The main characters in this fantastic tournament were knights and spears, who decided who was who. The main difference between the Tournament of St. George is the strict adherence to the rules and traditions of tournaments of the 15th century, the peak of their development. Knights fight in exact copies of knightly armor of that time without the use of modern materials and technologies. And victory in a clash is counted only in two cases: if at least one knight is knocked out of the saddle or a spear is broken on him.

The main weapon of a knight, both in battle and in a tournament, is not a sword, but a spear. The first blow in battle was struck with a spear; the knight’s battle retinue and his detachment were called “spear.”

Armored knights at full gallop clash with spears with steel coronel tips. It's like a car is trying to hit you. Russian knight Viktor Ruchkin compared the feeling of being hit in the helmet with a knockout blow from a professional boxer. Each fight consists of three clashes; if both sat in the saddle for all three courses, then the winner is determined by points (one point for each broken spear). If one of the knights knocks the other out of the saddle, then the battle ends. Most knightly tournaments in Europe and America are held according to simplified rules, and spears are equipped with a special balsa tip, which, when struck, not only breaks easily, but also “explodes” very effectively, flying into a fireworks display of light splinters. Hundreds of enthusiasts around the world are engaged in such balsa, almost safe fights. But a collision on solid wooden spears - Solid Lance Jousting - at most 30 people. These are uncompromisingly courageous and fearless people, and the best of them come to the St. George Tournament. Because they know that the strongest and heaviest tournament spears are made by the Russians. No pine, real straight-grained fir. And definitely without any knots.

Spiny object

Artem Prikhodov, head of the workshop of the Ratobortsy historical projects agency, is responsible for the spears, as well as for many other things at the tournament. We are sitting in the workshop and talking about the evolution of this ancient murder weapon. The spear, an infantry weapon, was originally, with rare exceptions (for example, the Macedonian sarissa), quite short, about 2 m, but a very effective weapon: wherever you poke it, the enemy will suffer. Then the spears migrated to the cavalry. The horse fighting technique required thin and light spears with a diameter of about 30 mm and a length of three meters - until the 13th century this was quite enough: spears easily pierced any chain mail, the most common protection at that time. Spear shafts in Europe were traditionally made from hardwood trees: ash or maple.

The task of the coronel is to cling to the enemy as firmly as possible and not slip off. That is why knights do not specifically aim at the head - a knight’s helmet consists of beveled smooth surfaces that effectively ricochet a blow.

With the advent of heavy armor, the technique of mounted combat began to change. The spears become thicker and longer, up to 4 m, and the main task also changes - not to kill, but to knock him out of the saddle: a captured knight is worth incomparably more than a dead one.

Along with the knights, jousting tournaments appear. In these military competitions, at first the death toll was not much less than in real wars - unlike battles, in the tournament the knights almost always clashed with an opponent of equal strength. No one could take the loss of the main striking force so lightly; the church and rulers tried to ban tournaments or at least make them less dangerous. For this purpose, more humane rules were introduced, special tournament armor and tournament weapons, primarily spears, were developed. The chisel-shaped combat tip was replaced by a coronel with several teeth in the form of a crown, for which, by the way, it received its name. The teeth are sharp enough not to slip off when struck, but since there are several of them and they are small enough, such a tip would not penetrate armor, and if it did, it would not cause deep wounds.

Knockout stick

In the middle of the 14th century, tournament saddles with a reinforced high pommel appeared - it became even more difficult to knock a knight out of the saddle. The spears become even thicker and become almost impossible to lift. Craftsmen are starting to think about changing materials. “Combat” ash is being replaced by lighter wood, such as fir. It is twice lighter, has almost no knots in the lower part, and is more flexible and elastic. The geometry of the shaft also changes - the truncated cone is replaced by a biconical shape: from the knight’s hand the spear narrows in both directions. At its thickest point the spear can reach 60 mm in diameter, tapering to 40 mm at the rear and to 20 mm at the coronel.

