Armor+and+Weapons+by+DanielM-CMS

There are several weapons and armor types that were used in the middle ages. The main groups of weapons used in the Middle Ages were swords, which there are many different types of, but there are other weapons that they used, such as crossbows, longbows, spears, daggers, and catapults. There are two main type of people using weapons in war were the knights and the normal foot soldier. The main type of armor used by knights is plated armor, while the armor used by foot soldier is chain armor. ** Knight weapons and armor  ** The weapons used by knights in the middle ages include Daggers, Lance, and many different types of swords. (Middle ages 2) Daggers Daggers were used as a backup weapon, were used mainly for stabbing. There were many different types of daggers used in the middle ages. These include Cinquedea, which was made in northern Italy, the Rondel dagger, which was used to get into the areas unprotected by armor and stab the person there. (Rondel 5) daggers had two main parts, the hilt and the blade. The hilt was usually made of wood, but sometimes it was made of leather. That is where the wielder held the dagger from. The blade is the part of the weapon that actually kills the enemy. The blade is made of metal, but they used different type of metal depending on the type of metal the blacksmith has. Lances Lances were used by mounted knights to thrust into foot soldiers while they rode past them. The handles were usually made from wood, while the tip was made of metal. Lances were not just used in war but they were also used in jousting tournaments. In jousting through, the tip was blunted so that the hit from the lance would not kill the knight that got hit. Swords Swords were the most common weapons used in the medieval ages, there are many different types of swords used in the middle ages. They include the claymore, a sword from Scotland it is also a backsword, the Spatha, which was sword used by Romans, the longsword, which was a two handed sword, and the Falchion sword, it was a cheap, mass produce weapon used during the crusade and in the wars after. War hammer War hammer were used to hurt people wearing plated armor. In some cases the war hammer dented the armor making it harder for the person to move. (Warhammer 4) the end of the war hammer had two sides, one which was blunt, was use to dent the enemies armor, while the other side was sharp and was used to pierce the armor and cause penetration of the skin. Armor The main type of armor used by knights is plated armor which was heavy and decreased the knight’s agility, but some knight used chain armor because they did not have enough money to buy the more expensive plated armor. ** Foot soldier weapons and armor  ** Most of the weapons used by knights were also used by normal soldiers, such as swords, war hammers, maces, and daggers. They also used other weapons such as crossbows, bows, and spears that were not used by knights. Spears The spears carried by soldiers are similar to the lance used by knight but there are some important differences. The main difference is that the spear used by soldiers is longer and is called a pike. (Common soldier 8) Crossbows Crossbow and bows were used to kill distant enemies. Bows were used in the open because it shot faster. When they were attacking castles the used crossbows. “The 'bow' was made of made of wood, iron or steel”** (crossbows 7) ** ** Advances in weapons and weapon  ** Guns were used instead of bows, because they could shoot farther away, and could pierce armor easily than arrows. Still though, bow were use sometimes in war. Plated armor and chainmail were no longer used because it was defenseless against bullets, and it also decreases the wearers’ agility causing them to be more vulnerable on the battlefield. = There were new types of swords that were invented in the renaissance. Also swords became more of a decoration than a weapon; also extra hilts were added to protect the hand and the fingers. There were new styles of sword fighting such as fencing, which used swords such Epée and the sabre. = = =  Work citation 1: Bemis, Michael F. "DeVries, Kelly & Robert D. Smith. Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact." //Library Journal// 132.13 (2007): 120. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Cope. 8 Mar. 2011. 2: "Crossbow." //Middle Ages//. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. http://www.middle- ages.org.uk/crossbow.htm 3: Goranov, Alexi. "MyArmoury.com: The Rondel Dagger." //MyArmoury.com: Home Page//. Cope. 08 Mar. 2011. . 4: Grandy, Bill. "MyArmoury.com: Warhammer." //MyArmoury.com: Home Page//. Web. 08 Mar.2011.. // 5: Middle Ages //. Web. 25 Feb. 2011. . 6: knopf, Alfred. __Arms & Armor.__ New York: Eyewitness, 1988. "Middle Ages Weapons." 7: "The Common Soldier." //The Common Soldier//. Thinkquest. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. .
 * Weapons and armor **