Weapons and Warfare by Ryan Cruce
The Medieval ages had lots of weapons. some weapons were very useful some of them didn't even work. I am listing some of the most useful weapons in the the medieval ages. One good weapon was the Ballista. the ballista was a Roman artillery weapon. A very advanced piece of technology. the next weapon was a battering ram.
Battering Rams- A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times to breach fortification walls or doors. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried by several people and propelled with force against the target, the momentum of the ram damaging the target.
A trebuchet works by using the energy of a raised counterweight to throw a projectile. A long beam is attached to an axle. At the short end of the beam is attached the counter weight. The long end of the beam is pulled down, raising the counterweight. A sling, which has a pouch containing the projectile, is attached to the long end of the beam. Upon releasing the trigger, the sling and the beam swing upward, pivoting on the axle toward the vertical position, whereupon one end of the sling releases, opening the pouch and allowing the projectile to fly towards the target. The stored energy of the counterweight is transferred efficiently to the projectile. Some time the projectile would be a disease ridden body.
Some barbarians would use a falchions sword. Which is a short double edged sword. Another good weapon of the middle ages custom made long bows.
Clubs and Mace A mace is a simple weapon that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful blows.Flails The military flail or simply flail is a weapon commonly attributed to the Middle-Ages but for which only a limited amount of historical evidence currently exists for most of this era.
War methods: most empires will try to use siege empire to destroy castles. siege weapons were very good at destroying castles. and also they are very big.
The Medieval ages had lots of weapons. some weapons were very useful some of them didn't even work. I am listing some of the most useful weapons in the the medieval ages. One good weapon was the Ballista. the ballista was a Roman artillery weapon. A very advanced piece of technology. the next weapon was a battering ram.
Battering Rams- A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times to breach fortification walls or doors. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried by several people and propelled with force against the target, the momentum of the ram damaging the target.
A trebuchet works by using the energy of a raised counterweight to throw a projectile. A long beam is attached to an axle. At the short end of the beam is attached the counter weight. The long end of the beam is pulled down, raising the counterweight. A sling, which has a pouch containing the projectile, is attached to the long end of the beam. Upon releasing the trigger, the sling and the beam swing upward, pivoting on the axle toward the vertical position, whereupon one end of the sling releases, opening the pouch and allowing the projectile to fly towards the target. The stored energy of the counterweight is transferred efficiently to the projectile. Some time the projectile would be a disease ridden body.
Some barbarians would use a falchions sword. Which is a short double edged sword. Another good weapon of the middle ages custom made long bows.
Clubs and Mace A mace is a simple weapon that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful blows.Flails The military flail or simply flail is a weapon commonly attributed to the Middle-Ages but for which only a limited amount of historical evidence currently exists for most of this era.
War methods: most empires will try to use siege empire to destroy castles. siege weapons were very good at destroying castles. and also they are very big.
CRUSADES:By Benjamin Boone-The crusades were a series of military expeditions were the Catholics tried to reclaim The Holy Land that had been controlled by the Muslims since 638 AD. There were 9 crusades to capture the holy land. The crusades were done by knights in armor wielding swords. The only crusades that achieved anything were the first, second, third, and fourth crusades. The other crusades achieved almost nothing. Since the crusades had failed completely the pope and his saints lost all their holy power. The crusades ended in a tragedy as the knights never captured the holy land. The failure of the knights to push back the Muslims and recapture the holy land thus allowing the Muslims to continue expanding a capture the civilization known as the byzantine empire. During the time of the crusades money was spent without end. The total use of the money for the crusades lead to weakened trade and decreased the pay for work. After loss of trade from the absence of production of crops and less money the area began to decline. Later leading to the end of the crusades and the civilization itself. By the loss of the holiness of the church some families stopped giving money to the church to use for themselves. At the end of it all nothing positive had been achieved because of the crusades, Muslims had established a great reputation of having much tolerance. The hatred that was created between the Christians in the West and the Muslim was so great that its effects passed down the centuries and can still be seen in people today.