The most mysterious part of a tournament spear to the uninitiated is the locking ring. It is with this that the knight rests against the locking hook on the cuirass - focr. As a rule, it was not present on combat spears.

A cone-shaped metal hand protection appears—wamplate, or rondel. If earlier the energy of the collision was spent on piercing the armor and body of the enemy or was transferred to this body flying out of the saddle, now the increased mass of the armored rider, a saddle with a high pommel and a special tip led to the fact that the spear had nowhere to go. When struck, the knight could not hold the spear. To prevent it from falling out of the knight's hand, a locking hook appears in the cuirass armor - a fokr, and a locking ring appears on the spear. And now all the energy in a collision is spent on destroying the spear.

Battering gun

In the 16th century, chivalry began to lose its military significance, and tournaments increasingly became recreational sports and performances. Emperor Maximilian, who is called the first reconstructor of chivalry, spends huge amounts of money on the development of tournaments, tournament armor reaches the peak of its perfection, becomes more reliable and safer. And the requirements for a spear are moving further away from the requirements for military weapons. To make it more noticeable, they begin to make it more and more massive - such a spear, thick as a log, can transfer maximum momentum to the enemy and increases the chances of knocking him out of the saddle. But it becomes almost impossible to hold him, and another hook appears on the back of the armor to help. It is extremely difficult to break such a spear, and therefore, over time, they began to make it hollow - specifically so that it would break more easily.

However, at the Tournament of St. George, knights of the 15th century fight with spears that resemble a slender tree rather than a powerful log. And now you know where and who makes them.

The knight's main weapon was not a sword, but a spear. It was with a spear that the first blow was struck in battle; the “spear” was the name given to the knight’s battle retinue, his detachment. Therefore, the spear was the main weapon during the knightly tournament.

It, like knightly armor, has gone through a considerable path of evolution. Its original form, a simple pole with a sharp tip, has changed to a complex, sometimes hollow, structure equipped with protection for the hand.

That’s what we’ll talk about today, opening the new “Knight’s Tournament” cycle. This does not mean that we are closing the series "". Against. We will continue them further, in parallel with the series "".

The importance of the spear in battles was extremely great, because the knight usually struck the first blow in battle with a spear. Accordingly, this condition was carried over to tournaments.

It is interesting that in England and France in the 12th-15th centuries the tournament was sometimes called just that - “heystiljud”, that is, “game with a spear”. But this applied only to those battles where the spear served as a weapon.

Such fights took place both on horseback and on foot. However, we will have to narrow the topic, otherwise this article may turn into a thick book. To prevent this from happening, we will limit ourselves to the spears with which the knights fought on horseback.

Only in the 13th century did they begin to use a special, “humanized” spear in tournaments, and therefore it began to be divided into the spear of war and the spear of peace. The difference between them was the shape of the tip.

At the spear of war, it was sharp, which allowed the participants in the duel to fully sip on the thrill. The spear of peace has a special shape, in the form of a crown with 3-4 teeth, which is why it was called coronel.

Its advantage was in distributing the impact force over its entire area. Thus, tournaments became increasingly safer for their participants, although death was still their companion.

Throughout the history of knightly tournaments, the spear will undergo many special changes, and when the tournaments themselves turn into a sports competition, it will become an excellent sports equipment. By this time, the spear would be complex, made from several parts assembled with glue.

As you can see, it is as far from a “stick with a tip” as a motorcycle is from a scooter.
I’ll tell you now what parts it consisted of.

Shaft

The thickness of the spear, or rather, the thickness of its shaft, was different in different centuries. For the 12th-13th centuries, a fairly light spear with a diameter of no more than 6.5 centimeters at its widest point was considered normal. For comparison, the handle of a common shovel has a diameter of 4 centimeters.

In the chronicles you can find many references to tournaments in which the poet, politician and knight Ulrich von Lichtenstein (1200-1275) participated. So, during the tournament, each of his squires kept his master’s spare spears - and in bundles of three. This means that even such thick shafts the knights managed to break against each other with enviable consistency.

