All About Medieval Weapons
Scottish Medieval Weapons
Medieval Scottish weapons reflect the times
Every nation in the Middle Ages had their specific weapons, and the Scots were no different. From the Schiltron Pike to the ever famous Scottish Claymore, the Scottish people had a wide variety of Scottish Medieval weapons that were the equivalent of any found anywhere else in Europe.
Replicas of these weapons remain among the most popular among collectors who want to buy medieval weapons.
The Trebuchet: King of the Siege Weapons
Medieval trebuchets were the ultimate siege weapons
A trebuchet is a Medieval siege engine that was used to either smash castle walls or to throw projectiles over them. It is sometimes called a "counterweight trebuchet" in order to distinguish it from an earlier weapon that has come to be called the "traction trebuchet." The counter weight trebuchet is the one that most people think of when they imagine a trebuchet.The counterweight trebuchet appeared in both Christian and Muslim lands around the Mediterranean in the 12th century. It could fling 300 pound projectiles at high speeds into enemy fortifications. This was usually stones of flaming pitch, but the Mongols introduced biological warfare by slinging the corpses of plague victims over the city walls.
Trebuchets were invented in China in about the 4th century BC, came to Europe in the 6th century AD, and did not become obsolete until the 16th century, well after the introduction of gunpowder. Trebuchets were far more accurate than other medieval catapults, and a good trebuchet design could infuse a military family with massive political power.
Some Great Middle Ages Video from YouTube
The Secrets of Greek Fire
Greek Fire was the earliest naval napalm
Greek Fire, also known as Byzantine Fire, Greek Byzantine Fire, and Sea Fire, was a fearsome naval weapon mastered by the Greeks and the Byzantines during early Medieval times.The Byzantines usually used it in naval battles to great effect, as their opponents ships couldn't escape it since the Greek fire would continue to burn, even on water. By what few surviving hstorical accounts we have left, Greek fire could continue burning even on water and was largely responsible for many Byzantine military victories, extending the life of the empire several centuries.
What is really interesting is that accounts have the fire being transmitted in streams of fire from enemey ships, like a flame thrower. The exact formula was a secret and remains a mystery to this day. Scientists can only guess as to what it was, and how it was shot in a flame thrower form.
There are varying accounts of where Greek fire came from, though many believe that it was invented in Constantinople by chemists who studied the early sciences. Accounts say putting water on the fire only spread it more widely.
While Greek fire gave the Byzantines a frightening weapon, they fell because they were surrounde on all sides, and eventually just ran out of population. This Greek fire was used against barbarians, Muslim invaders, and the Rus--not to mention he Venetians when the Fourth Crusade decided to sack Constantinople instead of continuing on.
The major down side was that Greek fire was very hard to control, and it would often accidentally set Byzantine ships ablaze, and an occasional accident could result in huge casaulties in their own armies.
The effectiveness of Greek fire was obvious, but even so it had its own limitations. For example, because of its short range it was far more effective as a weapon in narrow straights or canals than in the open seas.
From what we know, whatever the ingredients were, they were heated in a cauldron, and then pumped out of the ship in a fiery stream. Some degree of this was adapted for city use, and used in early "grenade" like form: terrifying calvalry and soldiers alike.
Great Short on Greek Fire
Byzantine Greek Fire
A small modern reconstruction of a "Byzan Greek Fire Gun" to give an idea how maight work the originals.
Runtime: 2:41
75491 views
10 Comments:
The Middle Ages on Wikipedia
Category: File - :Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpg|thumb|200px|9th century depiction of Charlemagne with popes Gelasius I and Gregory the Great
The Middle Ages of European history (adjective form medieval or mediaeval) are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christianity in the Reformation, the rise of humanism in the Italian Renaissance, and the beginnings of European overseas expansion. There is some variation in the dating of the edges of these periods which is due mainly to differences in specialization and focus of individual scholars.
The Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the modern period. The idea of such a periodization is attributed to Flavio Biondo, an Italian Renaissance humanist historian but commonly seen periodization ranges span the years ca. 400?476 AD (the sackings of Rome by the Visigoths to the deposing of Romulus Augustus) to ca. 1453?1517 (the Fall of Constantinople to the Protestant Reformation begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses). Dates are approximate, and are based upon nuanced arguments; for other dating schemes and the reasoning behind them, see "periodization issues", below.
