Weapons of the crusaders. The Seven Deadliest Weapons From The Crusades

The charter of the order from 1129 determined how the brothers should dress. The emphasis in clothing was on simplicity and practicality.
The brother-drapier was responsible for ensuring that the brothers in the East were provided with clothing. Miniatures in 13th-century manuscripts show that the peacetime clothing of the Templar brothers resembles the clothing of ordinary monks.
They wore a long shirt of dark fabric (sarra), girded, reaching to the ankles and with narrow sleeves. Some of the designs show hoods in the same dark color as the rest of the clothing.
On their heads, the Templars often wore a dark skuf - the usual headdress of monks.
The shoes were plain and unadorned.
All the Templars wore beards, and their hair was cut relatively short, although by today's standards, the haircut looks quite long - the hair covered the ears.
Over the shirt, the brothers wore a cloak (habit), characteristic of the Knights Templar. The knights wore a white cloak, symbolizing purity.
The sergeants had a black or brown cloak.
Since the brothers of the order fought and died defending Christianity, Pope Eugene III (1145-1153) allowed members of the order to wear a red cross on the left side of the cloak, symbolizing martyrdom.
Under the shirt, the brothers wore an undershirt, usually shers pulling, less often linen. The top shirt was usually tied with a woolen rope, symbolizing chastity.
The Templar's wardrobe was completed with woolen breeches and woolen gaiters or chausses.
The brothers slept in undershirts, breeches, belted and shod.
Fully undressing was not allowed. It was believed that sleeping in a dressed state strengthens religiosity and militancy, does not allow the body to pamper.
In addition, the knights were dressed in order to be ready to fight at any moment.
The statutes of the order, defining the internal hierarchy, were adopted shortly before the loss of Jerusalem in 1187, probably around 1165.
The statutes describe the armor of the knight brother.
Under armor, the knights wore quilted jackets (haubergeon), which softened blunt blows to chain mail. Over the jacket was worn long chain mail with long sleeves and a balaclava.
The legs were protected by chain mail.
On top of the chain mail, the knight put on a white surcoat, which did not allow the metal of the armor to heat up under the hot rays of the Palestinian sun. In addition, the surcoat allowed the Templars to stand out in the general mass of warriors.
In 1240, Pope Gregory IX wrote that knights were required to wear a white cassock (sarae or sarrae) over their armour, so perhaps the surcoat represented this particular cassock.
Wearing a cassock over armor allowed the Templars to easily distinguish each other on the battlefield from opponents and other crusaders, although, long clothes, inevitably had to hinder movement.
The Templars protected their heads with a helmet (helm), which was worn over a mail balaclava (coif).
In the 1160s, the helmet was open, but by the 13th century, miniatures in books and church frescoes depict the Templars in deaf helmets.

As an alternative to the helmet, an “iron cap” (chapeau de fer) was used - a conical iron helmet with wide iron fields that deflect enemy blows.
Like civilian clothes, the Templar armor was simple, lacking gilding and other decorations.
Unlike secular knights, the Templars did not pursue personal wealth and glory, but fought for the glory of the Lord God and their order.
The weapons of the Templars were common to Western European crusaders. Each Templar had a sword and shield.
A fresco in the church of San Bevignate in Perugia depicts a Templar holding a white triangular shield with a black cross (not red, as might be expected).
In 12th-century frescoes from the Templar church of Cressac-sur-Charan in France, the knight brothers are depicted wearing a white surcoat over armor with a cross on their chest. The shields of the brothers are elongated, triangular in shape.
Since images of different types of shields are known, the question arises whether all these types were really used by the Templars. Although, a white field with a red cross unequivocally answers in the affirmative to this question.
In addition, the brothers were armed with a long spear, three knives of different lengths (a dagger, a bread knife and a small knife) and a "Turkish" mace.
The shaft of the spear was made of ash, as its wood was durable and flexible.
The thickness and length of the shaft fluctuated within certain limits. The average length was about four meters.
The rules also allowed the brothers to arm themselves with a crossbow and Turkish weapons: captured or bought in Palestine. Since the Turkish cavalry was significantly lighter than the European one, the Turkish weapons were also lighter.
The rules of the Knights Templar do not contain details of the use of crossbows.
It can be assumed that the brothers had the best samples that existed at that time.
That is, at the end of the 12th century, they had composite crossbows with horn overlays, which were more powerful and at the same time lighter and smaller than conventional wooden crossbows.

