A morning star is any of several medieval club-like weapons consisting of a shaft with an attached ball adorned with one or more spikes. Each used, to varying degrees, a combination of blunt-force and puncture attack to kill or wound the enemy. It's capable of delivering a mortal wound

No weapon is more associated with the Middle Ages than the sword. It was used throughout the medieval world.

For most of the Middle Ages, the sword was widely used among elite and common soldiers, with some variation between the size of its blade, and how its hilt and pommel were fashioned. Around the thirteenth century we see a change in the sword, where it blades begin to get more narrow and sharper at its point. It was because armour was becoming tougher, and the slashing style of the sword was no longer effective.


Sue Brunning explains, was more than just a weapon:



Every culture that has made and used swords has viewed them as extraordinary objects. They feature predominantly in the history, cosmology and mythology of communities across the globe, from Africa to northern Europe, from East Asia to the Indian sub-continent. Their appeal is not solely attributable to humanity’s timeliness fascination with death. This is clear from the spectrum of meanings attached to swords across time and space, encompassing power, wisdom, joy, protection – and fear.

The weapon that would transform the medieval world into the early modern one was the gun – handguns and arquebuses wielded by individuals, and the larger artillery pieces like cannons that could strike at fortifications. The invention of gunpowder in China in the early ninth-century would trigger a series of new weapons – gradually these developments and innovations would spread from eastern Asia and fundamentally change how war was waged.


The rise of gunpowder weapons has often been talked about as a military revolution, although from our perspective it was a slow moving one, taking generations. Introduced into Europe in the early fourteenth century, even by the end of the fifteenth century these weapons could prove to be slow and difficult to wield effectively. But military commanders understood that this technology would be the dominant weapon on the battlefield, and every kingdom, state or principality was spending money and resources to build up their supplies. The states that were able to do so most effectively would emerge in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as the key powers in Europe and Asia.

Combine a flexible stave of wood with strong string and you have one of the most well known weapons of the Middle Ages. There could be a lot of varieties of bows, and their effectiveness could range significantly on where and how they were used. Archers were usually found at battles or siege throughout the medieval world, but they could become a dominant force in the right circumstances. The Mongols were able to conquer much of Asia and Europe through the use of horse archers, who combined a stronger type of bow with the greater mobility of their cavalry. The English would also rely on their longbowmen to win several important battles during the Hundred Years’ War.

Kelly DeVries and Kay Smith note that “since the earliest times the spear, together with the sword, was the most important and widely used offensive weapon for both the infantry and cavalry.” Essentially a long stick that ended with a blade, the spear could be held and thrusted at opponents, or thrown at them. When delivered from horseback, the weapon could be far more effective – this is how the idea of “mounted shock combat” developed, in which knights would couch the spear under their arms, and use the speed of their horses to deliver a powerful blow.

The spear of the knight evolved into the lance – the weapon we commonly associate with jousting and tournaments, another lasting symbol of the Middle Ages


1&2 SPEAR

3 LANCE.

Emerging in the twelfth century, the trebuchet was the first important development in siege machines since ancient times. It marked a great improvement over weapons like the catapult, becoming a more formidable way to attack castles and other fortifications.

Jim Bradbury explains how it worked:

A container for heavy materials was placed on one end of a whippy pole, a sling to hold the stone or other missile at the other end. The pole was on a pivot. The loaded end was winched down and released. The weight made the loaded end rise rapidly and eject its contents, the sling whipping over at the last minute to give added impetus.

While this weapon existed since ancient times, it was strangely not mentioned very much in early medieval Europe. Then, in the twelfth century, the crossbow made a comeback, serving as a way for regular soldiers to fight back against the better armoured and equipped knights. Helen Nicholson describes the crossbow:

It was not a quick weapon to use, because spanning the bow (drawing back the string, locking it back with the ‘trigger’ and placing the arrow or bolt in position, ready to fire) took much longer than for the simple bow. But it could be used effectively by a comparative novice and was much more powerful than the simple bow. In a siege situation, or where a large group of crossbow archers were operating on a battlefield, it could be devastating, for it could pierce chainmail.

The secret weapon of the Byzantine Empire, it was responsible for several important military victories. It is such a secret weapon that even today we are not sure exactly what it was – the theories include that it was based on saltpetre or quicklime – but its effects were devastating. It was a liquid substance, that could be fired out through something like a modern-day flamethrower. Most importantly, it could not be extinguished by water, which meant that naval ships would be particularly vulnerable to its effects. Naphtha was a similar type of weapon – at least in its effects – and was based on petroleum. This was used in the medieval Middle Eastern world. Like Greek Fire, those who wielded it had significant advantages when facing opponents that just relied on the force of their steel and iron.

