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Weaponry:
» As battles raged in the medieval period, a man's best friend was his weapon. Below are some of the more popular weapons of the period.
- Axe, made from carved bone, metal, or stone, attached to a long stick. Provided excellent chopping action.
- Backsword, popular for horse mounted cavalry. Carried in a sheath on the back, and easily accessible.
- Broadsword, which was used mainly by knights and crusaders. Named for it's wide blade.
- Cutlass, curved European blade popular with navy soldiers, used as a excellent slashing weapon.
- Dirk, a Scottish dagger, engraved and ussually sharpened only on one edge. After 19th century, used mainly as ceremonial weapon.
- Epee, the fencing weapon with a blade 35 inches and no sharp edges. Used after 17th century.
- Estoc, thin blade used mainly to penetrate Chainmail, carried over shoulder without a sheath.
- Falchion, Egytian stlyed dagger with a broad blade. Primarily used for chopping. Evolved into the Saber.
- Gladius, dagger used by Roman legionnaires. Ideal for slashing.
- Khopesh, important Egyptian weapon that changed the design of edged weapons. Featured sickle-like blade, low center of gravity.
- Scimitar, popularized by Tales of Sinbad, unique thin upturned blade.
- Serrated Edge, utterly devastating, could be used on any weapon to increase damage.
- Stiletto, Italian weapon, made form one piece of sharp steel. Used by assassins because of it's easy concealment.
- Tiger Claw, one of the most fierce hand weapons used against unarmored opponents. Resembled a tiger claw, held in one hand, featured protruding sharp 'claws.'
- Ball and Chain mace, often the ball was spiked to cause more damage to the opponent. Ball is swung in a circle, creating momentum, until ready to strike.
- Flanged Mace, resembled a club, had sharp steel pieces at the end of a shaft.
- Gaff, which was bascically a fishing hook. Gripped by a handle and featured large fishing hook.
- Crowbill, resembled an Axe, but instead, had a sharp spike at the end of the long shaft.
- Crossbow, which had many variations, but mainly an semi-automatic bow and arrow, shooting arrows as fast as the archer could reload the mechanism.
Plague:
» Besides war, the Black Death also killed off much of the population. But what was this plague and how did it start? In technical terms the Bubonic plague is bacillus, mostly carried by rodents. Fleas would infest a rat or mouse with this deadly organism, then jump to a humun host in close proximity. When this infected flea bites the human for blood, it involuntarily regurgitates the infected rodent blood into the human. By then the rat will have died, and three to four days later the human dies also. However, the flea goes on to live a long life, infecting more humans and rats as it does. The Symptoms are high fever, vomiting blood, and aching limbs. The lymph nodes (contained in the neck, groin and armpits) swell up and show a blackish tint. This leads to the disease's name: the Black Death. What makes this disease especially horrific is it's quick death, horrible pain, and disfiguring appearance.