troops
would cross them¬
selves. Then the king
or commanding noble
might give a rousing
speech to encourage
everyone on to victory.

During a Battle
Battles were noisy affairs with clashing weapons, shouting,
and screaming. Troop maneuvers would be signaled by trum¬
pets, and drumbeats accompanied the foot soldiers as they
marched forward.
Tactics were often influenced by tradition, and there was
almost a set order of battle suggesting when archers should
fire and when knights were to charge. It is said that some
commanders consulted manuals dating back to Roman
times. Tradition also dictated that men of the same rank
should fight each other, so knights would engage in individ¬
ual combat while ranks of foot soldiers attacked each other.
Sometimes these conventions were ignored. Henry V of
England caused outrage during the Battle of Agincourt in
 Going to War

1415 when he gave his foot soldiers the signal to hack to

death hundreds of knights stuck in the mud.
Defending the standard, or flag, was regarded as
important, as it was a rallying point for troops. To lose a
flag was a disgrace and would indicate that the enemy was
winning. During the Crusades, Sir Richard de Guise lost
his left hand but fought on, holding his standard with a
bloody stump. Beside him, the earl of Salisbury, William
Longespee, lost a foot and both arms as he continued to
defend the standard. They were both killed, having refused
protection if they surrendered.

After a Battle
Victorious foot soldiers swiftly killed enemy troops lying
injured and dying. Their own injured would be carried off
using shields as stretchers. Heralds compiled lists of the
dead, and soldiers stripped bodies of their weapons and armor
and then pillaged local villages and towns. A loiight who had
been captured alive was held for ransom and spent months or
even years in an enemy castle until his family paid for his
release. Knights held as prisoners were usually treated with
civility. During the twelfth century in France, a religious
group called the Trinitarians was formed specifically to help
negotiate the release of Icnights. In 1250, the French king was
held ransom by Saracens during the Crusades. He was later
released, after having surrendered the Egyptian city of
Damietta and handing over a vast quantity of gold.
 trnmmmm**

The Battle of Hastings, 1066, as depicted in the famous Bayeux Tapestry. An important
technical innovation, shown here, was the stirrup, which freed the arms of the Norman
horsemen to wield their weapons more effectively.
 Famous Wars
and Battles
he following descriptions of some famous
battles show the variety of ways in which
medieval battles were fought and why these
battles were won or lost.

The Battle of Hastings, October 14, 1066

The Battle of Hastings is impoitant for several reasons. First,
we Imow a good deal about it because there is documentation
in the Bayetrx Tapestry and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
W'
Second, the battle is of interest because the Sirxons in I

England and the Normans from France fouglit using different

weapons and battle tactics. Third, the Norman victory led to
changes in the way England was governed, and for a number
of centuries, linked the histories of England and France
closely together, which in turn led to further war.
Edward the Confessor, the Sitxon Icing of England, died
in 1066. He left no heir, and so England's most powerful
noble, Harold Godwinson, was crowned. However, across
the channel Duke William of Normandy claimed that both
Edward and Harold had promised him the throne. He imme¬
diately prepared an army and a large fleet.
mat
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

The king of Norway also claimed the throne and landed

in northern England during the summer of 1066. Harold
defeated him at Stamford Bridge, near York, before hearing
that William had arrived on the south coast. Tired but deter¬
mined, Harold marched his army south again.
The Bayeux Tapestry shows that the Normans were well
organized. They brought with them everything they needed,
including horses for their knights and even a prefabricated
wooden fort. Having landed, they set about gathering food,
but William loiew he had to win a decisive battle soon, so he
set about burning local villages, hoping that Harold would
hurry all the faster to defend his kingdom.
The Saxons took up a good defensive position behind
a shield wall on Senlac Hill, near Hastings. Their most
experienced troops were the housecarls, armed with huge
double-headed axes. They fought with great heroism, as if
rooted to the ground. In contrast, the more sophisticated
style of warfare used by the Normans demanded organized
battle tactics and the controlled use of troops.
At first, the Normans at the foot of the hill tried to break
up the Saxon ranks by using archers. Then their loiights,
armed with spears, charged, although the effort of climbing the
hill must have been considerable. For several hours, the Saxons
withstood the showers of arrows and the charge of the knights,
but then came the turning point in the battle. Some less exper¬
ienced Saxon soldiers thought they saw Norman Icnights in
retreat and left their hilltop position to give chase. Was this a
Norman trick? Disorganized and on foot, the Saxons were
easily killed by the Norman loiights and soldiers waiting at the
bottom of the hill.
 Famous Wars and Battles

The Battle of Crecy, 1346, like Agincourt a half century later, was another English
victory over the French brought about by English archers with Welsh longbows.