On the left is Ulrich von Lichtenstein on a miniature of the Manes Codex (XIV century), on the right is a detail of the tapestry “Manius Curius Dentatus Refusing the Gifts of the Samnites” (XVI century), on which spears tied together are clearly visible.

But time passed and the spears developed. By the 15th century, their diameter “played” already from 5 to 15 cm, most often amounting to 9-10 cm. The length of the spear was from 3 to 3.7 meters.

The shaft was made of soft wood (ash, aspen), usually round in cross-section. Some tournament spears were grooved and sometimes even hollow to make them break more easily.

On top they were usually intricately painted in the coat of arms colors of the owner. It is interesting that, depending on the type of tournament competition, spears were used that had different thicknesses and lengths, as well as different tips.

Hand protection

On tournament spears of the developed Middle Ages, the handle was specially distinguished.
It was separated from the rest of the shaft by limiting ridges on both sides.

To protect the hand, a special funnel-shaped guard was placed in front of the handle. It was called nodus or vamplate. It was equipped with a hook from the inside, which made it easier to control the spear, and was also lined with felt.

Here we have one example of a spear with a nodus. It dates back to the 16th century and reaches a length of 4.25 meters. Nodus has the shape of a truncated cone with corrugated edges, and does not exceed 31 centimeters in diameter.

The size of the nodus depended on the type of fights. For some, it was about 15-16 cm in diameter, while for others it already covered the knight’s entire right hand, from wrist to shoulder.

However, the presence of a nodus was not a prerequisite for a tournament spear. Some examples made do with the front limiting roller of the handle, and in this case it was made much larger than the rear one.

It is clear that such a colossus also had to be held in the hand - not only while prancing in front of the ladies, but also at the moment when the knight knocked his opponent out of the saddle. To do this, they resorted to special tricks.

Spear hook

Behind the handle there was a heavy metal ring (grappa), which rested against the steel spear hook on the right side of the cuirass, preventing the spear from slipping and distributing the recoil force over the entire breastplate.

In the 15th century, the spear hook became a mandatory element of tournament knightly armor, although it is said that it arose around 1325. Initially, it was lined with felt, but over time they began to make linings of wood or lead on the spear hook. Accordingly, the grappa acquired small, blunt spikes that easily fit into the linings, which ensured an even more reliable grip between the spear and the knight.

Tournament optimal

Only from the 14th century did special tournament armor begin to stand out. At first, this trend was not too noticeable; the armor that was in use was strengthened.

If you look closely at the topfhelm - a bucket-shaped helmet of the noble family of Prankkhov (mid-14th century), you will see that the left side of the helmet is more protected, the viewing slot is narrower, and the inside of the helmet itself is equipped with a felt lining.

After half a century or so, concern for the safety of the knight in tournament conditions finally came to the fore. By the 15th century, in medieval society, tournaments were already perceived as festivals, and fights as sports.

Hence the division of armor into combat armor, in which you can run, jump, gallop and climb walls, and tournament armor. Which are not practical in a real fight, but in a tournament they are just what the doctor ordered. And since, in German, “to stab” is stechen, the fights with spears were called “gestech”, and the armor for participation in them was called stechzeug. Here he is:

During the time that the shtekhtsoig was in use, it underwent changes. At the same time, different countries fought a little differently, so they made adjustments to the defense. The biggest differences - we will definitely talk about them in a special article - were between the German and Italian Stechtsoig. Regarding the tournament spear, the difference was small and consisted of the following.

The Germans fixed the spear with the help of a powerful tournament hook, which I have already talked about. The Italians, in turn, used lighter spears in clashes, and a leather glass covered with cloth was enough to support them. It was riveted on the right side of the cuirass, in the area of ​​the belt, and before the start of the clash, a spear was inserted into it.

By the beginning of the 15th century, a new type of equestrian spear duel appeared in Germany, which soon became very popular. It was called rennen, which literally means simply “horse racing.”

