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Favorite Medieval Weaponry?

    • 708 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:29 PM EDT

    I thought this would be a good discussion for a site based on an RPG where a lot of what goes down is people hitting other people with swords and various other things designed to kill people! So I ask you the question, what is your favorite medieval weapon? I'm talking pretty much anything up to black powder days. Melee or ranged, hand held or siege equipment, post your favorites here!

    • 708 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:33 PM EDT

    I'll start off with two of my favourites. First off is the falchion, a weapon that looks a bit like a machete and combines the versatility of a sword with the power of an axe. Supposedly they could be used to hack through chainmail, which is pretty useful! Plus, it looks ultra sexy

    Another one I'd like to mention is the knight's pollaxe. A rather interesting head mounted on the top of a long pole, it had an axe head for cutting, a blunt head for smashing armour, and a spear point to top it all off. A very versatile and deadly weapon!

    • 6 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:38 PM EDT

    The Glaive.

    Nothing quite like a polearm.

    • 365 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:39 PM EDT

    Ponty declares his love of curved swords....

    Curved....Swords!

    Mine has to be something ranged, probably a crossbow, or ordinary bow. I always thought flails were pretty awesome, especially when used as trip weapons to stop hordes of cavalry in their tracks.

    I agree with your choice, though, too, Falchions were the deadliest weapons among those that wielded them!

    • 490 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:40 PM EDT

    Halberd/spear. I think the tactical advantage of a long ranged melee weapon with piercing capabilities is incredible. If I had to pick one, halberd would be the best as it also has a swipe option with any axe/spear type top, making it a very versatile and awesome weapon.

    • 739 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:42 PM EDT

    Not the most impressive, but when one of my great grandmothers died we found this scary creation living at the back of her shed like a long lost artifact...

    ...when you wield it you hear the terrified screams of dead weeds ringing in your ears...

    ...the garden claw. The last thing you want to see coming at you during a peasants revolt.

    • 365 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:45 PM EDT

    Note to self: If Mason offers, never accept to see his ancestors long lost shed artifacts.

    • 739 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:49 PM EDT

    Mate, you could take someones face completely off with this thing.....it's a fate worse than death.

    • 365 posts
    October 19, 2013 6:59 PM EDT

    *Underrated 

    • 1483 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:00 PM EDT

    Or you will die of shame if not from the wounds 

    • 133 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:02 PM EDT

    The falchion is my second favorite medieval weapon, but my first has to be the Flail. I've always thought they looked the most badass.

    • 1483 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:05 PM EDT

    Nothing beats the badassery of katana!

    • 167 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:09 PM EDT

    The simple Short-Sword... Altair used it, so it's gotta be badass...

    • 409 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:12 PM EDT
    I gotta agree with Henson and say the Halberd. You could disarm the enemy, knock them off their feet, stab them, or simply use the tried and true method of hacking them to pieces. This is all done from the comfortable distance in which a sword cannot reach.
    • 100 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:20 PM EDT

    I have to say my favorite medieval technology was the trebuchet, mainly due to me having heard that they used it at first to launch dead horse and cow corpses away from their kingdom, then started saving said corpses to launch over enemy walls during sieges. NO IDEA of the credulity of the statement, it just stuck with me ever since hearing it. 

    • 3 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:21 PM EDT

    Zweihänder

    1. German origin 2. I am German 3. Just look at them 

    • 490 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:25 PM EDT

    I also want to add, since I forgot: The Morning Star! Not only is it absolutely brutal, but how awesome is the nickname of "Holy Water Sprinkler"? Hilarious.

    • 641 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:42 PM EDT

    Basket handled claymore 

    • 5 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:45 PM EDT

    The Horseman's Pick, the main use of it was to forcibly dismount a soldier from his horse. The interesting this was that it was mostly avoided for a large majority of design flaws. I think they're badass though!

    • 291 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:45 PM EDT

    Like Ponty, I, too, favor the one-sided swords.  The falchion is definitely on my list, but as far as design goes, I really like the Shamshir scimitar:

    Most likely lighter weight than the falchion, but still plays on the idea of slashing over stabbing.  Both would eventually become the saber and the cutlass.

    If we're talking late Middle Ages, then I do love the rapier and main-gauche combo.  The main-gauche (meaning "left hand" in French) was held in the left hand as a parrying dagger to turn the opponents weapon away.  This allowed for freer movement with the rapier; something a buckler or other small shield would make difficult with such a long, non-slashing weapon.  This is also where the idea of "dual-wielding" came from, however, you don't attack with a parrying dagger.  Somewhere the truth was lost in translation.

    • 708 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:53 PM EDT

    Apparently they did launch diseased corpses of people an animals at the enemy as a primitive form of biological warfare. Pretty cool, huh?

    • 100 posts
    October 19, 2013 7:59 PM EDT

    So this isnt exactly medieval, it predates it to around 700-something BCE in the Chinese Bronze Age, but this is amazing, and this thread reminded me of it, so ima share. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_of_Goujian 

    The Sword of Goujian. Crafted by a king to fight a rival kingdom, this sword fought against his rivals spear, both of which are still in near pristine condition; What stories those blades could tell huh!?

    • 13 posts
    October 19, 2013 8:01 PM EDT

    I second this!

    • 13 posts
    October 19, 2013 8:03 PM EDT

    Lol. I was raised as a Catholic and Damn, that is quite a resemblance!

    • 708 posts
    October 19, 2013 8:05 PM EDT

    Flails were definitely badass, but I always have to question their practicality, particularly in a larger battle. Swinging that spiky ball of death around, you had to worry about accidentally hitting yourself or an ally!