THE VIKINGS
by: Jackson Akins
The vikings were a group of Scandinavian seafaring pirates and traders who raided and settled in many parts of northwestern Europe in the 8th-11th centuries during the medieval period. The viking’s civilization build long swift wooden ships with oars and sails that enabled the vikings to raid villages off the coast and travel farther inland. (Ager) They would also put fearsome figureheads on the stern of their ship and their ships could carry up to 100 men. A viking fleet would consist of 100 ships and they would be tied together and if they ever did fight on the open seas they would board an enemy ship and keep it because of its valuable resources (Ager). Their culture was spread all along Europe and they were nomads and would migrate from coast to coast. They would use main offensive weapons such as the spear, sword, and battle-axe, although they would also use missiles and other projectiles. (Ager) The spear was the most common weapon with an iron blade on a wooden staff, often of ash and 2 to 3m in length. (Ager) It was used for thrusting and throwing. For defence they used a circular shield made of wood and a helmet and armor made of mail. The vikings had no formations and no battle tactics. The young were taught how to use and handle weapons from hunting and raiding. They believed in Norse gods such as Thor,Odin,and Loki. In preparation for war the young warriors would draw up in line with their shield overlapping in a ‘shield wall’ while their chief would be guarded by body guards. The older warriors would form a line behind them to support (Ager). Some of the famous berserks believed that Odin,the Norse god of war, had given them superhuman abilities and did not wear armor because of this (Ager).
by: Jackson Akins
The vikings were a group of Scandinavian seafaring pirates and traders who raided and settled in many parts of northwestern Europe in the 8th-11th centuries during the medieval period. The viking’s civilization build long swift wooden ships with oars and sails that enabled the vikings to raid villages off the coast and travel farther inland. (Ager) They would also put fearsome figureheads on the stern of their ship and their ships could carry up to 100 men. A viking fleet would consist of 100 ships and they would be tied together and if they ever did fight on the open seas they would board an enemy ship and keep it because of its valuable resources (Ager). Their culture was spread all along Europe and they were nomads and would migrate from coast to coast. They would use main offensive weapons such as the spear, sword, and battle-axe, although they would also use missiles and other projectiles. (Ager) The spear was the most common weapon with an iron blade on a wooden staff, often of ash and 2 to 3m in length. (Ager) It was used for thrusting and throwing. For defence they used a circular shield made of wood and a helmet and armor made of mail. The vikings had no formations and no battle tactics. The young were taught how to use and handle weapons from hunting and raiding. They believed in Norse gods such as Thor,Odin,and Loki. In preparation for war the young warriors would draw up in line with their shield overlapping in a ‘shield wall’ while their chief would be guarded by body guards. The older warriors would form a line behind them to support (Ager). Some of the famous berserks believed that Odin,the Norse god of war, had given them superhuman abilities and did not wear armor because of this (Ager).
Conclusion
War
Despite the fact that some historians claim the Middle Ages were a dark period of history, this time was actually full of progress in the area of weapons and warfare. many new weapons were invented and used in this time period. one weapon that was very good was the the longbow. The longbow had long range and was very powerful. One more weapon that changed the evolution of warfare was the siege engines. siege engines helped sieg strong castles. many new weapons were invented during this time but these were some very effective weapons. some people might think the middle ages were bad but they were vary good.
Despite the fact that some historians claim the Middle Ages were a dark period of history, this time was actually full of progress in the area of weapons of warfare. A specific section where it was improved was the vikings. The vikings brought battle axes and long-ships. The battleaxes helped drastically turn the tide for war. Plus the vikings settled in settlements so many of us wouldn't be here today. That is my reasoning for why i think the middle ages were a good thing.
The crusades were very neutral towards whether the medieval time was a positive or negative time. During the time of the crusades the knights achieved nothing in their quest and nothing negative was caused by the crusades other than loss of trade and lack of money.
works cite
Ryan Cruce, Jackson Akins, and Ben Boone
BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
"Crusades and Crusaders." Crusades. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. <http://www.medievalwarfare.info/crusades.htm>
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." The Crusades (1095–1291). N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/crus/hd_crus.htm>
"Medieval Warfare." & Medieval Arms. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. <http://www.medievalwarfare.info/>.
BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 05 May 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/weapons_01.shtml>.