The tide of the battle turned further when Harold was

killed. The Bayeux Tapestry shows that he was struck in the
eye by an arrow and then hacked down by Imights. His muti¬
lated body was later placed under a pile of stones on the cliffs
near Hastings, and only after many years was he given a
proper burial at Waltham Abbey, north of London. William
meanwhile marched to London, where he was crowned on
the twenty-fifth of December.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Courtrai, 'The Battle of the Gold Spurs,"

July 11, 1302
For much of the Middle Ages, a charge hy loiights on horse¬
back was decisive in many battles. In Italy, for example,
loiights reigned supreme. However, the Battle of Courtrai
showed that organized foot soldiers were capable of defeating
such an enemy.
Philip IV of France incorporated Flanders into his Idngdom
in 1300. This was a wealthy land covering roughly the same
area as modern-day Belgium. The occupation and the unfair
taxes that Philip imposed encouraged the people of Flanders to
rise in rebellion. In 1302, the people of Bruges lulled a number
of French loiights, and Philip decided to send an army to stamp
out further rebellion.
On July 8, the French, led by Robert Artois, arrived at the
Flemish town of Courtrai. Their army numbered 6,500 and
included 2,500 loiights. The Flemish army opposing them
numbered 9,000 but consisted of only foot soldiers. Apart
from about 400 nobles, they were mostly untrained crafts¬
men and peasants, led by Pieter de Coninck.
The French held a council of war. Although outnum¬
bered, they decided to teach their enemy a lesson with a full
frontal charge. The Flemish troops expected this and so they
positioned themselves behind two brooks and an area of
marshy ground, which some reports say they disguised with
brushwood. In their arrogance, the French forgot to carry out
the usual reconnaissance. Many of the knights managed to
jump their horses successfully across the brooks, whereupon
they became stuck in the boggy ground beyond. The Flemish
 Famous Wars and Battles

troops had been told not to take any prisoners and so they
slaughtered the stranded Imights with pikes.
After the battle, 500 gold spurs were stripped from the
French Icnights and taken to the Church of Our Lady in
Courtrai. There they adorned a vault until the French
reclaimed them when they defeated a Flemish army in 1382.
The Battle of Courtrai was significant because the people of
Flanders regained their independence. They also inspired
other ordinary foot soldiers to take on massed ranks of
Imights. The Scots, for example, were standing behind a
burn, or brook, when they defeated English knights at the
Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Sluys, June 24, 1340

The famous sea battle fought at Sluys came at the beginning
of a long series of battles fought between England and France
from 1337 to 1453, which later came to be known as the
Hundred Years' War. Since the Battle of Hastings in 1066,
English monarchs had ruled vast amounts of land in France,
and the Hundred Years' War was really a struggle between the
two countries over which areas they would each control. The
wine-growing area of Bordeaux, for example, was especially
valued for the trade it produced, and the city of Bordeaux
itself was held by the English until 1453.
On June 24, 1340, Edward III of England set off toward
Flanders (the home country of his wife) with a large army
carried by a fleet of about 200 ships. As he approached the
port of Sluys, a French fleet was seen, drawn up in defensive
formation, with ships tied together in several lines. Their
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

The naval battle at Sluys, off the coast of Flanders, 1340. Before the age of the cannon, ships
simply grappled with each other, and their soldiers fought across the decks as if it was a
battle on land.

aim was to prevent the English from landing. Edward

ordered his fleet to maneuver so that the wind and the sun
were behind them.
The English ships had wooden battlements, or towers,
at the front of each vessel, called the bow. As the English
fleet came within range, archers equipped with longbows
fired from these forecastles, as they were called, killing
hundreds of French soldiers and sailors and giving the
English the upper hand early in the battle. When the enemy
ships came alongside each other, grappling irons were
thrown, pulling the ships tightly together. Furious hand-to-hand
 Famous Wars and Battles

The Battle of Agincourt, 1415, from a fifteenth-centuiy illuminated manuscript. Though

the artist has depicted both armies protected by archers, the French mounted knights
recklessly charged—and were slaughtered by—the English archers.

fighting took place on the decks, while high up in crows'

nests, soldiers hurled down huge stones, attempting to sink
enemy ships.
This was certainly one of the bloodiest battles of the
Middle Ages, partly because at sea there was no hope of
escape. In addition to losing a large number of ships, about
18,000 French soldiers were killed, while English losses
were relatively few. From then on, raids across the channel were
unhindered, and English bowmen continued to be crucial
during the Hundred Years' War, winning further victories at
Crecy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356. Perhaps the most
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

famous victory won by archers was at Agincourt in 1415,

when the French lost thousands of men and the English only
a few hundred.

