An examination of medieval weaponry

[Linkizcool]

More pics/info coming soon!


French Weaponry
Please note that weapons in th French section marked with a * were weapons in the Renaissance period, and were used more than just by French

Briquet (a curved, scimitar-like blade much like the Chinese Darn Dao)
*Arming Sword (A short sword)
Backsword (A sword with a thicker, blunt edge, and a thinner sharp edge.)
*Bastard Sword (A sword with a long handle with finger rings, and a long, tapering tip)
Estoc (an long, triangular or square sword; edgeless and used for hacking into plate armour)
*Rapier (a long, slender single handed sword meant for thrusting.
*Bell-Guard Rapier(a rapier with a cup-shaped crossguard)
*Pappenheimer Rapier (a German-invented rapier with a cup-shaped crossguard and a wire handguard attached to the pommel of the sword and the crossguard.)
*Wire-Guard Rapier(a rapier with a wire-constructed crossguard.)
*Flamberge (a long wave-bladed rapier that caused a vibration in a blade tht was struck against this. Eventually became a normal straight rapier with a dish-shaped hilt.)

Scottish Weaponry
Claymore(the term claidheamh-more"(claymore) means great sword. Basically a broadsword with the hands enclosed in a cage-like guard.)
Caltrop A spiked mine-type weapon used for covering your retreat on horseback)
Scottish Glaive A pole with a hook on one side of the tip, and a  glaive-blade on the other.
"English Bill" A halberd with a v-shaped tip.

British and European Weaponry

Sword

Broadsword (a large, usually single side sword, see Saber)

Falchion (A medieval Sabre, single handed and usally 2 feet long, some blades shaped like flames, but only in Cliché RPG's)

Spear (Stick with a point on the end)

Stave ( A stick. Also known as a Staff)
Halberd ( A long spear with an axe blade)
Axe
Warhammer (an oversized Hammer, with a blunt end and a pointed end opposite of the blunt end)
Double Axe ( double bladed axe)
Longsword (long, double bladed sword)
Dirk (British halfsword)
Dagger (a small sword with a 6-inch blade)
Mace ( A club with a spike ball)
Morning Star (A Chain with two spiked balls attached to it)
Flail (like the morning star, except with only one spike ball)
Lucern Hammer (Hammer with a spike and a beak-like stabbing aperture)
IGlaive (a pole with a slingle sided sword blade attached to it)
Scythe (like a glaive, except with the blade attached to it at a 90 degree angle. Modern uses of a sythe include a hockey stick )
Crossbow (a mechanical dart thrower)
Short Bow ( a small sized bow)
Longbow (a bow longer than the archer. Shoots arrows 1-1.5 m long)
Bolt Thrower ( basically a mechanical spear thrower, like a ballista, except repeated firing.)
Recurved Bow (a bow with the tips bent backwards. Shoots very fast, but aims more to the right than normal bows)
Rawcoon (A spear with flanking blades, like a pitchfork with the middle tong extended.)
Pitchfork (a 3-pronged spear)
Trident (a larger pitchfork)
Spetum ( a spear with small blades coming out at 90 degrees below the point.
Pike (a large spear used against cavalry)
Lance (a spear with usually no iron tip, use by knights on horseback)

Turkish, Byzantine and Middle Eastern

Turkish Kilij  (Exactly like a Chinese Broadsword)
marzobarbuloi (seljuk recurved bow)
kontos (seljuk lance)
spathion (seljuk sword)
Shamshir (Persian sword. Looks like a scimitar)
kamăn-i tahš (arab bow)  năwak (arab bow arrow guide)
paramerion (Byzantine curved edge slashing weapon for cavalry)
kontaria (Byzantine Lance) 4 to 4.5 m long
rabdia (byzantine mace)
pelekia (byzantine Battle Axe)
tzikouria (Throwing Axe)
matzoukia (throwing mace)
solenarion (Byzantine Blowgun, shot several medium-sized arrows at once)

Japan

Katana (Longer samurai weapon)
Wakizashi (Shorter Samurai weapon)
Hooksword (a sword with the tip bent in a 5-inch hook)
Nunchaka (Nun Chucks)
Shurikan (a throwing star)
Naginata (Japanese glaive on a pole)
Tetsubo (1.9m long club, end features long iron strips, lined with studs.)
Sai (Okinawan Jitte)
Jitte (Farming weapon, Raphael from TMNT's weapon. Usually did not have a pointed tip, contrary to most beliefs)
Chijiriki (has a long, length of weighted chain attached to its butt. Japanese)
Hoko (has a slightly curved, single-edged blade, and a small hooked blade.)
Masakari (hand-axe; has a spike opposite the cutting blade.)
O-No (A 2m pole-axe)
No-Dachi (a Katana-like weapon, 1.9m long)
Ama Goi Ken (straight, double-edged shortsword)
Tanto (Japanese Knife)
Nageyari (This is a very short throwing spear.)
Yoribo (Japanese Staff)

