KoRT (Knights of the
 

WEAPONS

The most prevalent weapons of the 5th century are the bow, sword, the battle-axe, and the lance (or spear). Combined with the prevalence of horse warfare, which eased movement and gave an advantage to its warring riders who carried spears.

As the world emerged fom the Dark Ages, and fortifications and armour were introduced, the introduction of massive siege engines, these hand-held weapons allowed invaders to overawe less technologically-advanced peoples. 

Bows - They were most commonly used from a distance. Their effectiveness increased dramatically as they were used from a higher altitude against lower targets as gravity would play an immense role in this.

Bows were divided into two categories:

• Regular Bows - They were very effective and they continue to be employed in warfare as they were relatively light - and a skilled archer could fire up to 12 arrows per minute - which added to the effectiveness. 

• Long Bows - These are very effective as they could easily penetrate a soldier's armor and more often than not, could also kill him in one shot. 

Swords were divided into many categories, the two most important being:

• Single-handed swords - These are usually very light and were accompanied by a shield. They can easily cut an unarmored opponent - but when the opponent is wearing an armor, they are not as useful. Nevertheless, these swords can be made of good metal and be very sharp so they could penetrate any type of armory. Single-handed swords are very common against barbaric tribes who rarely use armor. Nevertheless, against a well equipped army, they could be seemingly useless, unless used right. Single-handed swords are 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 is to spray them with venom during battles so death is guaranteed. What usually happens, though, is that these swords are never washed so cutting someone would result in an infection that could easily lead to death. Even though this practice is common, it is also counter-productive in some cases as it can, accidentally, kill the own wielder of the weapon.

• Two-handed swords - They are usually very heavy and thus; only strong men can carry them. Since these swords cannot 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.

Nevertheless, two-handed swords are very effective at penetrating an enemy's armor. In most of the cases, they are 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 is virtually useless against a knight using a two-handed sword and heavy armor.

Battle Axe - A battle axe (also battle-axe or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed as a weapon. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were wielded two-handed. Axes designed for warfare ranged in weight from just over 1 lb to 6 lb, and in length from just over a foot to upwards of five feet. Anything longer than five feet would arguably fall more into the category of polearms.

Lances - Blunt and sharp-headed lances were used in "jousts of peace" (tournaments) and "jousts of war."

Hammers - Hammers are very useful to knock down an opponent even if he was wearing heavy armory. When soldiers realized how effective hammers are, they began developing variations which proved to be deadlier. Even though hammers are very effective at certain aspects, they are still no match for a good soldier with a two-handed sword. Hammers are usually reserved for poor soldiers or as a last resource. 

Daggers - Daggers were very common during warfare. They are 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 are used as an alternative in case they are captured or surrounded. Additionally, during extreme need, archers can use their daggers to attack - which is very ineffective, but used nevertheless.

They are very sharp and small - the smaller the better. A very good dagger could even penetrate light armor and, if the enemy is not wearing armor, he could be easily killed with only one blow.

Daggers have become another sign of chivalry such as a sword - they are generally passed from generation through generation since they will rarely deteriorate if made from a good material.

Clubs – A club, cudgel, baton, truncheon, night stick, or bludgeon is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a staff, crock or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon. Typically, a club is small enough to be wielded in one hand. Clubs that need both hands to wield are called quarterstaffs in English. The wounds inflicted by a club are generally known as bludgeoning or blunt-force trauma injuries.
 

These weapons were introduced when armour came into being.

Crossbow - a vicious device that could be easily fired at a moving target, killing, if shot right. Crossbows used, among other projectiles, quarrels which were extremely deadly; or by adding venom or other deadly substances to guarantee death. The most prized members of a castle's garrison were those who wielded the lofty crossbow. 

Maces - consists of a strong, heavy wooden, metal-reinforced, or metal shaft, with a head made of stone, copper, bronze, iron or steel. The head is normally about the same or slightly thicker than the diameter of the shaft and can be shaped with flanges, or knobs to allow greater penetration of armor. The length of maces can vary considerably. The maces of foot soldiers were usually quite short (two or three feet). The maces of cavalrymen were longer and better designed for blows from horseback. Two-handed maces ("mauls") could be even larger. The flail is often, though incorrectly, referred to as a mace.

Maul - A splitting maul (or mall) is a heavy, long-handled hammer used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of it is identical to a sledge hammer and the other side is an axe.

