By Megan Malone seccond period Honors English Medieval Armor By Megan Malone seccond period Honors English

Knights of the Middle Ages When prehistoric man saw an enemy approaching with a weapon, his first instinct was to hide or take cover. In that time, man would usually hide behind a nearby tree or large rock, this is the time period where many ideas for defensive armor, such as the shield, originated. A knight's armor was his label that helped define him as a military unit and social class. Armoring oneself during the Middle Ages was a great expense that only the wealthy could afford, this is why knights were held at such high standards. Throughout history, knights have been thought to be very brave and heroic. While Asian soldiers of the time wore full suits of armor, strangely, most European soldiers began to refuse any kind of protection. They saw armor as unmanly and undignified.

Swords The sword was a standard fighting weapon long before the creation of the medieval knight. Nevertheless, the medieval knight found the sword to be an effective weapon. Medieval swords started out being made from bronze, but that was too soft of a metal, so they tried steel, which was too brittle and would often snap during battle, so they created a new technique called pattern-welding. When patter- welding, the blacksmith had to twist hard and soft metals together and then hammering them into one piece. Between the blade and the handle was a quillion, which offered protection for the hand and was often inlaid with precious stones. Since swords were so complicated to make and took so long, they were held as prized possessions and only the wealthy, mainly knights, could afford them. A perfect example was Excalibur, King Arthur's legendary sword.

Swords Most swords were double-edged, and featured a crossguard, hilt, and pommel. Many surviving examples of medieval swords feature some form of engraving, such as a prayer, or the sword owner's name. How elaborate the sword was decorated depended upon its owner's wealth, with some of the more intricate ones encrusted with jewels and fine engravings. Another form of the sword was the hammer. War hammers had a short handle and spikes on one end, so they would be able to pierce through plate armor, while the other end had a flat hammerhead on it to restrict movement. Other weapons less commonly used that would resemble the war hammer were the axe, which was a huge instrument used to knock off a soldier's head, and the mace, which was a large metal club.

The Lance Apart from the sword another standard weapon of a knight was the lance. Lances were usually made of wood, with metal tips. At first glance, most lances appeared to be nothing but a spear, but as the Middle Ages progressed, lances developed a more professional appearance, including the addition of hand guards and specialized metal tips. As a weapon, the lance enabled the knight to take advantage of his opponent while on horseback since it was long enough to battle someone from that height. For the knight's opponents on the ground who had to answer his lance, they developed many long- handled bladed weapons, which were often unsuccessful.

The Crossbow and the Longbow Archers were always a concern for the knight because they could hit targets from a distance. Many knights believed that archers were cowardly, since they did not engage in hand-to-hand combat. Nevertheless, archers became an important part of medieval warfare. Two weapons in particular made knights need more armor and protection, the crossbow and the longbow. The crossbow was a medieval weapon made with an iron bow and a wooden rod. It was filled with a projectile, the arrow, could penetrate chain mail up to fifty yards away and was deadly to unarmored men at twice that range. A longbow was a more devastating and ultimately decisive weapon on the battlefield of the Middle Ages. It was up to six feet long. The longbow had a greater rate of fire than the crossbow (it could be shot up to six arrows per minute).

Defensive Armor Among the earliest metallic armor to be worn by medieval knights was chainmail armor, consisting of tens of thousands of small interlocking rings woven by hand to form a shirt or leggings. Because of the thin steel produced in medieval times each ring had to be riveted to keep all the rings from spreading and opening under the weight of the piece. Underneath the metal armor the knight would wear padded clothes sometimes known as an "aketon," or "gambeson.". As times progressed, and more effective weapons were made, knights began to wear another type of armor called plate armor.

Defensive Armor With the invention of plate armor, chainmail wasn't forgotten, it was used as a neck guard to make breathing easier for the knight. Even parts such as the hands and feet had armor on them, they were called guantlets and sabatons. Since most soldiers couldn't afford the same type of metal armor as the noblemen, they wore anything they could find, everything from shirts with metal scales to quilted jerkins (sleeveless jackets). Some of the most decorated suits of armor were engraved with designs or plated with gold. To this defensive equipment he added a shield, usually made of leather-covered wood, and a helmet. A knight would usually hold his shield in his left arm, leaving his right free to wield a sword. Since weapons were advancing more and more each day, shields were eventually made from bronze, with a handle riveted into the back.