h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The History of Medieval Weapons in Europe - A2096372
Author: His Divine Shadow: ACE (and Count of Phlogos in Terrania: A820180) - U210920

Hello guys and gals, I got some work done in the colabrative writing shop, here is the link to the convo for it: F57152?thread=371396&post=4998673#p4998673

But then they stopped responding, so I am moving on. Hopefully I can get some more feedback, perhaps do some more work on my History, and then hopefully, get the article added to the edited guide. Thanks a bunch to everyone who has already helped. And thanks in advance to those who are about to help

Oh were to start.....

Let's start at swords.

The falchion wa without doubt a butchers blade, heavy badly balanced and cheap. Single edged and vicous, it was used against nearly any kind of armour including plate. It may not cleave through the steel, but it will buckle it and make the articulation f***ed to say the least. It also hurts a lot when this happens. A good hit to the knee or the elbow and I will no longer be able to fight effectively. Consequently I'll die. I remeber last year some one hit my knee armour (which is plate 16 gauge steel and buckled the articulation, it was painful to walk off the field to say the least!!) Basically a falchion was a cheap sword for the poorer noble or the richer members of the levy. Also you need to bare in mind that most people would not have had a full harness.

The Hand and a Half or bastard sword is most definitely not the same as the long or two handed sword. A hand and a half would have a 29-34 inch blade normally and have a slightly extended pommel to allow you to use it two handed if you drop or lose your secondary weapon, normally a parrying dagger or buckler or both. The two handed.Lon/Great sword is another matter entirely. Ranging from 40 inches to 60 these things are huge heavy and are normally used in a similar style to a pole arm, except in tournies.

To see more swords and to get a feel for this I'd recommend having a look at Lancaster Armouries Website.

Sorry but I'm a medieval reenactor and 14-15th century weapons specialist, I could be here for a while....

More to follow.......



Tenaka

Sorry? Heck no! I appreciate the help

I shall make the revisions shortly.

Ok, with an expert in medievel weaponry in the thread I think I'll save my comments for other areas of the entry!

First off,
Spears...

"After man began hardening the sharpened end in fire, he tied a sharpened rock to a notched end"

"Sharpened rock or bone" perhaps? In regions where the geology didn't produce the right kind of rock they used animal bones.

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"The javelin is a short spear almost entirely used for throwing that which needs to die"

Should that be "...used for throwing _at_ that which..."

And were javelins necessarily short?

Might also be worth mentioning the first advance in weapons technology - the spear thrower - which is surely the precursor of the bow and the first "technological" weapon.

---

Your introduction to flint weaponry leaves me a little confused...

When you talk about "a certain black rock" "known as obsidian or flint"

Is Obsidian really the same thing as flint? I was pretty sure they're not actually the same rock. Certainly, flint, as I know it, isn't black.

---

Your seige engine section could be expanded, there were all types of weapons you haven't mentioned - from gigantic crossbow type weapons to catapult-type weapons using tightly wound rope as an energy source.


Found this website which seems to have quite a bit of info on it...

http://www.mangonel.com/ (and even has diy seige engines )

You cover some ground here HDS

Do you think it may be worth splitting into smaller linked entries? Possibly keep the general points to an introduction to medieval weapons, and link to entries on large siege weapons, hand weapons (note: there is already a pretty comprehensive entry at A454637), and thrown/fired weapons?

I'm not going to attempt to list the typos as it is such a long entry, but I'd recommend a spelling & grammar check if you can - you use 'where' a few times when I believe you intend to put 'were', 'steal' instead of 'steel' (in the arrows section) and so on.

I agree some linked references would also be valuable, or books you can recommend for further information. There may also be some entries to link to already in the Guide. A researcher of your experience (having glanced at your busy personal space and numerous entries ) should have no problems sorting out some hyperlinks eg A454637 Hand Weapons - though this does cover much of the same ground as you want to already

I'd be interested to know on what you base some of your history

Pimms

Hi HDS - hmmm - you have referenced the entry to Europe, but many of the pieces are generic - axes - rocks, etc and relate to anywhere in the world, they also pre-date the period you're talking about.

I'd agree that the atl-atl was the first developed ranged weapons, but not european.

I could mention whips, defensive weapons such as caltrops, developed agricultural implemants such as scythes and tridents.

Pole arms what about the pike ? 16 foot of ash with a fire hardened tip.

I think you've over-extended yourself here. Tighten the focus and start with a single weapon group, discuss its development, and application, get it edited, then onto the next.

Or alternatively ignore me, as after all, all this is purely my opinion.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Congratulations, HDS!

Good gods! Hurray Yay! Thank you to everyone for your input and may Odin eteranally bless whatever scout put in the good word for me