The crossbow favorably differed from the bow in that it was much easier to handle, that is, it was much easier to learn how to shoot accurately from a crossbow than from a bow.
In addition, the crossbow was much more powerful than a simple bow. The massive shelling of the enemy by crossbowmen had a disastrous effect, since crossbow bolts successfully pierced any armor.
But these advantages had to be paid for by a much lower rate of fire, since it took a lot of time and great physical strength to cock the crossbow.
In the 12th-13th centuries, crossbows became even more powerful, as a result, it became almost impossible to cock them with your hands. Therefore, various devices appeared that facilitated the platoon.
In the simplest case, the crossbow was equipped with a stirrup, with which the crossbow was fixed with the foot on the ground, and the cocking was carried out using a hook tied to the waist belt. In this case, more powerful spinal muscles were used.
It was impossible to shoot from such crossbows from the saddle, the crossbowman was required to stand steadily on the ground, but in a siege war, the crossbow turned out to be an excellent weapon.
The documents of the order say nothing about the "uniform" of the battlefield, but in 1240 Pope Gregory IX wrote on this subject.
Although the Pope himself was not a soldier, he was the only person on earth with authority over the Knights Templar, therefore, it was in his power to change the charter and customs of the order, including determining what and in what case the brothers should wear.
Instead of a mouthguard, which hampered the movement of the hands and made the knights vulnerable to the enemy, the Pope allowed the brothers to wear spacious shirts with a cross on their chests over the armor. It is not clear what these shirts looked like, as a fresco in the church of San Bevignate depicts Templars in armor without any capes.
It can be assumed that the shirt It was a spacious surcoat without sleeves.
According to the statutes of the order, the armor of sergeants was lighter than knightly armor. Probably the sergeants wore the same quilted underjackets, over which they wore short-sleeved chain mail.
Mail shoses did not protect the feet (but it was even more comfortable when walking), and instead of a deaf helmet, an “iron cap” was always used.
The sergeants wore black surcoats with a red cross on the chest and back.
The weapons of the sergeants, in principle, were like the weapons of the knights. On the battlefield, the sergeants carried out the orders of their brother, the Turcopolier, who also commanded lightly armed mercenaries.
The most valuable piece of equipment for a knight was a warhorse. Even if the knight dismounted, the horse determined his status, speed, maneuverability and height above the battlefield.
The charter and statutes of the order determined how many horses each brother could have. Ideally, the knight should have had two war horses, in case one horse was killed in battle.
In addition, the knight needed a riding horse for ordinary riding and pack horses.
Thus, a brother-knight had to have four horses: two war horses (destriers), a riding horse (palfroi) or a mule and a pack horse (roncin).
The knight was assisted by a squire.
The sergeant brothers were entitled to only one horse and were not entitled to squires. However, those brother sergeants who performed special assignments, for example, a flag sergeant, had a spare horse and a squire.
Geldings or mares were used as riding horses, but war horses were necessarily stallions.

In the chivalric novels of the 12th-15th centuries, the warhorse is invariably a very tall animal, but the results of excavations show that the height of the warhorses did not exceed 15 palms (1.5 meters) at the withers. That is, standing on the ground, the knight and his horse were shoulder to shoulder.
Horse harness was also simple and had no decorations. The brothers were forbidden
alter the harness without permission, even if it was about adjusting the length of the stirrup belt to fit.
The statute of the order, adopted in the 12th century, determined the horse bridle, saddle and girth, stirrups and sweatshirt.
A knight and a sergeant were allowed to have one saddle bag in which a flask, cutlery and other personal items were stored, as well as a leather mesh in which chain mail was transported.
There is no mention of the use of horse armor by the Templars. In any case, horse armor began to spread only at the end of the 12th century.
The Templar horses on the fresco in the Cathedral of San Bevignate are depicted in blankets with Templar crosses. But these are blankets, not armor. Horses without armor were vulnerable, but they could move faster and get tired less.
When in 1308 the Templars who were there were arrested in Cyprus, the property of the order was described. According to the description, there were armor for both knights and horses.
The marshal of the order was responsible for the weapons and armor of the entire order. All gifts, inheritances and trophies passed through the marshal.
Although gifts and trophies were the main source of new armor, the order also had its own armor-making workshops.
The brothers were forbidden to use the products of these workshops without permission.
The marshal also controlled the order's horses. The war horses of the order were heavier than the light horses of the Muslims and even heavier than the war horses of Western Europe. The marshal personally examined the horses delivered to the east and ordered them to be sent to where the horses were most needed.

