Medieval Weapons and Equipment Research Papers (original) (raw)

- by Nika Khoperia
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- History, Military History, Historical Sources, Medieval Weapons and Equipment

In the literature about swords, their use has predominantly not been analysed. This article tries to reconstruct some aspects of the use of Viking Age swords from Northern and Eastern Europe. The reconstruction is based on biomechanics,... more

- by Ingo Petri
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- Medieval Weapons and Equipment, Swordsmanship, Early Medieval Swords, Medieval Swords

The publication deals with description and attribution of the javelin head from
the Kholodivskiy yar VI settlement. This is a relatively small type of the javelin,
which should be attributed as the artefact of the 13th – 15th c. This is indicated by its
typological and morphological features, as well as a widespread use of javelins in the
East-European armies.

- by Andy Halpin
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- Medieval Archaeology, High Medieval Ireland, Viking Age Archaeology, Medieval Warfare

Import of weapons came to the steppes in various ways. One of them was to pass on as diplomatic gifts that testified about the concluded covenants and emphasized the status and prestige of the donors and the donees. Such a ceremonial weapon was made to order at the rulers' court, often taking into account nomads’ sense of aesthetic. Another way of transfer was the purchase. Therefore, in border areas and near riverbanks, craft settlements were created. They often specialized in the production of weapons preferred by nomads. In addition, part of the collected weapons was undoubtedly the spoil of war.
The main centers of production and delivery of weapons for nomads were Ruthenia, Volga Bulgaria, Caucasus, Byzantine, Central and Western Asia. Weapons from the Baltics and Western Europe territories were less likely to reach the Black Sea steppes.
A ceremonial weapon, buried in the grave, was not only meant to testify to the bravery and prestige of its owner but also indicated a warrior's social position and military rank. Also, funeral rites, related to the preparation of the deceased for the journey into the afterlife, in community awareness were to emphasize the ethos of the horse warrior.

Статья представляет собой краткий обзор и авторский перевод фехтовального трактата «Le Jeu de la Hache» (MS Francias 1996), что значит «Игры с топором». Это анонимный манускрипт на среднефранцузском языке, предположительно написанный в XV веке миланским фехтовальным мастером при дворе бургундского герцога Карла Смелого (1433 – 1477) и состоящий из 18 страниц рукописного текста форматом 240 на 160 мм. Трактат полностью посвящен только одному оружию, рыцарскому топору (poleaxe), и содержит самое большое из известных собрание приемов с этим оружием. Манускрипт был обнаружен в 1544 году в библиотеке Франциска I в Фонтенбло. В данный момент находится в Bibliothèque nationale de France в Париже.

A short term paper for an art history course at the University of New Hampshire, fall 2015. This paper briefly examines the armors in Paolo Uccello's "Battle of San Romano" paintings and argues that the painter did not have a working... more

Talk given in Spanish at Complutense University, History department, Madrid for "De fuste e de Fierro". Armamento medieval en la Peninsula Iberica. IV International Seminar. 9-10th March, 2020 (for English translation see Archery CV https://www.academia.edu/42644287 ) . The talk deals with use of the bow in Al-Andalus as a favored military weapon since its beginning in 711 to its demise in 1492 and by contrast its apparent absence in the northern states that confront it. Discussed are the two types of bows mentioned in an Arabic chronical reference and delves on the possible historical origin of what the sources call the 'Arab bow'. It touches also on the apparent ‘sacralization’ of the bow in the general Islamic context. Its appearance in the few pictorial references in Al-Andalus and discussed are the two very different types that appear in them. Also discussed is their relative effectiveness, construction, and the materials used and their specific differences. All this in contrast to the apparent lack of the use of the bow as a military weapon in the Christian states that were slowly formed at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. This could in part be due, it is argued, to a profound atavistic ideological rejection of the said weapon as being that of ‘the other’. The very negative ideological view of the bow is reflected and materialized in the art of the Christian north as can clearly be see in the Romanesque art of the Iberia Peninsula.

- by Thurston Sexton
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- Impact Analysis, Medieval Weapons and Equipment, Archaeoengineering
- by Anaïs LEBRUN
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- Anthropology, Violence, Paleopathology, Merovingian period
- by Catarina Coelho
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- Medieval Weapons and Equipment

Studie byla publikována v roce 1972 v časopise ,,Gladius", Vol. 10 / The study was published in 1972 in the journal ,,Gladius", Vol. 10 / L'étude a été publiée en 1972 dans la revue ,,Gladius", Vol. 10.