Flail - The flail is a medieval weapon made of one (or more) weights attached to a handle with a hinge or chain. There is some disagreement over the names for this weapon; the terms "morning star," and even "mace" are variously applied, though these are used to describe other weapons, which are very different in usage from a weapon with a hinge or chain. In construction, the "morning star" and flail have similar, if not identical, spiked heads. Thus, "morning star" is an acceptable name for this weapon. The term "morning star" actually refers to the head of a weapon (the small round spiked ball) and can be used for either a morning star mace (on a shaft) or flail (if on a chain). Flails also sometimes had blunt round heads or flanges like a mace. Some written records point to small rings attached to chains on a flail used to inflict greater damage, but no historical examples are known to exist.

Lower Class Weapons - Peasants, on the other hand, generally fight back with the only weapons in their possession: the tools that they used to till their fields and tend their homes - hayforks, flails, sickles, axes, clubs with spikes, and boar-spears. Interestingly, these same tools eventually become an integral part of the weapons inventory of most armies. 


These weapons were not prevalent in the Dark Ages. But could become available in “Unto Britannia” as time progresses.

Siege engines are critical participants during any major onslaught on a castle. Catapulting stone missiles or huge arrows, these massive machines pound the thick masonry walls. Yet, on their own, siege engines often are inadequate to bring down a fortress. So, other tactics are employed at the same time as the siege engines are pummeling the walls, including undermining, whereby sappers dig mines, or tunnels, underneath towers. The mines create instability and cause the structures to topple. A battering ram is sometimes used. It has a sharpened end, and the object is to break away stones to achieve some kind of breach in the walls. Its primary use though, is against doors. Types of siege engine include the ballista, the mangonel, and the trebuchet. 

Even when used in open-field battles, siege weapons are effective, as they can be used to kill up to dozens of soldiers with a single missile launch! This causes terror, and, combined with archer-fire, made battles something incredible to watch.

Siege weapons included, but were not limited to: Catapults, trebuchets, and many more. These two later were both (in the case of a castle siege) used for defense and attack purposes.

Some elaborated castles are suitable to place catapults and trebuchets on top of them. This is a good strategy as missiles fired from such an altitude could easily reach soldiers who were very far away.

The trebuchet basic design is a long arm pivoting on an axle at the summit of a high frame. The shorter end of the long arm carries enormous containers of earth and rubble weighing many tons as a counterweight. Lead is also sometimes used. The longer end, called the "verge", is winched down to ground level against the pull of the counterweight by a system of winches. This end carries the projectile, or missile, in either a spoon or sling which, when released, hurled its projectile in a high trajectory to a range which can be adjusted by a sliding counterweight on the longer arm. 

Cut stones are sometimes used as the projectile, weighing as much as 300 lbs. The standard weight of the stones are 60 to 100 lbs. Ten of these stones can be produced a day by a single stone cutter. The range of the trebuchet appears to be about 500 yards, with deadly accuracy. Other projectiles known to be thrown by the trebuchet included paving stones, dead horses, pots of quick lime, and scraps of iron. 

The mangonel consists of a heavy frame which supported a long arm with a cup or sling at the free end. The other extremity passes through a series of ropes, called a skein, stretched between upright posts. The ropes are twisted by capstans, called capitals, and then the free end is pulled down by a winch or windlass. When it was in a horizontal position the arm locks into position and the cup or sling can be loaded with a stone or incendiary material. The arm is then released and it flew up by the whip effect until it hit a horizontal padded stop between the upright arms of the frame. The projectile would have a low inaccurate trajectory. The range is around 200 yards. 

A ballista is a siege engine in the form of a large bow which shot heavy arrows or stones. The range is about 400 yards throwing a stone of 60 lbs. Its power is also derived from twisted ropes, called skeins. 

From inside a castle's walls, soldiers have a somewhat restricted selection of weapons to use to defend their lord and his fortress. In addition to arrows, the garrison frequently throws down stone missiles, crushing invaders. They also rely upon "Greek fire", a volatile combination of petroleum and oil and other natural products, which generates a highly flammable substance that burns on water and is excruciatingly hot. Apparently, Greek fire was used to make incendiary arrows, but could also be blown through tubes. 

List of medieval weapons
• Axes 
• Daggers and knives 
• Swords 
• Blunt weapons 
• Spears and other Polearms (axes included) 
• Ranged 
• Static 
• Siege 
• Warships 
• Armor 
• Fortification 


Axes
• Battle axe 
• Danish axe 
• Doloire 
• Francisca 
• Mattock (improvised) 

Daggers and knives
• Baselard 
• Cinquedea 
• Dirk 
• Ear Dagger 
• Großes Messer 
• Machete 
• Mercygiver 
• Poniard 
• Rondel 
• Scramasax 
• Seax 
• Stiletto 
• Sword breaker 