Behind such a harmless name was hidden a gambling competition in which the knights repeated their collisions until one of them was knocked out of the saddle. A kind of marathon in which only the most resilient would win.

The spear that was used in the mounted attack in Rennen was usually lighter than the one that was used in the previous variants of the charge. It was made of soft wood, reached 4 meters in length, and with a diameter of 7 cm weighed about 14 kg.

At the same time, its tip was sharp, which means that the rennen participants had enough adrenaline.
Therefore, Rennen gave birth to new, more suitable armor for him. It largely took its form from the Gothic armor of the 15th century and was called rennzoig - armor for participation in the rennen.

Rennzoig armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Both were made in 1580–90 in Germany, possibly Dresden. The weight of the one on the left is 41.5 kg, the one on the right is 29.5 kg.

Like a tank turret

Initially, the spear in the tournament was held only with the hand, sometimes pressing it to the thigh. But in the 12th century, the stakes on a spear strike from a horse, which in itself was terrible, were raised. The main task was the ramming blow with a spear, when the speed and mass of the horse were combined together.

Therefore, they began to clamp the spear under the arm, so that the rider turned into a kind of tank turret. His task was to accurately aim and hold the spear at the moment of impact.

This method of holding a spear can already be observed in some knights depicted on the famous carpet from Bayeux (1077-1085). But then this was the exception rather than the rule.

In the next century, both variants of holding a spear were sometimes mixed, although not often. So, during the duel in Tarvis (13th century), the knights Reinprecht von Murek and the already familiar Ulrich von Lichtenstein came together in battle. One took the spear under the arm - the most common technique, the other put the spear low to the hip.

But no matter how the knights held their spears, the most beautiful battle was considered to be one in which both participants broke them without falling out of their saddles.

Now let's see what it all looked like in reality.

In the video that I want to show you, the filming is carried out from several cameras, two of which are installed directly on the spear. One films back and shows us the knight at the moment when he strikes his opponent. The second one removes this blow itself and its consequences.

In short, you have a unique opportunity, without leaving your computer, to get in the saddle and see the world through the eyes of a knight. Or rather, his spears.

Spear tongue

Let's not forget that the era of chivalry is an era of ceremonies, lofty words and bright deeds. For example, Ulrich von Lichtenstein, during his fights, demanded that the knights he defeated bow in honor of the ladies in all four directions of the world. The knight who broke his spear against Ulrich von Lichtenstein received a gold ring to give to his lady.

The tournament itself is a real treasure trove for those scientists who study the language of symbols. It is clear that the spear also had the fate of being, in addition to a weapon, part of medieval symbolism. According to heraldic rules, the spear on the coat of arms symbolized knightly service and piety.

It was piety that forced the knight, who was knocking the enemy out of the saddle, to immediately throw his spear, stop and raise his right hand up.

In addition, the spear was an important attribute of an honorary knight - a very special and necessary figure in the tournament. His persona was chosen by the ladies, and the honorary knight did not fight. A special role awaited him.

Firstly, he had to be on the lists for the entire knightly tournament - in armor and on horseback. At the same time, his helmet was far away - on the ladies' platform, where it was solemnly held on a piece of a spear.

And secondly, the honorary knight was on the lists with another spear, at the end of which a long white veil was attached. It was called the “veil of favor” because by touching it the honorary knight had every right to stop the battle at any time at his discretion.

So the tournament spear was a special weapon for the knight. They valued him, they praised him, but most importantly, they achieved victories, sometimes difficult ones. It was thanks to these victories, and therefore thanks to the tournament spear, that stars of the first magnitude were lit in the Middle Ages, whose names have been known for many centuries.

And finally, one more video

French knights died in hundreds under the terrifying hail of English arrows, falling, struck by blows of swords, axes and maces, which were skillfully used by heavily armed English horsemen. Piles of dead and wounded warriors and their horses moved as the wounded struggled to crawl out from under the weight of the fallen. A few English archers and noble squires wandered wearily across the field, looking for fallen comrades and helping the wounded to reach the saving refuge of the Noyer forest. But most of the warriors sat and lay on the ground trampled by their hooves. They were almost as motionless as their defeated enemies; The British were terribly exhausted from the three-hour battle. Noon had already passed, but since nine o'clock in the morning the English archers and knights had already managed to repel two attacks by a large French army.