The Middle Ages witnessed the first sustained urbanization of northern and western Europe. Many modern European countries owe their origins to events unfolding in the Middle Ages; present European political boundaries are, in many regards, the result of the military and dynastic achievements during this tumultuous period.
The Battering Ram
Medieval battering rams: simple, but efficient
Most of the early weapons and defenses were based on practicality. Someone throwing rocks? Pick up something to block, and there's a shield. Does an enemy pull a knife? A large knife gives more reach, and eventually leads to a sword.The earliest siege weapon was well prior to Medieval times, but knowing history is the best way to trace everything. The initial siege weapon was a battering ram. While the earliest ones were simply large logs, as the city defenses improved, a battering ram changed to the point where the Medieval version looked a lot different than a log with handles.
The picture here is what a Medieval battering ram would look like, protected from burning oil and arrows, and set to use momentum to increase the impact and damage a single seige weapon can deliver. This also allowed soldiers protecton from arrows.
Catapult--the next evolution
A distance siege weapon
The catapult is another siege weapon that started well before Medieval times, but continued to see usage through out that time period. These catapults were later replaced by much more complex versions known as trebuchets--which are still a form of a catapult, simply far more advanced and effective.The idea of a catapult is simple: to throw an object through the air at a target. This object can be anything from a large pot of flammable oil (favored by the Romans) to plague infested bodies (favored by the Mongols) to giant stones to take down a wall (Europe). A catapult is a giant version of early projectile weapons, such as slings and sling shots.
The exact date of a catapult as a seige weapon is hard to figure out, though historians agree that it was used by the AD 300s. Phillp of Macedonia, father of Alexaner the Great, was known to have used various siege weapons, including the catapult.
Other siege weapons based on the basic principles of the catapult include ballistas, trebuchets, and mangonels. Trebuchets had the greatest range and effectiveness of all of these, and struck fear into opposing armies. The specific designs of trebuchets were closely guarded secrets.
In fact, there are stories of one German military family that remained nobles despite five changes in the kingdom leader, because their trebuchets were so effective that the new king wanted their assistance and would grant them life and title rather than risk losing their military advantage.
While the trebuchet is definitely advanced enough to warrant its own place, its evolution started with the common catapult.
Catapults on Wikipedia
A catapult is any one of a number of non-handheld mechanical devices used to throw a projectile a great distance without the aid of an explosive substance?particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines.
The name is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek ?????????? - katapeltes, from ???? - kata (downwards, into, against) and ????? - pallo (to poise or sway a missile before it is thrown).Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon" at Perseus
The catapult appears to have been invented in 399 BC in the city of Syracuse during the reign of the tyrant Dionysius I "The Catapult: A History", Tracy Rihall, 2007. Originally, "catapult" referred to a dart-thrower, while "ballista" referred to a stone-thrower, but the two terms swapped meaning sometime in the fourth century AD.
It's really a trebuchet, but . . .
Medieval Movies and Games from Amazon
Medieval II Total War
Medieval II Total War is one of the finest war strategy games out there, and heads and shoulders above all the others.
Amazon Price: $9.97 (as of 07/04/2009) 
Medieval II Total War: Kingdoms Expansion Pack
Medieval II Total War: Kingdoms Expansion Pack further builds on this amazing Middle Ages war strategy game.
Amazon Price: $10.46 (as of 07/04/2009)
Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings
Still one of the most popular strategy war games out there for PC.
Amazon Price: $31.99 (as of 07/04/2009)
Kingdom of Heaven - The Director's Cut (Four-Disc Special Edition)
Kingdom of Heaven was an absolutely astounding movie, and did a great job of showing how politics and greed infiltrated both faiths while telling an amazing story.