Determining the difference in military or political function of castles is a topic heavily debated between scholars. Traditionally the military function has been studied through the use of historical documents or archaeological research into the outer and tower wall thickness of a castles. However, there is another source of material that enables to study a facet of the military functions of castles; military material to study the defence of the castle of against a siege. To examine the possibilities of military material as a source, a case-study has been performed on the military material excavated at eight castles in the county of Holland dating between 1250-1450. The eighth studied castles were grouped into three morphological types of castles. The castle types used in the thesis, from large to small: square castles, keep towers, and moated sites. To determine if castle was besieged using military material a theoretical framework is proposed for the deposition of military material during various events with a heightened deposition probability. The expected deposition of military objects during peace is low compared to the deposition of military objects during a siege. There is no expected pattern for the assembly of military objects deposited during peace. While, the expected loss of military objects during a siege would show a higher amount of projectiles, hand arms and polearms, depending on the siege method employed. However, during the destruction of the castle as part of the scorched earth tactic or as punishment high amount of military material is expected as well.
Examining the military material at the eight castle, it can be concluded that during sieges and the destruction of castles large amounts of military material were deposited as proposed in the theoretical framework. Moreover, it is possible to determine the siege method deployed. However, only if there can be differentiated between the destruction of a castle and a siege. Furthermore, it can be concluded that there is a differentiation in military role of the three castle types. However, this differentiation is not induced by the difference in morphological features, but by the wealth of the castle lord owning the castle and his willingness to defend the castle.

- by Casper J van Dijk
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- Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Warfare, Castle Studies

The article reports on archaeological material – pottery vessels and metal artifacts –recovered from two motte sites, one at Tarnowice Stare, the other at Woźniki at present held by the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom. Most of the assemblage from Woźniki comes from fieldwalking and accidental discoveries, including the best known, made around 1850 and described by Józef Lompa, of the remains of a masonry cellar of a manor house. An archaeological excavation of the motte site was made only in 1957. The pottery assemblage from Woźniki is badly fragmented, which made it difficult to recognize its technological and technical features and to determine its chronology. The motte site yielded also a large number of remarkable metal artifacts, especially weapons, as well as some farm tools and manor furnishings. On the other hand, the assemblage from the motte site at Tarnowice Stare comes entirely from the research excavation of 1983, and consequently, the pottery assemblage is uniform, easy to determine. Possibly the most interesting of the metal finds is a fragment interpreted by the author as an element of a coat of plates. After a comparison with data from historical documents
the fortified establishment at Woźniki was dated relatively broadly to the 14th and the 15th century, rather than to the early medieval period – a previously widely accepted attribution, both in research literature and public awareness. On the other hand, the motte at Tarnowice Stare can be dated reliably by its pottery assemblage to the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century, with an emphasis on the second half of the 14th century.
(translated by P. Polarz)

- by Tamás Belegrai
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- Archaeology, Medieval History, Medieval Archaeology, Late Medieval Archaeology
- by Leszek Gardela
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- Gender Studies, Women's Studies, Viking Studies, Viking identities
- by Casper J van Dijk and +1
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- Medieval History, Medieval Studies, Arms and Armor Studies, Combat Sports

Research of who are the Gurkhas and what is their contribution to military history.

- by vk kunwor
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- Cultural Heritage, British History, Indian studies, South Asian Studies

During the fieldwork of the Mohács 500 research program, which examines the location and course of the Battle of Mohács in 1526, hundreds of military finds were found. most of these metal finds are lead or iron projectiles.
The aim of the present work is to examine the distribution, formal properties, technological characteristics and size data of the projectiles found during the battlefield research, and based on these to present new suggestions related to the localization and reconstruction of the battle.
Since the majority of our lead and iron bullets can be dated only to a broader period, we cannot interpret them with absolute certainty as weapons from the Battle of Mohács, and thus they do not serve as absolute proof in themselves. However, mapping and analysis of these objects and other weapon finds dating to the examined period is considered an important task because of their nature and distribution is a key role in the location of the battlefield and reconstruction of the events. The uneven distribution and areas of find concentration, together with the fact that a significant proportion of them fit into the tactics of the period under study justify more in-depth research on the topic. In some cases, our analysis of size, condition, and spatial distribution also makes it possible to draw further conclusions about the make and tactical use of the projectiles in question.

- by Haramza Márk and +1
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- Military History, Battlefield Archaeology, Ottoman Military History, Medieval Weapons and Equipment

. In "Quei maledetti normanni. Studi offerti a Errico Cuozzo per i suoi settant'annni dai suoi colleghi , allievi, amici", a c. di J. M. Martin e R. Alaggio, Centro Europeo di Studi Normanni, 2 voll., Ariano Irpino-Napoli, 2016. vol. I, pp, 23-36.
Weapons production, expecially crossbows, in Castel Capuano of Naples during the first years of Angevine Kingdom

- by Giovanni Amatuccio
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- Medieval Weapons and Equipment, Crossbow, Armi Nel Medioevo, Balestre

Anyone interested in the Middle Ages – from amateur to professor – likely knows what a military flail is. It’s one of the most iconic weapons of the period. It has a short handle (about the length of a forearm), a long chain and a spiked head at the end of it, and wielded with one hand. They are everywhere: films, museums, "reproduction” weapons shops. They also never existed.

