How Did Medieval Weapons Start

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History of Medieval Weaponry The Medieval era is known for a multitude of things, such as castles, kings, the plague, and of course the weapons. Ranging from the first spears and swords, to the various advances in weaponry, and even the introduction of the cannon, forms of weaponry changed vastly across the Medieval era. So, where did it all start? During the earliest parts of the Medieval era, most soldiers were outfitted with chainmail armour or bulky clothing (The Evolution) so weapons made for slashing and thrusting were most effective. The iconic sword was very prevalent throughout this time, appearing in many shapes and sizes across several countries. In Europe, the most common sword was the arming sword, a short blade around 30”-32”, a lightweight, yet effective weapon used …show more content…
This sword is also similar to the greatsword and bastard sword families (Medieval Weapons). The spear was also a very common weapon type found at this time. The spear type with the highest status is the lance, used not only for competition through jousting, but also used in combat, as it was an incredibly effective weapon for cavalry, although it was quite weak and often broke. The polearm was able to be used in a multitude of different ways due to being able to stick different types of blade onto the pole and create a new weapon (Medieval Weapons That) like the halberd, a two-handed pole with a spike at the top, along with an axehead, so one could not only stab with it, but swing it as well. Later into the Medieval era, the chainmail armour would become less effective due to new weapons being introduced such as the crossbow, war-hammers, and lances being able to break the rings or go through them. This led to the creation of plate armour, thick plates of metal that would cover the body head to toe (The Evolution). This would lead to a change in what weapons were most