1. Week 15 History Homework Weapons and warfare 1

2. Knight’s Weapons Because the medieval period was before the 15 th Century I will be looking at knight’s weapons. I think that these weapons were very effective and that they were a good choice for knights.

3. Daggers Daggers were very common during medieval warfare. They were used, mainly, as an alternative in case the soldier's main weapon was unavailable, or in case he needed more flexibility. In the case of archers, daggers were used as an alternative in case they were captured or surrounded. Additionally, during extreme need, archers could use their daggers to attack - which was very ineffective, but used nevertheless.

4. Daggers (continuation) Daggers were very sharp and small - the smaller the better. A very good dagger could even penetrate light armor and, if the enemy was not wearing armor, he could be easily killed with only one blow. This made daggers very popular throughout the middle ages. Daggers, later on, became another sign of chivalry (though not as famous as a sword). They were generally passed from generation through generation since they would rarely deteriorate if made from a good material.

5. The Crossbow Crossbows were so effective that the church banned their use for a couple of years. Nevertheless, nobody listened and their use only got greater. A good crossbow could be easily fired at a moving target killing, if shot right, instantly.

6. The Crossbow (continuation) Crossbows used (among other projectiles) quarrels which were extremely deadly. Afterwards, these were improved by adding venom or other deadly substances to guarantee death

7. The Sword By far the most famous weaponry of the Middle Ages are the swords. They are often accompanied by the symbol of chivalry and knights. Swords can be divided into many categories, the two most important being the single handed swords and the two handed swords.

8. The Single Handed Sword These were usually very light and were accompanied by a shield. They could easily cut an unarmored opponent - but when the opponent was wearing an armor, they were not as useful. Nevertheless, these swords evolved and were made very sharp so they could penetrate any type of armory. This only happened after many centuries, and thus; were not very effective before. Single-handed swords were very common against barbaric tribes who rarely used armor. Nevertheless, against a well equipped army, they could be seemingly useless (unless used right).

9. The Single-handed Sword (Continuation) Single-handed swords were also very popular for duels among nobles and the lower classes. They could generally mean the death of an opponent as they were so sharp that cuts were usually deadly. Another technique used for these swords was to spray them with venom during battles so death was guaranteed. Nevertheless, there are very few recorded events in which this happened. What usually happened, though, was that these swords were never washed so cutting someone would result in an infection that could easily lead to death. Even though this practice was common, it was also counter-productive in some cases as it could, accidentally, kill the own wielder of the weapon.

10. Two-handed Swords They were usually very heavy and thus; only strong men could carry them. Since these swords could not be accompanied by a shield, most soldiers relied on very heavy armor in order to protect themselves effectively. This was, most of the time, a common cause for the slow demise of foot soldiers as carrying a complete heavy armor and a two-handed sword would result in an extreme amount of weight.

11. Two-handed sword (continuation) Nevertheless, two- handed swords were very effective at penetrating an enemy's armor. In most of the cases, they were so powerful that not only could they destroy an armor, but they could also completely cut a man in two - his armor included. This simple fact of extreme effectiveness against armored foot soldiers, is what made two-handed swords so effective. A single-handed sword was virtually useless against a knight using a two-handed sword and heavy armor.

12. William Robinson Year 7 Lions