Edward Plantagenet, Prince of Wales, sat on the ground, leaning his back against a tree trunk. His magnificent black armor was marred by blows and jagged edges, covered with dust, stained with blood and wrinkled; the cloak, decorated with the coats of arms of England and France, is torn to shreds, the red color has faded, standing out on the fabric as uneven brown spots. The long, shining sword lying on his knees was twisted, the tip of the blade was covered with jagged edges, and the end was bent. The prince sat motionless, his head dropped on his chest. Edward was tired and exhausted - so exhausted that it seemed to him that he would never be able to get up and move from this place again. But he knew that somewhere there, invisible to the eye behind a low ridge bordering a shallow valley, stood another large detachment of the French, ready to fall on his small, extremely tired army. They fought like devils, but they had no more English arrows left to stop the French and knock down their arrogance; the weapon was broken or lost; the armor was so damaged that all that remained was to throw it away; Most knights had their visors torn off their helmets. But the worst thing was that the brave English were exhausted. Almost everyone was wounded. They had no food, and among the dry, dusty fields there was not a drop of moisture to be found to quench their unbearable thirst.

The prince raised his head and, subduing his proud spirit for a moment, looked sadly at the horses standing behind the fence of carts behind the line of fortifications. Perhaps they could get away - even now - if they mounted their horses and retreated. Good God - he, Edward of Wales, will flee from the battlefield! But what else can he do? His army is the cream and cream of English chivalry. He must protect them from French captivity at all costs.

With a heavy heart, he looked around the battlefield. Are they done with the French? Here lie the broken remains of the standards of the marshals and the detachment of the Grand Dauphin, which rolled into their ditch and hedge, only to roll back after several hours of desperate battle. But where is the detachment of the Duke of Orleans and where is the French king? Edward groaned, trying to relieve the tension in his back. He raised his eyes so as not to look at the depressing picture spread out in front of him, and, seeking rest, fixed his gaze on the dark green forest in the distance, beyond the battlefield. The lush, dense summer greenery has already begun to be covered with spots of golden and red patches of autumn. The prince looked into the blue skies, took a deep breath of the stagnant, sultry air, and then turned his gaze to a low ridge north of the battlefield. For a moment he was numb: a single flash of light flashed from the top of the ridge, faded, and then flashed again. Then another one appeared next to her, then another one. The prince looked and saw how the entire line of the ridge was gradually filled with bright highlights; then bright colored spots appeared above the steely reflections of the bright sun. So, there is still an army there! A cracked voice broke the silence:

- Holy God, look there. This is the king's squad! – Edward looked at the speaker and recognized him as one of his court knights. Their gazes met. - This is the end, sir. We are broken!

In response, Edward exclaimed in a voice crackling like a thunderclap:

- You are lying! No one dares to say that we are broken while I stand on my feet! “A flash of anger made the prince jump up, but, once on his feet, he immediately almost fell.

John Chandos, his closest friend and right-hand man, propped himself up on his elbow. Squinting one eye, he rasped hoarsely:

“Believe me, sir, you will not stand unless you sit down.” We must mount our horses if we want to fight any longer today.

Edward looked again at the French position, where thousands of King John's fresh warriors lined the edge of the ridge. He turned away from the enemy.

“I swear to God, John, you are as right as ever.” We will all mount horses - archers and knights. Thank Heaven, there are now enough horses for everyone, and we will give them a hard time as soon as they get to that fallen tree, you see, there, at the bottom of the basin. This will be a complete surprise for them. Look at those people down there pulling out their wounded. These people have been hanging around here all the time since the last attack. They understood well what a pitiful sight we are. Get up, John - we'll start with you - walk down the line and tell them to stay around Warwick and Salisbury. Talk to the commanders so they understand what I want from them. They will understand, although they are very tired. “He touched the man lying next to him with his foot. - Hey, Thomas! Wake up. Return to the carts and order the horses to be taken out. Hurry up, we don't have time for idle thoughts. Move, guys, otherwise you won't get into the saddle!

