Why are Medieval weapons used?

Answer 1

In every age of man since the creation of the fist weapons have been used for defensive and offensive campaigns ranging from personal survival and self-preservation to full scale global war. The Middle Ages were no different. Typically there were several reasons that a man might train in the arts of war:

1. Personal honor

A man was considered either a peasant or a fool who could not defend himself by wielding at least a sword. Most knights and royalty were trained in a wide assortment of weaponry and their applications. If a man felt he had been slighted it was seen as necessary that the injury be repaid either in a public humiliation of the one who did the injury or a duel that both parties might have their honor restored through the rigors and deadly gravity of mortal combat. As well, a man was called to serve his king should the king require defense or summon an army. If a man could not rise to the summons due to inability he was unfit to live save as a peasant plowing the fields.

2. For royal favor

It was not uncommon during festivals for there to be events where a king offered a prize to a knight who might prove himself a champion in arms or skill. This was not just vanity on the king's part, it kept his knights battle ready in peaceful times. For a knight that conquered all opponents in jousting, swordplay or other weapons, the king might award lands, titles and wealth. Even if a knight lost in such an event, it was good to be well trained before entering, since people did die on the field.

3. Duels

Duels were a part of personal honor, however, there was even more incentive to be a master of weapons when it came to a duel: to lose would mean bankruptcy. According to the rules of combat, if a knight fell, even if he submitted and lived, all his equipment and weapons used in the battle were forfeit to the victor. This meant the loser lost his horse, his armor, his weapons, his shield and any trappings that went along with them. Such things, all either handmade or specially raised, cost a fortune. Losing a battle often meant a knight went broke. Therefore, knights trained in order to never lose and it was it was not uncommon for a knight to choose death, since the alternative life of poverty was less than attractive.

4. For personal defense

Usually there were main highways connecting towns to one another, usually the "King's Highway" was protected and patrolled by the king's soldiers or by the knights of a noble who paid allegiance to the king. Other roads and even the King's road, however, were subject to thieves and raids. Such raids could be absolutely brutal, the thieves might take hostages for ransom, rape the women, or kill whom they liked, even children. Also, assassination was not uncommon. Though poison and other subtler methods were very popular, being made a casualty on the road or having a dagger slipped between your sheets worked just as well. Nobles ambushed on the road would usually have an escort, but sometimes this was not enough and the noble himself might have to brandish his sword or a dagger in self-defense. The same goes for if an assassin entered one's chambers, it was fight or die.

5. Internecine skirmishes.

Very often, nobles or city states annoyed one another due to anything from territorial disputes to just plain greed and vanity. Such disputes were settled on the field, often between a few hundred knights, if that. In return for loyal service and victories a noble looked after and honored his men. His men in turn sought to be the best at handling themselves in war that they might enjoy their lord's generosity to the full.

6. War

Whether it was a crusade, a conquest or a defensive stand knights were needed to advance and protect the ruler, the land, the Church and the common good. While it might seem bloodthirsty, one need only reflect that many militant countries today still follow the same pattern. Since professional armies came later, towards the end of the Middle Ages/Renaissance, it was up to each man to be battle ready, equipped and trained. It was not only the king's interests he was serving but his own since conquest possibly meant lands and wealth for himself as well as protection, since if the king's army was defeated the nobles and knights were the first ones put to the sword or enslaved by the invading army.

Nobles, men and even women, nearly always carried a weapon on them (women often had concealed daggers). It was normal to do so since weapons were not just for protection but they also served as a deterrent for any would be attacker as well as being a status symbol of one's place society.

Weaponry and weapon invention and development during the Middle Ages was absolutely phenomenal. To catalogue them would require an encyclopedia due to the types and variations. Most popular were swords, halberds, spears, daggers, the long bow, the crossbow, lances, axes, truncheons, maces, chains, primitive cannons and explosives. as well as an assortment of siege weaponry such as catapults, ballisticas, battering rams and manned platforms and siege towers. These weapons were common to Europe, as the peoples of Asia and Africa had their own assortment of armaments they used when attacking or defending.

MoreWeapons had uses that related to fighting in ways that were only symbolic, such as the following:

1. Kings used maces in ceremony as symbols of royal authority and power.

2. Kings and some others in high standing tapped a man on the shoulder with a sword in a ceremony to make him a knight.

3. Knights are said to have sworn oaths on their swords, both because the swords were shaped like crosses, and because the sword was a symbol of their strength and honor.

4. Weapons were worn in many societies as an indication of status. For example, in Anglo saxon England both men and women wore weapons to indicate freedom; a free woman normally wore a dagger.

And there were other reasons to carry arms, among which were sport and hunting. Martial Arts were important in tournaments and Archery matches, involving both members of the nobility and free peasants. Hunting was done with bows and arrows, but was also done with lances and swords, providing the hunters with practice that was useful for warfare.

Answer 2

See the question: What are some weapons used in the middle ages?

Answer 3

To defend themselves in such violent times.

Answer 4

How e=lse would people protect themselves, -or attack their enemy.

Answer 5

See: What are some weapons used in the middle ages?