Arms and Armor

Medieval peasant weapons were often just repurposed farm tools, and the grain flail is one such example. Because it only has a single link rather than a whole chain, or just a very short chain, as well as a very long grip, it has all the advantages of the mythical military fail, but is much easier to control.

When used for war, they were often fitted with spikes or extra weights. The spikes themselves would not have been for the purpose of stabbing into the enemy--though they would hurt--but rather likely to give the weapon more 'grip' when striking plate armor. Medieval plate armor was almost impossible to cut or stab through, making sheer kinetic force the best option for hurting the man inside. However, the smoothness and roundedness of it means that even extremely hard blows lose a lot of their kinetic force transferrence when they slide and glance off to the side. This, blunt force weapons with multiple points of contact were preferable, that's one reason why maces look like this.

and war hammers look like this

“Halberd”

Culture: Swiss

Date: Early 15th Century 

Length:  77 3/8 inches total, with a 17 ½ inch head.

Weight:  4 lbs. 12 oz.

Credit: The Met

Info: Don’t ask me why, but the shape of this halberd head made me laugh. It looks funny. 

A halberd is a type of polearm typically characterized by having an axe blade, a speartip, and a hook all on the same head. The purposes of the blade and the speartip are obvious, but the hook is meant primarily for pulling mounted soldiers off of their horses so that they can be either finished off or captured. (If he’s on a horse, he’s probably worth a good ransom, so best to take him alive.) 

Etruscan Wolf Head Helmet

Close Helmet, Metropolitan Museum of Art: Arms and Armor

Rogers Fund, 1904 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Steel, gold

⚜️Close Helmet in Maximilian Style, German, circa 1520.

Medium: Steel and brass Overall: 30.5 x 21.8 x 32 cm (12 x 8 9/16 x 12 5/8 in.)

🏛The Cleveland Museum of Art

- - ⚜️Закрытый шлем в стиле “Максимилиан”, Германия, около 1520 г.

Материалы: сталь, латунь Размеры: 30,5 х 21,8 х 32 см (12 х 8 9/16 х 12 5/8 дюйма)

🏛Художественный музей Кливленда (The Cleveland Museum of Art)

A basket-hilted sword, Germany third quarter of the 16th Century, length 120.5 cm.

Long, straight single-and-false-edged blade. Basket hilt with lower ring guard, straight quillons of lozenge section widening toward the ends. Heavy, cone-shaped pommel. Leather-covered wooden grip (restored). The surface shows severe corrosion, but the weapon’s beauty remains intact. The leather-covered wooden scabbard with more recent iron mounts.

Sword of Justice, 1660, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

George F. Harding Collection Size: Overall L. 105 cm (41 5/16 in.) Blade L. 82.5 cm (32 ½ in.) Wt. 4 lb. 3 oz. Medium: Wood, sharkskin, and brass

Pellet Crossbow, Metropolitan Museum of Art: Arms and Armor

Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Steel, wood (probably maple), gold, iron alloy

Mace, 1475, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

George F. Harding Collection Size: L. 49.2 cm (19 3/8 in.) Wt. 1 lb. 12 oz. Medium: Steeel, iron, wood, and fish skin

A beautiful example of a so-called “Eared Dagger”,

Blade Length: 8.3 in/21 cm

A gothic style Pollaxe,

OaL: 51.7 in/131.4 cm

Weight: 5.6 lbs/2.5 kg