The Battle of Bosworth, August 22, 1485

The Battle of Bosworth concluded the Wars of the Roses—the
thirty-year struggle between the nobles of the houses of York
and Lancaster for control of the English throne—and brought
the Middle Ages to a close in England. What is of particular
interest is that until very late in the battle either side could
have won. The balance was held by 6,000 soldiers who
waited on one side of the field as their commander, Lord
Stanley, made up his mind which side to support.
King Richard 111 was a controversial figure who com¬
manded loyalty from many but was hated by others. Fie
grabbed the English crown by allegedly murdering his two
young nephews, both of whom were before him in line of
succession to the throne. Eventually, Richard was challenged
by Henry Tudor, who also claimed the crown. Henry had been
in exile in France, but when he landed in Wales with just
2,000 men, he marched east, gathering more troops as he went.
The two sides met at Bosworth, near Leicester. Richard
arrived first and arranged his troops on Ambion Hill. He was
supported by the duke of Norfolk, while Henry was supported
by the earl of Oxford. Richard also expected Lord Stanley to sup¬
port him, but the situation was delicate because Stanley was
Henry Tudor's stepfather. As a precaution, Richard took
Stanley's own son. Lord Strange, as a hostage. If Stanley did not
support Richard, his son would be executed. But Lord Stanley
saw that if he supported Richard, and Henry were to win, he
 Famous Wars and Battles

would be out of favor with the new Idng. He therefore waited to

see how the battle developed.
Suspecting Stanley's treachery, Richard led a group of
loiights in a brave charge straight at Henry. If Richard could
kill his enemy, the battle would be over. It was now that
Stanley ordered his troops into battle, to make sure of
Henry's victory. Richard immediately ordered Lord Strange's
execution, but his guards decided to release him, seeing that
this would put them in a better position if Henry won the
battle. Richard was the last English king to die in battle. He
was taken off to be buried at Leicester, slumped naked over
the back of a horse. Meanwhile, on the battlefield. Lord
Stanley crowned his stepson, who became Henry VII.
 i^sjasai^i^wavi^ 'S'\« -»

Castles at War
astles played a crucial role in the warfare of the I
Middle Ages. Along with cathedrals, they were I
the largest and most impressive buildings to I
appear in Europe since the days of the Romans. Castles |
were obviously designed to provide safety and maximum 1
defense for the people who lived in them. However, they 'j
also provided a base from which attacks might be |
launched if an enemy army invaded. |

Defense of a Castle |
The earliest castles during the Middle Ages were of motte |
and bailey construction. A mound of earth was made, on S
which was built a small wooden tower, or keep, which was |
protected by a wall of wooden stakes. Around the motte |
was another wall of stakes enclosing an area in which j
there were living quarters and storerooms. A ditch sur- |
rounded the whole site. i
Motte and bailey castles were gradually replaced by I
Stronger stone castles, which were less vulnerable to fire, s
The enormous weight of the stone keeps meant that they I
could not be built on an artificial mound, so castles were I
V
 Castles at War

A fifteenth-century manuscript illustration depicting the French army laying siege to a

fortified town. Note the use of crossbows and cannons. In the distance, ships at sea
complete the blockade.