Ninja Weapons

Ninja-to (The Ninja sword is perhaps their most consumate weapon. In style it looks like a Wakizashi, albeit slightly longer and with a straighter blade. Its scabbard featured a removable end-cap so it could be used as a breathing tube or blowgun. Cord was often wound around the scabbard and could be used as a rope. The handle of the sword itself usually featured a secret compartment, holding blowgun needles, or an eggshell grenade)
Kusari Gama (The Kusari Gama is a Kama sickle, with a length of weighted chain attached behind the head)
Kyoketsu Shogi(Similar to the Kusari Gama, the Kyoketsu Shogi had a twin-bladed knife instead of a kama, one was hooked. Instead of chain it used rope, and was weighted with a heavy iron ring. The rope was longer than the kusari Gamas chain enabling the weapon to be used as a short rope and grapple as well as a weapon.)
Manriki Gusari (The Manriki Gusari is a length of chain weighted at both ends. Highly concealable.)
Eggshell Grenades (Filled with pepper powder, metal shavings and nettle extract, these were thrown at opponents to blind and irritate them.)
Fukidake (Poison Dart BlowGun)
Shinobi Zue (It looks like a staff, until with a quick twist it protrudes a blade and is now a spear!)
Fukumi Bari (Mouth needles. The Ninja used these by rolling their tongue into a tube and blowing a handful of them into the face and eyes.)
Paddle (A skilled user could best a katana wielding samurai.)

Okinawan Weaponry

Bo (Okinawan Longstaff)
Kama (Okinawan Sickle-like weapon used in pairs)
Tonfa (Okinawan version of a police whacking stick, nightstick-like parrying weapon)
Yari (The Yari is a spear that features a long, straight, double-edged blade.)
Guisarme (modified bill hook w/thrusting spike)
Partizan (spear w/wing-like axe blades)

China

Saber (Chinese and Oriental Broadsword, Turkish Kilij)
Darn Dao (Qing Dynasty Chinese Sword shaped like this a wave pattern ~. Single sided.)
Gim (Chinese Sword dated back to 200BC. What you would see people use in Tai Chi)
Shuang Tou Quiang (Double-Headed Spear)
Tessen (an iron fan)
Shuang Pian Yue Ya Chan (Double-Bladed staff , Shovel-like blade on one end, Crescent blade on the other. )
Jiu Huan Dao (Chinese Halberd with Nine Rings on the side opposite the axe blade)
Da Dao (chinese Halberd)
Tiger Trident (Has a long sharp point with curving, crescent-like, side-blades. Used to hunt tigers)
Niu Er Jian Dao (shortsword with a broad, single-edged blade, and handguard. Used in fairs)
Shuang Gao (Twin-Hooked Sword, with crescent-shaped handguard)
Darn Jian (Straight Sword)
Kan Dao (Chopper Blade with a long hilt. Like a longer sabre)
Jiu Jie Bien (Nine-Section Whip, each section connected to a iron bar. Handle is spiked.)
Sa Tjat Kuen ( Like a long Nunchaku with three sections. In Jackie Chan's Shanghai Noon, in the church scene Jackie kicks some butt with this.)
Gun ( Chinese name for a Staff)
Seurng Tjat Kuen ( Chinese name for a Nunchaku)

Other

Chakaram (Sikh Throwing Ring)
Balisong (Philippine Sword)
Lajatang (Malaysian Double Bladed staff, with the blades shaped like crescents.)

How a sword/bladed weapon was made
  thanks to www.howstuffworks.com



Note that this is actually more of a falchion/broadsword type weapon.

Thanks to Pilgrim_Shadow for some info and inspiring me to write this!

[DragonBlaze]

W-O-W. I don't know how much of a tutorial this is, but it'll be VERY helpful.

Nice job

[Spike21]

read a book... they help alot. i read like 200 page and just swords it was sweet... well nice ut i want to see some other stuff like soctish claymores.

[Meiscool-2]

where's the part on French weaponary?

[ZeroKirbyX]

Originally posted by Meiscool
where's the part on French weaponary?

Indeed. And what about the Irish? You have to have a part on potatoe cannons and broken mugs!

[MrMister]

A lot of the medieval weaponry is French.

[Meiscool-2]

Originally posted by MrMister
A lot of the medieval weaponry is French.

Like, over 33% of French weapons are rapiers, and he has nothing on the many forms of those.

[Linkizcool]

Originally posted by Meiscool
where's the part on French weaponary?

Its not complete. Im still working on it, so dont worry I'll add in French and Irish weapons.

Thanks, DB!

Meis, quit being so pessimistic! I spent like 2-3 hours writing that! At least give a comment about what I did, other than what I didn't.

[Rune_of_Punishment]

Originally posted by Meiscool

quote:

Originally posted by MrMister A lot of the medieval weaponry is French.

Like, over 33% of French weapons are rapiers, and he has nothing on the many forms of those.

This is true.

[Big_Duke]

Did you know that?....

The French word for sword is Epee

Now you know!


A rapier can be different from what most people think,the first picture,those were rapiers.