The brothers did not have the right to choose their own animals, although they could declare that their horse was worthless.
The statutes of the order contained a requirement to acquire both stallions and mares for the order. It is possible that the order was engaged in breeding horses, although no evidence of this has been preserved, while it is known, for example, that the Teutonic Order maintained large stud farms.
The brothers took care of their horses and weapons on their own. They had to take care of the horses and provide them with food.
The brothers also had to take care of their weapons and equipment, not to hit them against hard objects, not to drop them or lose them. There was a punishment for the loss of weapons.
Section 157 of the Catalan version of the charter of the order contains a mention that a certain Marley was negligently expelled from the order for the loss of a sword and bow.
Similarly, a brother who drove, lost or injured a horse or mule was expelled from the order (article 596 of the charter).
Although the Knights Templar were very wealthy, the costs of fighting were even greater, so every effort had to be made to save money.

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The battles that marked the period of the Crusades were extremely bloody and more than brutal. The problem of cruelty was aggravated by the practical absence of medicine, as well as the lack of sanitation methods, as well as undeveloped tactics. When it comes to the Middle Ages, it means knights and crusades...

The weapons used in the battles of the Crusades were almost as infernal as any military tool that was then available.

Think about it - it is not surprising that the expression " get into the middle ages» still strikes some people with fear.

The warriors of the crusades, for 200 years - from the end of 1000 to the middle of 1200 - were a mixed composition of peasants, mercenary soldiers and knights, and their combinations of weapons reflected the ways in which each could master his own weapons.

Peasants often had simple weapons - mostly tools used in agriculture (usually axes and clubs, as well as some derivatives based on them) - because they could not afford such a luxury as a sword. Knights had more expensive swords as well as armor, while other knights used bows and arrows and spears.

So what were the deadliest weapons found during the Crusades during the Middle Ages?

1. Mace or club

A mace is a type of club with a ball-shaped formation at its top. When it comes to length, it fluctuates between two or three feet (60 to 91 cm). The handle was made of wood, while the spherical pommel was usually made of iron.

The pommel could be smooth and round, or have flanges. Although the mace was an infantry weapon, it was used by some of the cavalry. However, the mace of the cavalryman had a slightly longer handle, such that the rider could reach his enemy.

The purpose of using the mace was to crush the bone of the enemy with a strong blow from the heavy mace. A single blow from a mace could easily shatter the base of a person's skull. Many maces also had flanges to inflict additional damage when hitting the shoulders or body.

While the pommel of the mace shattered the bone, the flanged mace could be used to penetrate flimsy armour, crushing the bones underneath and causing the victim to bleed profusely.

2. Dart (or spade)

Darts and pikes may be simple in design, but they have proven to be effective close combat weapons for thousands of years.

The length of the dart is from six feet (1800 mm), while the length of the pike was somewhat longer - up to 9 feet (up to 2430 mm). The purpose of using the javelin in combat was to keep the enemy at bay by piercing them, or if the infantryman in question had extra javelins or a free arm with a shield, he could throw it at the enemy.

Throwing spears were used not only against infantry, but also against cavalry units - and very effectively.

The purpose of using lances for cavalry and infantry is to pierce, not tickle. A good pike in the hands of a trained person could pierce flesh and shatter bone, killing with one blow.

