Posted 3 months ago

Weaponry Baseline

armsandarmor:

A fine blog, but no longer active.

I’m extremely grateful for the promotion, and rather flattered that a blog I enjoy following would find this one worthwhile. Unfortunately, I recently lost my research document, and must go through my USBs and such to try to reclaim it before I can post more (though that really doesn’t excuse the inactivity due to general business before). 

My great thanks, and if anyone following here hasn’t already checked out armsandarmor, I would very much recommend doing so!

Posted 9 months ago

Projectile Weapons - Pilum

throwing spear used by the ancient Romans with a leaf-shaped head on an iron neck connected to a wooden shaft, used to stick in enemy shields and weigh them down; essentially and anti-shield weapon

Posted 1 year ago

Projectile Weapons - Javelin

a spear with a heavy head, able to be thrown with good precision, carried by infantry; they could be used as projectile or melee weapons; when thrown at close range they were lethal and almost impossible to dodge or block; throwing spears have been used since prehistory, but the term “javelin” is derived from Middle English and Old French, perhaps seen used in its earliest form in the ancient Celtic language; early documented use in ancient Greece to destroy battle/rank formations; documented use all over Eurasia and Africa throughout history



Posted 1 year ago

Projectile Weapons - English Longbow

a powerful bow about six feet tall used by the English, Scottish, and Welsh that shot long, fletched arrows approx 3 ft long capable of piercing armor and traveling long distances, with a draw of 80-110 lbs; used for both hunting and warfare; used through the Medieval and Renaissance eras

                   

Posted 1 year ago

Projectile Weapons - Crossbow

properly called an arbalest, the crossbow is a bow mounted on a short plank or “stock” that shoots stout, heavy arrows (called bolts) using a trigger system, making it capable of piercing armor; the earliest forms of the crossbow were invented in the 4th century BC, with evidence of their existence both in East Asia and in Europe

(above) Early Crossbow approx 4-6 century BC - Ancient Greek - Gastraphetes [reproduction]

(above) Medieval European crossbow [reproduction]

Medieval crossbow bolts [reproduction]

Posted 1 year ago

Projectile Weapons - Ballista (Ballistae)

also called the “scorpion;” developed by the Greeks around 399 BC; the ballistae is a siege weapon like a giant, mounted crossbow that shoots huge bolts, often flaming, at enemy siege weapons, castles, or ships; used in various forms with small alterations to the design through the Middle Ages, but fell out of mainstream use when the trebuchet was invented in the 12th century


Posted 1 year ago

Projectile Weapons - Angon

Frankish and Anglo-Saxon throwing spear about six feet long with a barbed head used in the Dark Ages; it is mounted using a hollow socket mounted on a wooden haft; if the angon stuck to a shield successfully, it was difficult to remove, often forcing the warrior to drop his shield


Posted 1 year ago

Projectile Weapons

are next on the list. I am sure I have missed some existing battle axes (and other weapons as well), since my research is by no means complete. Right now, I will provide everything I have, and update with further weaponry as I come across it.

Posted 1 year ago

Axes - Tomahawk

a small axe used by the Native Americans (and later, the colonists) as a hatchet and a hand-to-hand or thrown combat weapon; the head was originally crafted from stone, but brass heads came into use after North America was colonized

Posted 1 year ago

Axes - Francisca

a light throwing axe used by the Franks during the Early Middle Ages with an arch-shaped head fitted with a socket to the haft; most had a tapered haft similar to the axes used by Vikings [edit: notactuallythor.tumblr.com reblogged the definition and added this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcCbL_y3zTM which provides some support for a theory that states these throwing axes were not simply meant for a ranged attack, but for disruption of enemy ranks because of their tendency to bounce around significantly when they hit the ground]


Posted 1 year ago

Axes - Doloire

a single-edged European battle axe used largely in the 15th-17th centuries with a socketed steel head fitted to a wooden haft

Posted 1 year ago

Axes, beginning with the blanket term - Battle Axe

a heavy, broad headed, single- or double-bladed weapon used (as its name suggests) in battle in the 14th and 15th centuries, developed from the tool originally used to chop wood