often built on natural rocl<y hills. Where this was not possible,
extra protection might be given by diverting a river to create a
moat filled with water around the castle.
The square corners of stone keeps could be badly damaged
by rocks hurled by catapults and siege machines, so round keeps
and outer curtain walls started to appear hy the mid-thirteenth
century. Missiles glanced off their smooth surfaces. Later still,
rings of two or even three concentric outer walls were built.
Castles became more and more ingenious in their
design. The entrance was always a weak spot and so would be
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

protected by a drawbridge. A sliding iron gate called a

portcullis could be lowered over the entrance itself. Then
there would often be a short tunnel before another portcullis.
Any attackers trapped in the tunnel would have boiling pitch
or water poured on them through holes in the roof. Another
protection for the entrance was the barbican, a land of three-
sided tower raised over an open alleyway.
The tops of walls were given crenellations or parapets
from behind which arrows could be fired. Ledges were built
jutting out from the battlements for defenders to drop rocks
or fend off siege ladders. The bases of castle walls sloped out¬
ward, so rocks dropped from above bounced off horizontally
toward the enemy. Windows were narrow slits when viewed
from outside, but inside they widened sharply to allow
archers to fire in all directions. If attackers did manage to
breach the entrance to a castle, they would have little hope of
going any farther. Even spiral stairs were designed so that
only a soldier coming down or retreating in defense could
swing a sword.
At the first sign of danger, extra supplies would be
brought within castle walls, including local farm animals.
Any crops not harvested might be burned to prevent them
being used by enemy troops. When an army arrived to besiege
a castle, heralds would meet to negotiate. If the inhabitants
did not agree to surrender at this stage, they could expect no
mercy later if the castle was captured. A siege could last for
many months or even years. Defenders were left hoping that
a relief army would arrive, but meanwhile felt cut off from
the outside world. During the Crusades, Turks used carrier
pigeons to send and receive messages when besieged. In
A castle surrenders, from a fifteenth-century manuscript illustration. The soldiers of the
besieging army are marching through the gate into the castle.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

response, the European soldiers used birds of prey trained to

kill other birds. Conditions in the castle would meanwhile
decline rapidly. The spread of illness and disease was a con¬
stant fear, water supplies ran low, and when food was short
the occupants would search for rats to eat.

Attacldng a Castle
As the defense of castles became more effective, the methods
of attack became increasingly more ingenious. Starving a
castle into surrender might take a very long time, but at least
it was relatively safe. On the other hand, attacking a castle
directly was very dangerous. Any town near a castle would
probably fall quite quickly. Burning arrows would set fire to
thatched houses, while troops used battering rams on gates
and scaled walls on long ladders. Much larger siege
machines were needed to breach castle walls.
A besieging army might arrive with giant crossbows and
catapults in pieces, which would be reconstructed on site.
Ballistas were used to fire large metal bolts, and mangonels
threw boulders from an arm shaped like a large spoon. Ropes
at one end of the arm were twisted to provide tension, while
the other end was held fast and loaded just before release.
Both of these weapons dated back to Roman times and were
of limited effectiveness.
More terrifying was the trebuchet. This was a truly enor¬
mous catapult, capable of hurling stones weighing between
100 and 200 pounds over several hundred yards. At one end
of a long arm was a large container filled with rocks that acted
as a counterbalance. At the other end of the arm was a sling,
which whipped around in the air to give extra propulsion to
 Castles at War

In 1450, the French besieged the town of Cherbourg, which had been captured by the
English. Archers and cannons are evident.

the missile before its release. King Edward I of England

ordered a trebuchet to be built during his campaign against
Scotland. It was called Warwolf, and with an arm about fifty
feet long, it threw boulders with such force that they pene¬
trated castle walls.
Catapults were also used to throw diseased animal car¬
casses into castles in an effort to spread disease. Between 1097
and 1098 it took a crusading army eight months to capture the
Turldsh-held city of Antioch (now Antal<ya). During the siege,
200 decapitated Turkish heads were catapulted into the castle in
an attempt to demoralize the defenders. Eventually, an armorer
turned traitor and opened the gates. Elsewhere, there were stories
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

A modern artist’s depiction of the

French attack on Dover Castle in 1216.
One of the towers protecting the gate
has collapsed, and on the right,
archers on a siege tower seek protection
behind a wicker wall.

that enemy heralds were put

into catapults and sent flying
hack into the castle grounds!
Another technique used
to gain entry to a castle
involved filling the moat
with earth and stones to
allow a siege tower to be
pushed up against a castle
wall. The siege tower was a
tall wooden construction on
wheels, covered on the outside by animal hides that were
soaked in water to prevent the tower from being set on fire.
Soldiers climbed up ladders inside the tower and then over a
drawbridge and onto the castle battlements. A huge, metal,
pointed battering ram, suspended under a roof, could also be
pushed on wheels up to a gate. Rocks thrown from above made
this a hazardous operation, but archers standing behind wicker
fences tried to shoot defenders on the castle walls.
Perhaps the most time-consuming way to break into a
castle involved mining underneath the castle walls by digging
a tunnel supported by wood posts. When the tunnel was
completed, it was filled with branches and then set on fire.
The aim was to bring down the castle wall as the posts
shoring up the tunnel collapsed.
 Castles at War

