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The Weapons of an English Medieval Knight

The weapons of an English medieval knight in combat included the long sword, wooden lance with an iron tip, metal-headed mace, battle-axe, and dagger. Trained since childhood and practised at tournaments, the skilled knight could inflict fatal injuries on even an armoured opponent. The sword, symbol of the chivalric code and his noble status, was above all the knight's most important weapon. With a heavy blade one metre in length, a 'great sword' had to be held with both hands and was remarkably stable in design from the 11th to 15th century CE. A mounted knight wielding a lance was a fearsome enough sight but a dismounted one swinging a sword that could sever limbs with one blow was an awesome psychological weapon in itself.

Training

There were several types of knights who fought in an army during wartime or performed guard duty in a castle. The largest group was composed of household knights, those who permanently served a specific lord and rode with him in war. Then there were those who were obliged to serve a lord as a knight as a form of feudal service. Another type was the mercenary knight who simply fought for whoever was willing to pay him. Finally, there were knights who belonged to a specific order such as the Templar Knights or Knight Hospitallers. Naturally, the quality and number of weapons a knight possessed depended on either the wealth of his lord or himself but this difference was largely manifested in decorative and material elements. Certain weapons were common to most knights on the medieval battlefield.

Proficiency in the use of weapons must have varied greatly between the professional knights and those performing a fixed-term of service. Young noble males would have been trained in weaponry from the age of around 10, and they would have become squires (trainee knights) from age 14. They practised with such devices as the quintain - a rotating arm with a shield at one end and a weight at the other. A knight had to hit the shield and keep riding on to avoid being hit in the back by the weight as it swung around. Another device was a suspended ring which the knight had to catch and remove with the tip of his lance. Riding a horse at full gallop and cutting at a pell or wooden post with one's sword was another training technique. A knight would have been practised at using the bow and perhaps even crossbow but, being deployed as part of a cavalry unit, did not usually use these weapons on the battlefield. When fully trained, a squire could be made a knight by their lord, usually when between the ages of 18 and 21. The martial training continued after that; after all, a fit and capable knight who could move in heavy armour, cope with the limited vision offered by his helmet, and effectively wield a sword or lance stood a much better chance of riding away from the carnage that was the medieval battlefield. If dismounted or robbed of his sword, then a knight needed to be handy with an axe, mace or, the weapon of last resort, a dagger.