Amazon Price: $26.99 (as of 07/04/2009)
Mangonels - the Trebuchet's Pre-Cursor
Between the catapult and the trebuchet
A mangonel is a type of catapult like siege weapon that was used in the Medieval period to throw projectiles. A mangonel was used specifically to throw projectiles at castle walls, and it threw projectiles at a low trajectory.The mangonel was still slightly more accurate than the trebuchets that followed, but they had far less distance, and trebuchets could hurl oil, stones, fire, or diseased bodies over a city wall.
History shows that some armies would hurl giant bee hives over city walls, which made for a very unhappy population.
The mangonels were considered a stepping stone between catapults and trebuchets, and were also good for open field battles. The Romans were the earliest to use a specific mangonel-like design.
Medieval Books For Further Reading:
Catapult: A History (Weapons in History)
Ah, the catapult, one of the most consistent siege weapons in all of military history.
Amazon Price: $22.76 (as of 07/04/2009)
Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics
A great illustrated book of siege weapons from "Mid Evil" times.
Amazon Price: $18.21 (as of 07/04/2009)
Arms & Armor of the Medieval Knight: An Illustrated History of Weaponry in the Middle Ages
All you ever wanted to know about the Code of Knighthood and Honor among Medieval Knights.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/04/2009)
Records of the Medieval Sword
The sword has always been one of the most used weapons of all time, and the Medieval times were no exception.
Amazon Price: $37.80 (as of 07/04/2009)
A Knight and His Weapons
More great reading about knights and Midevil times.
Amazon Price: $11.01 (as of 07/04/2009)
Scottish Claymore Wiki
The Scottish Claymore was the largest of the European broadswords, and one of the most feared Medieval weapons ever.
The term claymore (, from Scottish Gaelic claidheamh mòr, "great sword""claymore". Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989. [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50041118?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=claymore&first=1&max_to_show=10] (subscription required)) may refer to one of two distinct types of Scottish swords. It may refer to a two-handed sword with a cross hilt, of which the guards were usually turned down, used by the Highlanders of Scotland, or to a basket-hilted broadsword adopted in the 16th Century, which is still worn as the full-dress sword in the Highland regiments of the British Army.
Looking for more Medieval History?
- Medieval Siege Weapons
- A great page to learn even more about Medieval siege weapons.
- Catapult plans
- Have you ever wanted to build your own siege weapon? I know I have!
- Trebuchets
- Good site on the trebuchet, and how to build them.
- Medieval Scottish Weapons Blog
- A good blog focusing on Medieval Scottish Weapons.
- Modern Renaissance Man
- Blog with some interesting articles by a blogger with multiple interests.
- Hobby Writing
- Good blog that covers every type of writing, including making money writing for hobbies.
Medieval stuff on eBay
For the collectors
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Danish Axe Wiki
Did you know the Scandinavians had their own specific types of Medieval battle axes? A great weapon.
Medieval Enthusiasts: Leave Your Comments
triathlontraining wrote...
I've always been fascinated with that period in our history. Thanks for the interesting lens. :)
Posted July 29, 2008
BFuniv.com wrote...
For some reason, probably family history, large edged weapons like axes and the claymore give me a sense of well being.
Posted May 23, 2008
Medieval Weapons in Blogs from Google
Swords, Medieval Siege Weapons, and more...
- Legal History Blog: Rose on Medieval Law and Lawyers
- This paper, by studying an actual attaint in detail, provides further detail on this area of medieval English legal history. The paper is based on numerous primary sources in the plea rolls and Year Books. ...
- Armenia & the South Caucasus | The Caucasian Knot » Moldy cheese ...
- News, Analysis, Photojournalism and Links from Armenia and the South Caucasus.
- Friday Morning Fun: Medieval Helpdesk
- An hilarious video showing what helpdesk support was like back in the days of the middle age. In Norwegian with English subtitles.
- Out of Eight PC Game Reviews: Conquest! Medieval Realms Review
- Medieval Realms is a turn-based strategy game involving the latter exploit, although I suspect a plague-based computer simulation might be enjoyable as well. Here, you are fighting for control of the land by moving units around, ...
by Monteath
Hey all. I was previously in Austin, Texas, as well as Fairbanks, Alaska, and now proudly live as a digital vagabond writer. The picture is from Alas...
(more)