This weapon is more associated with the Early Middle Ages, although it was still used in later centuries. While peoples like the Franks wielded smaller axes as throwing weapon, it was the larger version, used in Scandinavia, that we know so well. Jim Bradbury explains:

The battle-axe was popular with the Vikings and often called a Norse or Danish axe. Vikings sometimes named their axes, such as ‘Witch’ or ‘Fiend’, suggesting their personal nature. The Vikings used bearded axes named from the shape of the drooping lower edge, and broad axes. The latter emerged in c.1000, sometimes with a steel edge welded to the blade. The blade was narrowest at the socket, broadening to a curved edge about a foot long.

Essentially a smaller version of the sword, one should not disregard it as an important weapon of war. Ranging in size from 30 to 50 centimetres (11 to 20 inches), it was a common instrument, both on the battlefield and in day-to-day use. Easy to carry – and hide – daggers could be used with a minimum of training. An attacker could wield this weapon to cut, stab or throw, often in tight situations. By the thirteenth century many versions of the dagger emerged in medieval Europe – anelace, baselard and stiletto to name a few – that differed in how the blade was fashioned or how you gripped it. Meanwhile, the misericorde got its name for being associated with the end of battles, when the victorious soldiers had to decide what to do with there defeated opponents – either offer them “mercy” and take them as prisoners, or give them a “mercy” killing.

https://www.medievalists.net/2020/01/most-important-weapons-middle-ages/


Image sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ancient%20crossbow&tbm=isch&prmd=ivn&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBYQtI8BKABqFwoTCJiaq4uu7fECFQAAAAAdAAAAABAF&biw=360&bih=272#imgrc=VYUATYbhC_vZ0M


https://www.google.com/search?q=greek+fire&prmd=ivn&sxsrf=ALeKk00OD8-efG2-eYUPl1Q-hx8D0-1wOA:1626637086150&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiU0sqtr-3xAhVDZhQKHdYEA5MQ_AUoAXoECAMQAQ&biw=360&bih=531&dpr=2#imgrc=Q5IInVe5xV_Y6M&imgdii=my5jLFR7ai7HVM



https://www.google.com/search?q=medieval+axes&sxsrf=ALeKk00FeYDjRH1FIWUyWPFwQY1AN8yXWQ%3A1626637212572&ei=nIP0YJGzItOGjLsPoMeDyAQ&oq=medieval+axes&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAMyBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeOgQIABBHOgQIABANOgYIABANEB46BQgAEJECOgcIABCHAhAUOgUIABCxAzoCCABQhCNY1TVgrzloAHABeACAAfICiAH_FJIBBTItOC4ymAEAoAEByAEIwAEB&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#imgrc=RgOfVSyYZDiQ9M




https://www.google.com/search?q=daggers&prmd=ivn&sxsrf=ALeKk03I8gp42eLuuMF-QRghiaXDPz1rlA:1626637457711&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwis5uDesO3xAhXc8uAKHad2DiMQ_AUoAXoECAEQAQ&biw=360&bih=427&dpr=2#imgrc=ouXleriPp0RZVM&imgdii=VA1jq53Nlcc-rM


https://www.google.com/search?q=spear+and+lances&prmd=ivmn&sxsrf=ALeKk03MkBImyZhydESQxN4kLaKHfwqwDQ:1626637991315&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7yJndsu3xAhUsCWMBHeDADQgQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=360&bih=427


https://www.google.com/search?q=sword&prmd=ivn&sxsrf=ALeKk02LtJiSUjgSC83xJrEp_BtMG-tsSQ:1626638040171&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5t7_0su3xAhUO_RQKHfPoBP4Q_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=360&bih=272&dpr=2

Zimri:
BOWS

Zimri:
TREBUCHET

CharisEleos:
That sword reminds me of the guy called two knife in Robbing hood.

Zimri:
MORNING STAR

Henrydonland:
Wetin pesin no go see for nairaland

blingxx:
How ironic how all this shit are now nuclear missiles,atomic bombs ,hydrogen bomb,assualt rifle ,killer drones,bio weapons we keep inventing new ways to kill each other

fenibak:
men are greedy for money,land and power and they hate each other so much they created different means to murder each other

Zimri:
GREEK FIRE

Nezero:



Phosphorus is currently being used as an incendiary bomb. It burns on exposure to the atmosphere. It cannot be put out for long. It catches fire spontaneously

Harry00:
Add magic