It was worn on the chest and sometimes on the entire body. Plate armor consisted of closely-fitted smaller metal parts which were linked together by rivets or leather straps. The mail prevented penetration and cutting through the skin but it did not provide protection against fractures and bruising which could had been fatal.įor that reason knights started adding their mails small plates or disks of steel to protect the most vulnerable areas such as knees and underarms.Ĭhain mail was slowly replaced by plate armor in the 14th century. The mail was predominant type of armor until the beginning of the 13th century when the introduction of more sophisticated weapons required better protection. Head was usually additionally protected by a separate helmet worn over the mail hood because serious injures such as skull fractures and brain damage could had been inflicted simply by force. The mail was flexible and it was worn as closely-fitted tunic with mail hood to cover the head. The first knights wore chain mail, a protective clothing consisting of small metal rings. The efficacy and damage that could have been achieved with the medieval bows and arrows (although regarded as secondary and inferior weapon by the knights) clearly indicate the canons of the Second Lateran Council (held 1139) which prohibited the use of bows and crossbows against Christians. However, crossbow achieved greater power and could had been used effectively only after about a week of training. For that reason many medieval armies used the crossbow consisting of a bow mounted on the stock, a groove that guided missile called the bolt and a trigger.Ĭrossbow was the leading missile weapon in the Medieval Times although longbow achieved greater range, better accuracy and faster shooting rate than the crossbow which shot only one bolt per minute. Trained archers shot from 6 to 10 arrows per minute but longbow required a lot strength to pull and years of training. The bow and arrows was considered a lower class weapon in the Medieval Times even after the introduction of the English longbow which proved to be very powerful weapon during the Hundred Years’ War, especially in the battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt.Įnglish longbow, probably of Welsh origin was usually 6 feet and 6 inches (2 meters) long and had an effective range to about 656 feet (200 meters).
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