Berk Erdal
Ms. Rotondi
8 Green SS / 2
Research Paper
6 April 2014
What is your favorite medieval weapon? Mine is the longbow, a revolutionary tool used in the Middle Ages. The longbow is a tall wooden bow that had a range of about 320 meters with smaller arrowheads (McCants MIT History). First used in South Wales, it quickly spread to England and later to the rest of Medieval Europe (McCants MIT History). From the replacement of the classical bow and arrow, the longbow was a major turning point in medieval warfare which brought an important victory to the English in Crécy, France during the Hundred Years’ War, but was eventually replaced by gunpowder.
Before the mighty longbow, medieval warfare was dominated by a variety of massive catapults, cheap slings, and versatile bow and arrows. The catapult was an extremely vast object that shot heavy projectiles (Gonen 55). It was often used to hurl large stones at enemy walls, or to defend from enemy invasions (Gonen 85). To increase its range, it was usually put on siege towers (Gonen 86). There were many types of catapults, such as ballistae and trebuchets (INSERT). A ballista was a heavy crossbow-like weapon that was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans to shoot arrows and darts at enemy soldiers (Britannica). Powered by gravity, the trebuchet was a weapon invented by the Chinese that required up to 100 men to operate (Britannica). The sling was a cheap and simple tool that was used to fire small stones at enemies (Gonen 52). It was simply a leather pouch in which two leather thongs were attached (Gonen 53). Instead of stone, the ancient Greeks made sling stones out of lead, which was lighter than stone and traveled farther when shot (Gonen 55). There were many disadvantages to the...
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...d army of 60,000 Frenchmen equipped with crossbows (Britannica). Due to the rapid shooting of the English, the French were overpowered and retreated (Britannica). However, after a cruel, horrifying 126 years of fighting, the French won the Hundred Years’ War (Britannica).
Unfortunately the longbow was later overcome by gunpowder, a dangerous compound that was the basis for many other war contraptions, which later led to modern warfare. Gunpowder is a substance that is composed of mostly saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur that was invented by the Chinese in the Song Dynasty (Britannica). The Chinese used gunpowder almost exclusively in fireworks and signals. Gunpowder was used as the basis for many crucial weapons, such as the firearm and cannon. In 1300, the Arabs developed the first real gun, a bamboo tube reinforced with iron, which used gunpowder to fire an arrow.
knight For year historians have argued over who would win in a one on one battle between the samurai and the knight. This essay gives you a clear view who would win and feels like you're back in time seeing the fighting to the death.While both of these historic figures have many similarities only one can win and i think it’s the samurai and this can be seen why in the essay below. The first way that samurais have an advantage is in armor and weapons.In document D it states many facts about the
Due to the Renaissance, European society changed politically, economically, and socially between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The word Renaissance means “rebirth,” signifying a whole new Europe. Humanism, crossroads, and monopoly in Italy were important characteristics of the Renaissance. Politically, the Renaissance was a lot more different than the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, feudalism was the type of government used. People were loyal to their local lord, and power rested in
was also used in one on one combat. In the Middle Ages, the main people to use pikes were militia Ranged weapons on the other hand were used a lot more frequently than these other weapons. The ranged weapons include throwing axes, javelins, bows, longbows, and crossbows. The throwing axe, or the francisca, was a throwing axe used as a weapon in the early Middle Ages by the Franks. The throwing axe is described as an arch-shape head, widened toward the cutting edge and point at both upper and lower