Cannons and Guns

Gunpowder^ a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal,
was probably discovered first in China. Knowledge of its
use spread west to the Arab world and then to Europe,
where the earliest illustration of a cannon, called a bom¬
bard, dates from 1327. The first cannons were made from
strips of metal bound together by hoops, making them
quite dangerous to use. As late as 1460, King James II of
Scotland was killed while standing too close to a cannon
that exploded. Later cannons were made of cast metal.
Their range was further improved by the development of
better gunpowder in granule form, and safer ways of firing
cannons were also devised.
At first, cannons were used in sieges rather like catapults,
merely to fire rocks. Soon metal balls were found to be more
effective, and cannons were able to end a siege in a matter of
weeks. In the mid-fifteenth century, thanks to the increasing
effectiveness of cannons, the French drove the English from
France as they quickly recaptured English-held castles. At
about the same time, the kings of northern Spain drove the
Moors from their castles in southern Spain.
Castles themselves were now being redesigned to cope
with this new threat. Battlements were being strengthened,
and castles were also mounting cannons on their walls. As
early as 1381, Bologna in Italy had thirty-five cannons. It was
difficult to use cannons in open battle, partly because they were
so heavy to transport. Nevertheless, they certainly caused fear.
Early muskets were also of limited use in battle because they
were difficult to hold when fired. They operated like miniature
cannons and had special hooks to fit over walls to cope with
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

The siege of Montaigne, 1360, by the army of Edward the Black Prince. On the left,
a siege tower protecting the attacking archers also contains some primitive cannons.
More soldiers are arriving by sea.

the recoil when fired. They gradually improved and became

more effective, hut at first they were best used in siege warfare.
The increasing use of cannons and firearms changed the
pattern of warfare and helped to bring the Middle Ages to a
close. Once masses of common infantrymen possessed firearms
that could penetrate armor and bring down mounted horsemen
at a distance of several hundred yards, the whole reason for the
existence of a privileged caste of warrior knights disappeared,
and along with them their code of valor and individual combat.
The change began with the appearance of the Welsh longbow,
and by the time reliable firearms were introduced, the glory was
disappearing from the battlefield.
 Glossary
aketon Padded jacket worn by Imights under chain mail
to help soften sword blows. Also worn by foot soldiers,
axe A weapon with a flat metal cutting edge at the end
of a wooden shaft, swung by one or two hands,
ball and chain A metal ball covered in spikes and
attached by a short chain to a wooden shaft,
ballista Giant crossbow, used for firing large metal
arrows during sieges.
barbican Protected approach to a city or castle gate,
consisting of an open alley surrounded by a three-
sided tower.
baron High-ranking noble.
bascinet Close-fitting helmet with round surfaces to
deflect sword blows.
battering ram Tree trunk or beam with a metal-
tipped end, used for battering down castle and
city gates.
battlements Raised parapets at the tops of walls, which
gave protection against enemy arrows,
bawdrick Waist belt from which a sword was hung.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Bayeux Tapestry A long tapestry that depicts the events of

1066 leading up to and including the Battle of Hastings,
bombard Early type of cannon,
butt Round target for archery practice,
byrnie Chain mail shirt, also called a hauberk,
caltrop Piece of twisted iron with four small, sharp prongs,
thrown down on the ground before battles to cause
injury to men and horses.
chain mail Flexible armor made of interlocking rings
of iron.
chivalry Code of behavior for knights during times of war
and peace.
coat of arms Emblem or badge on a shield, surcoat, or flag
indicating family background.
concentric walls Rings of defensive walls around a castle,
crenellations Defensive battlements on a castle wall,
used to provide shelter for protection, with openings
for firing arrows.
crossbow Bow set at right angles to a wooden handle, used
for firing metal-tipped bolts called quarrels.
Crusades Wars fought by European soldiers against Muslims
who had captured Jemsalem and the Holy Land,
cuir bouilli Type of protective armor made of stiff,
boiled leather.
curtain wall Outer wall of a castle,
drawbridge Bridge that could be lowered over a moat
or ditch.
duke Very high-ranking nobleman, related to the king
or queen.
fletcher Person who makes arrows.
 Glossary

