WEAPONS

OF THE MIDDLE AGES

BROADSWORD

BROADSWORD

Earliest form of medieval sword.

Blade was about 2-3 inches wide.

Sword was about 3 1/2 feet long.

Generally weighed about 4 pounds.

Generally used in close combat.

Usually used for cutting or slicing.

Could decapitate an enemy in a single

stroke.

CROSSBOW

CROSSBOW

Generally made of wood, iron, or

steel.
Usually about 2 feet long.
The string was drawn by winding a
crank.
Made it easy for even unskilled
warriors to use.
Could penetrate a full set of a knights
armor.

BATTLE AXE

BATTLE AXE

Created as single and double bladed.

Could be thrown like a missile.

Various different handle sizes ranging

from 1 to 5 feet.
Crescent shaped blade of about 25 cm
long.
Could easily crush the skull of an
opponent.

FLAIL

FLAIL

Made of one or two iron or steel

spiked balls chained to a wooden
stick.
Could be used by knights on foot or
horseback.
Could be used to tear armor off of
knights.
Used in close combat of a sword or
axe was lost.

LONGBOW

LONGBOW

Generally between 6 and 7 feet long.

Could pierce armor from over 260
yards away.
Could have 10-13 arrows fired per
minute.
Extremely effective against plate
armor.

HALBERD

HALBERD

Made of a spike and an axe blade on

top of a six foot long pole.
Generally used to mow down soldiers
from horseback.
Soldiers using halberds were often
equipped with swords or daggers to
use in close combat.

WARHAMMER

WARHAMMER

Consisted of a hammer head and a

spike.
Extremely versatile and could be used
as a weapon or a tool.
Could crush parts of enemies bodies
with single blow.
Could crush an enemies shield making
it easier to attack them.