3. Arrows for a bow

An arrow fired from a bow provided an unpleasant blow to the enemy. Arrows used against cavalry were made with arrowheads to penetrate armor, while arrows used against poorly protected infantry were serrated to make removing them from the body the most difficult task.

The people who fought at the Battle of Dorylaeum in 1097 during the First Crusade learned of this when they fought the Seljuk Turks, who fired volley after volley of arrows, in their confrontation.

Although the Crusaders won the battle, the victory came at a heavy price and they learned a valuable lesson about enemy tactics.

The purpose of using archery arrows is to hit the enemy from afar. However, many crusaders will soon learn to place mail as additional protection under their main armour. In this case, the arrows, as most historians say, did not pass through the chain mail and did not harm the warrior.

Although killing is the main goal, many forget that maiming in those days was quite enough to defeat the enemy. However, if the archer could not kill or maim his enemy, he could be a significant nuisance, and could also simply mock the opponent by firing his arrows at him.

4. Trebuchet - " scales with yoke»

Trebuchet (or " oar with yoke”) is a siege machine, first developed and used in Ancient Rome and preserved in Western armies, which took their continuity from Ancient Rome.

The Trebuchet was used in all of the early European wars, as well as during the First Crusade. Some historians claim that the Trebuchet was developed in China and adopted by the Islamic armies from there, but at present, the validity of this theory is in serious doubt.

The Trebuchet was a catapult of sorts, requiring many men to operate due to its sheer size and weight.

The amount of power needed to send projectiles to the appropriate range required each vehicle to have a team of over 100 men pull on a dozen ropes that would generate enough force to send a 130-pound (59 kg) projectile up to 500 feet ( up to 152 meters).

The purpose of the Trebuchet was to weaken and destroy the fortress walls. This machine could not only fire stone projectiles, but also incendiary ones. While stone was meant to crush and destroy walls, incendiary projectiles were thrown over castle walls or city walls to set buildings on fire.

Of course, if you wanted to inflict special suffering on the defenders, you could start a plague, for this they simply loaded the bodies of plague victims and sent them through the walls, as the Mongols did at Caffa in 1347.

5. Battle ax

The medieval battle ax was used to great effect during the Crusades. What made the battleaxe a favorite among some Crusader era fighters was that, being close to the size of a sword, the battleaxe was cheap to use and required limited skill - much like the use of a mace.

The battle ax was either light, when it could be used with one hand, or two-handed. The length of the battle ax blade was approximately 10 inches (24.5 cm) from the top and bottom points. In addition, battle axes, in the Middle Ages, evolved into battle axes. Where two axes were located on one handle.

This made the battle ax so destructive that not only could it crush the bones of a man in armor, but it could also be wielded with one hand. In addition to cutting off enemy limbs, it has also been used by physicians to amputate patients (albeit with no guarantee of success).

6. Sword

Of all the variety of weapons, for causing significant damage to the human body during the Middle Ages, the sword was considered the most prestigious. At that time, many men could not afford a knight's sword, first of all, it was used by the noble and rich.

For example, the most famous sword is Excalibur - the sword of King Arthur. Viking swords are also famous, such as the Ulfberht. Of course, over time, many more men appeared, especially those who were equipped with swords; however, over time, the sword was also considered to be the royal weapon.

However, the problem with swords during this period was the number of different designs. The average crusader sword (or European sword) for a long period was 30 inches (76 cm) long and about 2 inches (5 cm) wide at the hilt.

What made the sword so popular was that it was a symbol of power. While his design suggests power and great significance, the judgment he could inflict on an enemy was the most devastating.

The sword was designed to do three different things, smash, penetrate and slice. Of course, it depended on the blade of the sword. In any case, the three functions of the sword gave it a greater advantage over other weapons of the time.

If he could not crush his enemy with a single blow (knocking him down or breaking his arm or leg), they could try to cripple the enemy where there was no armor. If this failed, they knocked him down, and also beat him in vulnerable places of the body, such as: armpits, groin and knee joint.

Although the sword probably killed the least during the Crusades, it had the greatest impact as it was a symbol of conquest.