forecastle A raised wooden tower at the front of a ship,

gauntlet Protective glove made of armor,
halberd Long pole with a metal spear and axe at one end.
hauberk Chain-mail shirt.
herald High-ranking servant who acted as a messenger
and who also organized tournaments,
joust Competition during which Icnights charged at each
other on horseback with hlunt lances,
jupon A short surcoat.
keep Main building at the center of a castle,
longbow Bow made of elm, about six feet long, capable of
shooting arrows with great power and accuracy,
mangonel Type of catapult used when laying siege to
a castle.
melee Mock free-for-all battle at a tournament,
mercenary Soldier hired to fight and often originating
from another country.
misericord Dagger used to kill wounded Icnights.
moat Ditch, filled with water, surrounding a castle.
Moors Muslims from North Africa,
motte and bailey Early style of castle, with a keep on
an earthen mound, surrounded by an enclosed area,
constructed of wood.
page Boy undertaking the first steps of training to
become a knight.
pike Long pole with a metal spear and axe or hook at
one end.
pillage The act of raiding houses after battle to
steal valuables.
quarrel Bolt fired by a crossbow.
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

quintain Revolving target used to practice jousting sldlls.

quiver Holder for arrows, worn over the shoulder or on
a belt.
sabaton Armor protection for the feet,
scutage Tax paid to the king instead of providing troops
for battle.
stirrup Metal rest or support for the feet while on horseback,
surcoat Cloth coat-of-arms worn over chain mail,
trebuchet Siege machine with a long arm that threw
large rocks.
visor Removable front of a knight's helmet.
 For More Information
The Columbia University Medieval Guild
602 Philosophy Hall, Columbia University
New York, NY 10027
e-mail; [email protected]
Web site: http://www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/medieval

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P.O. Box 549110
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
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Web site: http://www.dantesociety.org

International Courtly Literature Society

North American Branch
c/o Ms. Sara Sturm-Maddox
Department of French and Italian
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003
e-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www-dept.usm.edu/~engdept/icls/
iclsnab.htm
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Medieval Academy of America

1430 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 491-1622
e-mail: Speculum®medievalacademy.org
Web site: http://\vww.medievalacademy.org/t_bar_2.htm

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Department of English Language and Literature
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Lalls, lA 50614-0502
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Web Sites
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 For Further Reading
Bartlett, Clive. English Longbowmen 1330-1515. Oxford:
Osprey Publishing, 2002.
Cootes, Richard John. The Middle Ages. New York:
Longman, 1996.
Gravett, Christopher. Castle. London: Dorling
Kindersley, 1994.
Gravett, Christopher. Knight. London: Dorling
Kindersley, 1993.
Gravett, Christopher. Knights at Tournament. Oxford:
Osprey Publishing, 1988.
Hook, Richard, and Christa Hook. Medieval Siege Warfare.
Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1990.
Kelly Nigel, Rosemary Rees, and Jane Shuter. Medieval
Realms. Oxford: Heinemann, 1997.
Langley, Andrew. Castle at War. London: Dorling
Kindersley, 1998.
Steele, Philip. The Medieval World. London:
Kingfisher, 2000.
 Bibliography
Gravett, Christopher. Knights at Tournament. Oxford:
Osprey Publishing, 1988.
Guest, Ken, and Denise Guest. British Battles. London:
HarperCollins, 1997.
Hogg, Ian V. The Encyclopedia of Weaponry. London:
Greenwich Editions, 1998.
Hook, Richard, and Christa Hook. Medieval Siege Warfare.
-'irttjsM utWLLmjr^^'M A^

Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1990.

Jones, John. The Medieval World. Walton on Thames,
England: Thomas Nelson Ltd., 1979.
Matthew, Donald. Atlas of Medieval Europe. Oxford:
Phaidon Press Ltd., 1983.
Norman, Vesey. Arms and Armour. London: Octopus
Books, 1972.
Parker, Geoffrey. Warfare. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press, 2000.
Rothero, Christopher. Medieval Mihtary Dress. Poole,
England: Blandford Press, 1983.
Seymour, William. Battles in Britain. London: Book Club
Associates, 1979.
Wilkinson, Frederick. Arms and Armour. London:
Chancellor Press, 1978.
 ssSsliSaSs
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Index
iS»