In the summer of 1991, St. Johns Expeditions, a Florida-based marine salvage company, discovered a shipwreck buried behind a shallow reef along the western edge of the Little Bahama Bank. The group contacted archaeologists to ascertain the significance of the discovery, and it was soon determined to be a Spanish ship dating to the 1500’s. The investigation of the shipwreck was entrusted to the author, working for the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society (MFMHS), a not-for-profit research center based in Key West, Florida. Between 1992 and 1999, the MFMHS conducted six excavations to examine and document the shipwreck. Careful analysis of the shipwreck shows that the sizeable vessel sailed between 1555 and 1575 and had touched at Tierra Firme (Colombia and Panama) before sinking during a return voyage to Spain.
By comparing the archaeological evidence to the historical record, it becomes clear that the St. Johns shipwreck is the Santa Clara, a 300-ton Carrera de Indias galleon owned by the famed Spanish mariner Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. While returning to Spain in October of 1564, the ship grounded on a reef in the western Bahamas and could not be freed. Its cargo of silver and the people on board were safely removed to an accompanying vessel, and the Santa Clara was abandoned. With the identity and specific circumstances of the shipwreck known, it serves as an important touchstone in the understanding of the early Spanish colonial system.

- by Corey Malcom
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- Latin American Studies, Maritime Archaeology, Colonial America, Maritime History

An amateur metal detector survey conducted in the cadastral territory of Klamoš in 2015/2016 yielded, among other things, a well-preserved long-sword. Based on the typo-chronological analysis, the sword can be classified as an Oakeshott Type XIIIa, J, 2, and dated to the course of the 14th c. A conservation-restoration survey revealed remains of maker’s marks on the blade and, mainly, rich pommel decoration that is thus far unique. The latter is further discussed in detail in terms of a both formal evaluation and the applied decoration technology, the identification of which has been based on a detailed survey of the weapon and experimental work. A metallographic examination of the blade was finally omitted due to its compact preservation.

The paper re-interprets the implement known as the ‘Towton Battle Axe’
allegedly found in the river which borders the Towton Battlefield (1461),
Yorkshire, England, and which now resides in Alnwick Castle, Northumberland.
The paper provides parallels, in the form of comparisons with other weapons,
in order that the Towton implement can be shown to be a modified former
halberd dating from the early sixteenth century. It is, therefore, highly unlikely
that the implement was used in the famous battle.
KEYWORDS Battle of Towton, Towton Battle Axe, halberd, medieval weapon, Alnwick Castle, 1461, Towton Battlefield Archaeology Project, Cock Beck.

- by Tim Sutherland
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- Medieval Weapons and Equipment, Ancient Weapons and Warfare, Halberds, Battle Axe
- by Kamil Kajkowski
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- Pagan Studies, Early Medieval Archaeology, Funerary Archaeology, Animal Symbolism

We don’t know much about the medieval history of Szalacska up to this point. We only have some medieval stray finds from here. In the course of excavations of the 1980’s many medieval finds turned up. We can conclude that Szalacska was a built-up area during the 10-17th centuries on the
score of research up to this point. The medieval church of the village Szalacska stood on the south part of the prehistoric fortress and we can presume the existence of a medieval fortress also on the site.

- by Andrzej Janowski and +1
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Early Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology, Stone Age (Archaeology)

Mariano Taccola’s eques scoppiectarius: an armoured knight who uses a hand-cannonon horseback.
This drawing was probably inspired by the vivacious construction of firearms in Siena, making
this city one of the main centers for the best master craftsman of hand-cannons and casters.
Taccola integrated his sketch with ample tag-lines which clarify mechanisms and inner workings
of hand-firearms of the mid fifteenth century, and also the relationship between architects and
military engineers. However, presently it is unknown whether this expedient was ever employed.
The earliest evidence of firearms being used on horseback is of the 1510, but their use can be traced
back to the years of Taccola idea.

- by Sergei Kainov and +1
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- Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Weapons and Equipment, Old Russian archaeology

The article discusses the "self-defense" techniques presented in fight-books and treaties. The objective is to determine if these techniques take the reality of fight in account, to evaluate the difference between theory and practice in remaining safe during an aggression. In order to do so, this work uses crossed analysis, with remission letters (judicial sources) studied in the light of the knowledge contained in the fight-books. This study is based on the sorting out of weapons, wounds, and times of death found in remission letters (the data of real fight). In parallel, the theorization of fight in treaties will be taken in account.