7. Knight's spear

I take my hat off to whoever can withstand a knight's spear. Yes, all of the listed weapons can kill if used correctly, but of all the weapons mentioned, they either crush, or chop, or cut, or pierce. In many cases, the victim survives or dies shortly thereafter, within a few days.

The name of the word " a spear" comes from the word lancea - " dart» Roman auxiliary or throwing percussion weapons. Although according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word " a spear may be of Iberian origin. Also the entomology of the word λόγχη (lónkhē or " a spear”), has Greek roots for the terms “ dart" or " a spear».

The spear in the original sense was a light throwing weapon, or javelin. English verb for actuation: " toss, toss, toss" comes from the term (Old French) and also from the rarer or poetic lance ‒ " a spear».

The 17th century term means that this weapon is definitely a spear, not as a thrown weapon, but as used as a blow by heavy cavalry, and especially in knightly tournaments. A thrusting spear used by infantry is commonly referred to as " spear».

During the periods of classical and medieval warfare, the spear became the leading weapon in cavalry units, and was unsuitable for throwing or for repeated blows, unlike the similar weapon of the pike family commonly used by infantry.

Spears were often fitted with a plate, a small round plate, to prevent the hand from sliding up the base of the spear during impact. Although the spear was known as a military and sporting weapon used by European knights, it also spread widely in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, wherever suitable mounts were available.

As a secondary weapon, the lancers of the medieval period also carried swords or maces for hand-to-hand combat, as the spear was often a disposable weapon. Assuming that the spear remained intact after the initial impact, it (unlike the pike) was too long, 9 to 14 feet (2740 mm to 4267 mm), heavy and clumsy to be effective against the enemy in close combat.

By the 10th century, all the lands in Europe belonged to a few of the richest feudal lords. Huge hordes of impoverished knights roamed Europe, plundering other people's possessions. The rich lands of the Middle East attracted many. The reason for the invasion was the capture by the Turks of Jerusalem - the holy city for Christians. The idea of ​​liberation of Christian shrines was supported by the church. In the summer of 1096, the crusader knights set out on their first campaign. The disparate forces of the Muslims could not resist their pressure, and already in 1099 Jerusalem was taken along with part of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Then the failures began. The rallied Muslims began to win back their lands in Asia Minor. The second and third crusades ended in failure, and in 1187 Jerusalem was surrendered. The next four crusades did not bring success. After the death of the French king Louis IX during the eighth campaign (1270), the knights no longer came to the East.

The armament of the Europeans during the Crusades changed, as they had to adapt to the Eastern battle tactics. Instead of heavy scaly armor, the knights donned mail armor, which was lighter and more maneuverable. The chain mail reached the middle of the thigh, had three-quarter sleeves and a chain mail hood. Later, pants, stockings and mittens made of chain mail mesh appeared. They also wore sweatshirts made of taffeta or leather, stuffed with tow or hair, under the chain mail to weaken the blow.

Warriors of the Orders of Hospitallers and Templars

had images of crosses on their cloaks

To protect from the heat, the knights used sleeveless white capes with heraldic symbols.

Crusader Shield

Large shields made it difficult to fight with eastern cavalry armed with light sabers, so over time they were replaced by small triangular shields.

All the knights who participated in the campaigns to the East,

called crusaders

The crusades required a lot of weapons, so they began to make more inexpensive swords, making blades by welding iron and steel strips (the core was made of soft iron, and the blade was made of steel).

Sword of the Crusades (reconstruction)

The Norman type sword was inferior in battle to the eastern saber, so its crosshair was increased. As the armor became more reliable, an elongated long sword appeared, which was used to deliver strong stabbing blows with both hands.

Mounted crusaders during the first crusade wore a Norman helmet, which did not protect well from the powerful blows of the Saracen battle axes. The crusaders had to wear a second, larger size over a light helmet.

Pot helmets originally had a flat top,

and later - domed

In the middle of the XII century, came into fashion pot helmet . Its edges rested on the shoulders of the knight in order to soften the blows inflicted on the helmet.

Medieval warrior. Armament of the times of Charlemagne and the Crusades Norman A B

Chapter 11 Weapons and defensive weapons of the crusaders