battlements, 40, 46, 50, 51

bawdricks, 16
Agincourt, Battle of, 31-33, 42
Bayeux Tapestry, 8, 18, 27, 35,
aketons, 19, 27
36, 37
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 35
Belgium, 38
archers, 26, 27-28, 31, 36, 40, 41-42,
bishops, 8, 18
46, 50
Bosworth, Battle of, 42-43
armor, 5, 7, 11, 12, 16-17, 18-22, 29,
bows, 27, 28, 40, 48, 52
33, 52
byrnies, 19
for horses, 21
c
-9 c S\

how it was made, 22

plate, 16-17, 18, 19, 28
caltrops, 30
where it was made, 21-22
cannons, 51, 52
army, raising a, 24
castles, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 33,
arrows, 19, 27, 28, 29, 36, 37, 46, 48
44, 51 liiiS itf IM

Arthur, King, 15 »5%S

attacking, 48-50
Artois, Robert, 38
defense of, 44-46, 48
aventails, 20
design of, 44-46, 51
axe, 17, 18, 27, 36 SSii*
catapults, 45, 48, 49-50, 51
cathedrals/churches, 5, 7, 44
B chain mail, 16, 18-19, 20, 28
ball and chain, 17-18
chivalry, 5, 7
ballistas, 48
Christianity, 12, 13
Bannockburn, Battle of, 39
Church of Our Lady (Courtrai), 39
bascinets, 20
clerks, 24
battering rams, 48
coat of arms, 16, 19, 21
battle
Coninck, Pieter de, 38
after, 33
coronals, 11
during, 31-33
Courtrai, Battle of, 27, 38-39
preparing for, 29-31
crossbows, 28, 48
tactics/plans, 30, 31, 35, 36
Crusades, 12-13, 33, 46, 49
battlefields, 5, 19, 30, 52
cuir bouUli, 19 iSgii

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Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Hundred Years^ War, 39, 41

D Hungary, 13
daggers, 27
disease, 48, 49 I
indentures, 24-26
E Italy, 21-22, 38, 51
Edward the Confessor, 35
Edward I, 24, 26, 27, 49
Edward III, 39
J
James II, 51
England, 8, 10, 22, 24, 30, 31, 35,
Jerusalem, 12-13
39-43, 49, 51
jousting, 6, 7, 10
Excalibur, 15
jupons, 21
F
feudal system, 8, 24
K
firearms, 27, 51-52 keep (tower), 44, 45
Flanders/Elemish, 27, 38-39 knights
fletchers, 29 in battle, 31
foot soldiers, 17, 26-27, 30, 31, 33, 38-39 becoming a, 5-8
forecastles, 40 on horseback, 5, 11, 17, 27, 28, 38, 52
forts, 36 orders of, 12-13
France, 8, 10, 22, 24, 27, 30, 33, 35, as prisoners, 33
38-42, 51 and training, 6, 7, 10, 11
vow of, 7
G Knights of St. John (Hospitallers), 12-13
gauntlets, 20 Knights of the Teutonic Order, 12, 13
Germany, 13, 21, 22 Knights Templar, 12, 13
Godwinson, Harold, 35, 36, 37
grappling irons, 40 L
gunpowder, 51 lances, 11, 17
Eeicester, England, 42, 43
H longbows, 27, 28, 40, 52
halberds, 27
Hastings, Battle of, 8, 27, 35-37, 39 M
hauberks, 19 mace, 17, 18
helmets, 19, 20, 27 mangonels, 48
helms, 19, 20 manors, 10
Henry II, 24 melee, 10
Henry VII (Tudor), 42-43 men-at-arms, 26
heralds, 12, 33, 46, 50 mercenaries, 24
Holy hand, 12,13 military support, 8, 10
homage, 8, 10 misericord, 17
horses, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 17, 19, 21, 22, moats, 45, 50
27, 28, 29, 30, 36, 38, 43, 52 monks, military, 12
housecarls, 36 Moors, 13, 51
 Index

