Medieval Arms & Armour
This section of Andrews Antiquaria is all about Medieval Arms and Armour, featuring authentic period artifacts, weaponry, and historically inspired reproductions. You’ll find a fine display of medieval armour along with several videos that explore the subject in depth. Learn about the real-life battles fought across the now poppy-filled meadows of rural Europe, and enjoy a fact-versus-fiction breakdown of three Hollywood films that portray medieval warfare. But apart from the silver screen, if you caught the center video on the homepage, this section continues the real journey — settle in and spend Eight Minutes with a Medieval Knight!
Next time you find yourself driving through the countryside of Europe, amidst the meadows and rolling farmland in between villages, pull over to the side of the road, exit the vehicle, and hear the birds chirp. It wasn’t that way about 700 years ago however.
Most people don’t realize that a lot of these quaint locations, though picture-postcard perfect, once hosted some of the bloodiest battles in history. God knows how many axes, daggers, and bits of plate armor are buried beneath the flowering white and red poppies dotting the countryside, not to mention the gallons of dried blood residue.
You may have heard a statistic or two on casualties and perhaps have seen a movie all about that era long ago, but did you ever wonder exactly what soldiers back then used in place of guns? Ironically, the next time someone holds open a door for you or offers you an umbrella, you may owe a word of thanks to those knights of olde. Chivalry, you see, evolved from these warriors donned in plate armor and defending all that they held to be sacred and dear, doing so with sharp carbon-steel weaponry.
The basic weapons of the typical medieval knight were the sword and the spear, a heavy, thrusting weapon. Besides these, a typical arsenal included a number of small armaments from daggers to battle axes, maces, horseman’s picks, and many others. The medieval sword was no different than swords used throughout the West – it was straight, with a long blade having an almond-shaped pommel and a bar crossguard. The spear, often referred to as a 'wood,' was lightweight and had a spearhead of lancet-like or leaf-like shape, but there were also heavier, armor-piercing spearheads.
Defensive armament, on the other hand, first included the gambeson, which was a padded jacket, then developed into the brigandine, which was part steel, followed by the hauberk, which was that familiar-looking shirt made out of chain mail. Breastplates came next, and finally the full-figured panoply, which was an entire suit of armor.
By the end of the 16th century, a European knight gained his perfect form, protecting the whole of his body, and sometimes his horse. There were some differences between the rich Eastern European knights of Małopolska, Wielkopolska, Śląsk and those of Mazowsze, who, because they faced enemies from the East, like Old Prussians, Lithuanians, and Tatars, partially adopted their fighting manners, and lighter armament as well. Even their horses were smaller and lighter.
There were many different types of throwing weapons too. The sling went out of use, and the composite bow did not appear until the arrival of the Mongols in the 13th century. Before their invasion, the Eastern knights used straight, longbows. The crossbow first reached Poland relatively early in the 12th century. Javelins and throwing axes were also in use. During sieges, both defenders and attackers commonly used a variety of heavy hurling machines like catapults and trebuchets, and from the end of the 14th century bombards, arquebuses, and finally cannons.
With increasing tension and fighting along the eastern border, knights adopted many eastern-style war customs and weapons. This is why the sword was so easily and commonly replaced in the 16th century with the szabla, which is a backsword with a curved blade.
But perhaps the most visible armor transformation in Medieval times was that of the helmet, which changed from a conical shape into a great helm around the 12th century and later into the bascinet, which had a pointed top and mouthpiece to deflect blows.
Which brings us to the men who wielded and wore these things. Wealthy knights of Wielkopolska and Śląsk did not differ much from their western brethren. Novelties in design were accepted quickly. At tournaments in the West, the Polish knight Zawisza Czarny z Garbowa, or 'Zawisza the Black' gained eternal fame and became known for his bravery, chivalry, and his black armor. However, until the battle of Grunwald in 1410, most Polish knights were less armored than their competitors, due to the fact that many of them were relatively poor. In the 15th century however, Polish knights became much wealthier as exports of grains and forest goods grew rapidly during this period which became a source of wealth.
Today, unfortunately all that remains of this grand and glorious age of medieval arms and armor are a few museum collections, a couple of collectibles, some textbooks on the topic, and several acres of poppy-filled fields.
