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Murder Holes, Machicolations, and Other Medieval Warfare Facts

Khalid Elhassan March 6, 2020 34 min

Pike and shot - Pike and Shot : Campaigns — A pike and short formation, with pikemen protecting those wielding firearms while they reloaded. Pintrest

31. An Excellent Weapon for Cutting and Thrusting

Viking swords – note the rounded tip, and the absence of a cross guard. Brewminate

The transition from the Viking sword to knightly swords was completed by the eleventh century. While the Viking sword had a more rounded tip, the knightly sword featured a more slender and tapered blade with a sharper tip. Its center of mass was also closer to the hilt, which improved handling.

Typically used with a shield or buckler, the knightly sword was an excellently balanced, light, and versatile weapon, useful for both thrusting and cutting. It was the main weapon of the Crusader knights, and remained the most popular sword on European battlefields until the opening stages of the Hundred Years’ War. Its popularity finally waned in the fourteenth century, because of changing battlefield conditions – especially the introduction of plate armor, against which the knightly sword was ineffective.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.