Swords
• Arming sword 
• Broadsword 
• Claymore 
• Cutlass (a little dubious) 
• Falchion 
• Flamberge 
• Foil (fencing) 
• Longsword 
• Rapier 
• Sabre 
• Spatha 
• Shortsword 
• Two-handed sword 
• Zweihander 

Blunt weapons
• Club 
• Flail 
• Mace 
o Flanged mace 
• Maul 
• Morning star 
• Quarterstaff 
• War hammer 
o Bec de Corbin 
o Horseman's pick 

Spears and other Polearms (axes included)
• Footman's lance 
• Glaive 
• Guisarme 
• Halberd 
• Lance 
• Lochaber Axe 
• Man catcher 
• Military fork 
• Partisan 
• Pike 
• Plançon a picot 
• Ranseur 
• Spetum 
• Swordstaff 
• Voulge 
• War-scythe 

Ranged
• Archery 
o Bombard (weapon) 
 Bow 
 Longbow 
 English longbow 
o Short bow 
• Culverin 
• Crossbow 
o Arbalest 
o Ballista 
• Sling 
• Throwing axe 
o Francisca 
o Hurlbat 
• Siege engine 
o Battering ram 
o Catapult 
 Mangonel 
 Onager 
 Petrary 
 Trebuchet 

Static
• Caltrops 
• Poop 

Siege
• Battering ram 
• Ballista 
• Catapult 
• Greek fire 
• Petard 
• Siege hook 
• Siege tower 
• Trebuchet 

Warships
• Galleon 
• Galley 
• Longship 

Armor While armor is not technically a weapon, its development was both driven by weapon technology and a driving force for that same technology in return.
• Chain mail 
• Gauntlet 
• Shield 
• Plate armour 
• Scale armour 

Fortification Medieval fortifications also developed in connection with the weapons that opposed them.
• Battlement 
• Barbican 
• Castle 
• Citadel 
• City wall 
• Curtain wall 
• Drawbridge 
• Gate 
• Moat 
• Motte-and-bailey 
• Murder-hole 
• PortcullisKitschster


HORSES

Destrier - This is a rare horse type that is bred for war. This warhorse is always of the Heavy Horse Group. Warhorse breeds could also be used for draft, but those trained in war would be too valuable for such a use. The Destrier has a slower pace than that of light horses and extended travel on one would take a little longer. Many times, a lighter horse would be used for travel riding with the Destrier in tow so it would be fresher for battle. Upkeep (feed and care) for this horse is intensive and expensive. The price to purchase one of these trained warhorses would be extremely high. 
((Historically, heavy warhorses contained such breeds as the Brabant or Belgian, the Jutland, the Noriker and the Boulonais.)) 

Charger/Courser - The Charger is the most common type of warhorse. Belonging to the Light Horse Group as this type does, does not necessarily mean that it is a small horse, they are usually as tall as and sometimes taller than the heavy Destrier. These horses are bred and trained for war and are in excellent physical shape for combat. These horses are faster than the Destrier and even though they lack the Destrier's great strength, they are still very powerful steeds. Upkeep is intensive and expensive. The price to purchase one of these trained warhorses would be extremely high. 
((Historically, this type would have included the Friesian and the Rottaler or Bavarian Warmblood.)) 

Palfrey - The Palfrey is a normal riding horse. It is of the Light Horse Group. This is the most common type of riding horse and is rarely trained for combat. They can be used for war. Quality of Palferys is greatly varied. A horse not specifically trained for combat would be hard to control in such a situation. Palfreys can also be trained to pull carts and wagons. Upkeep is more economical than a warhorse, but can be expensive, especially in winter. 
((Historical breeds would include the Arabian, the Welsh Cob, the Andalusian, the Cleveland Bay and the Irish Draft.)) 

Draft or Farm Horse - This horse type could be either from the Light or the Heavy Horse Group. Many riding horses were also used for draft, such as the Brabant, the Cleveland Bay and the Irish Draft, but not all draft horses were used extensively for riding, such as the Shire. Draft horses pull plows, carts, wagons and anything else that needs pulled. These horses would not be useful in war or combat, they would spook easily and generally not be easy to manage in such a situation. 

Pony - The pony type comprises ponies that are sturdy and nimble. They are mostly used for pack animals but some of the larger breeds are ridden. Upkeep is economical. 
((Historically, the Welsh Mountain Pony, the Shetland and the Landais would be in this type.)) 

Riding/War Pony - This pony type is made up of the larger breeds of ponies that can be used for riding. Smallish races or nomads whose society revolves around smaller horses, like the Mongols, use this type. Upkeep is economical, but can be more expensive for larger breeds. These ponies can be trained for war. ((Historically, this type might contain the Norwegian Fjord, the Highland and the Icelandic Horse.))