motte and bailey, 44 shaffrons, 21

muskets, 51-52 shields, 17, 19, 20, 33
Muslims, 12 ships, 30, 39-41
siege machines, 45, 48
N sieges, 5, 46-48, 49, 51, 52
nobles, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24-26, 30, 31, siege tower, 50
35, 38, 42 Sluys, sea battle of, 39-41
Normans, 8, 20, 27, 35, 36 Spain, 13, 51
Norway, 36 spears, 17, 27, 36
squires, 7
o stakes, 28, 30, 44
Odo, Bishop, 18 standard (flag), 33
Stanley, Lord, 42-43
p stirrups, 17
pages, 6-7 Strange, Lord, 42, 43
pattern-welding, 15 surcoats, 19, 21
peasants, 27, 30, 38 swords, 6, 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 27
Philip ly 38 history of, 15
pikes, 27, 39 how they were made, 15
Poland, 13 naming of, 15-16
poleaxes, 27
pommels, 16 T
priests, 18, 31 taxes, 24, 38
purification, ceremony of, 7 tournaments, 10-11
trebuchets, 48-49
Q Trinitarians, 33
quillions, 16
quintains, 6 u
quivers, 28 Urban II, Pope, 12

R V
ransom, 10, 33 Vildngs, 15
reconnaissance, 30, 38
Richard III, 42-43 w
WalesAVelsh, 24, 27, 42, 52
s Waltham Abbey, 37
sabatons, 20 war hammer, 17, 18
saddles, 11 Wars of the Roses, 42
Saracens, 12, 33 William of Normandy, 8, 10, 35, 36, 37
Saxons, 18, 35, 36 William I, 18
scabbards, 16
Scotland/Scots, 24, 27, 39, 49, 51 Y
scutage (shield money), 24 York, England, 36, 42
Medieval Weapons and Warfare

Abcvit the AMthov

Paul Hilliam is a graduate of London University. He is
senior master at Derby Grammar School in England where
he has enjoyed teaching history and religious studies. He
has traveled throughout Europe, the Middle East, and
India, visiting sites of historical interest.

Plioto CrcMts
Cover, pp. 6, 45, 52 © British Lihrary/Art Archive;pp. 4 ©
Bibliotheque Nationale Paris/Art Archive; p. 7 © Dagli Orti/
Biblioteca Nazionale Turin/Art Archive; p. 9 © Dagli
Orti/Bibliotheque Nationale Paris/Art Archive; p. 11 © Dagli
Orti/Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana Venice/Art Archive;
pp. 13, 26, 40 © HarperCollins Publishers/Bibliotheque
Nationale Paris/Art Archive,- p. 14 © Erich Lessing^AKG
London; p. 16 © Joseph Martin/Album/ Art Archive; p. 18 ©
AKG London; p. 20 © Royal Armouries; p. 21 © Dagli
Orti/Biblioteca Estense Modena/Art Archive; p. 25 © JFB/Art
Archive; p. 29 © Dagli Orti/Musees de la Tapisserie Bayeux/
Art /^chive; p. 31 © The Bodleian Library Oxford/Art Archive,-
p. 32 © Dagli Orti/Musee Conde Chantilly,- p. 34 © Dagli
Orti/Musee de la Tapisseries Bayeux/Art Archive; pp. 37, 41,
49 © Bibliotheque Nationale Paris/Art Archive,- p. 47 © Dagli
Orti/Bibliotheque Municipale Reims/Art Archive; p. 50 ©
Mike Seaforth/English Heritage.

Dcsi5>icr: Geri Fletcher; Ebitor: Jake Goldherg;

Photo Researcher: Elizabeth Loving
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 J 355.0094 HILLIAM
Hilliam, Paul.
Medieval weapons and
warfare :armies and co

EAST ATLAMTA

Atlanta-Fulton Public Library

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Titles in This Series

Castles aod Cathedrals The Great Buildings of Medieval Times

Damsels Not in Distress The True Story of Women in Medieval Times

Medieval Clothing and Costumes Displaying Wealth and Class in

Medieval Times

Medieval Feasts and Banquets Food, Drink, and Celebration in

the Middle Ages

Medieval Weapons and Warfare Armies and Combat in

Medieval Times

Tournaments and fousts Training for War in Medieval Times

lerusaiem Under Muslim Rule In the Eleventh Century

Christian Pilgrims Under Islamic Government

The First Crusade The Capture of Jerusalem in AD 1099

Saladin and the Kingdom of ferusaiem

The Muslims Recapture the Holy Land in AD 1187

Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade

The English King Confronts Saladin in AD 1191

Crusader Castles Christian Fortresses in the Middle East

Islamic Weapons, Warfare, and Armies

Muslim Military Operations Against the Crusaders

9 "780823"939954
The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.