Edward came out of the shadow of a small tree and walked along the rows of his soldiers, sitting and lying, exhausted from the battle, encouraging them in a loud, cheerful voice:

- Go ahead, boys! The King of France will be here any minute. Which of you will take him captive and bring him to me?

The sun's rays gilded the prince's brown hair, darkened with sweat; where he passed, people pulled up, feeling Edward’s courage being transmitted to them. Knights and archers stood up, stretched, tightened their belts and fastened buckles, put on their helmets and took up their weapons. Cracked, tired, but cheerful voices sounded, they drowned out the terrible mournful groans coming from under the pile of dead bodies.

When the prince reached the center of the line, the horses were withdrawn, and the soldiers were given meager supplies of water, with which they quickly quenched their painful thirst. Everywhere warriors mounted their horses - some without helmets, others without elbow pads. Some took off the armor that covered their legs to make it easier to fight. The squires and pages armed themselves with new spears, but there was such a shortage of them that the weapons had to be taken from the dead. The archers began to remove arrows from the dead bodies. The horse was brought to the prince. Edward at this time talked with the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury, commanders of the two main detachments of the English army. Putting his foot in the stirrup, the prince turned over his shoulder and looked again at the approaching French. The rows glittering in the sun, blinding with metallic reflections, continued to approach.

“By Saint Paul, they are coming towards us.” Guys, get ready! – Edward shouted.

He easily jumped into the saddle and galloped towards his command post - to the left of the battle formations. Court knights were waiting for him at the tree. One of them held the helmet of his master, the other handed him plate gauntlets. John Chandos, who did not have time to mount his horse, handed the prince his crooked, jagged sword.

“He’s not very good, sir,” John grinned, “but I have no doubt that you will be able to get considerable benefit from him!”

“Hey, John, of course, I wouldn’t mind a new sword, but I think that this will be enough, right?” If the sword turns out to be really bad, then – well – I’ll use the good old axe. But now go ahead and hurry. They're almost where we need to intercept them. Here. - With these words, the prince turned to one of his Gascon captains, Sir Jean de Grey, who commanded a small reserve: - Sir Jean, I want you to take as many knights as you can find - it seems you have about sixty of them left, not is not it? Take my reserve, archers and anyone else you find, and go around that small hill on the right. When we meet the French in the field - see, there, by the broken tree? - you, like a devil from the underworld, will fall on their flank. Make as much noise as possible and hold on as hard as you can. Hurry and may God help you. Trumpeters, be ready to blow when I give the signal.

He looked keenly at the rows of soldiers, his tired heroes, who had perked up in anticipation of the attack - after spending the entire morning on the defensive. Now that they had mounted their horses, it seemed as if all their fatigue had vanished.

In the tense silence, soft singing came from somewhere, and from the side of the “army” of Earl Warwick’s archers there was suddenly a burst of laughter. Then everything fell silent again - except for the song and the dull, growing roar - the heavily armed French moved measuredly across the field.

Edward stood up abruptly in his stirrups. In a ringing, high-pitched voice heard along the entire line, he shouted:

- For St. George, go ahead! Unfurl the banners!

Following the command, trumpets sang and drums thundered. Edward's small army moved forward slowly, so as to remain undetected. Driving out into the open field and passing the dead, she quickened her pace - first at an amble, and then at a light gallop. When the enemy was only a hundred yards away, the flags on the ends of the spears began to slowly lower down, and the horsemen thrust their deadly points forward. The knights spurred their horses, the gallop turned into a frantic gallop - the horses rushed forward uncontrollably. People were screaming - there were war cries, curses and just a prolonged scream. With a heavy roar, heard by the inhabitants of Poitiers, located seven miles away, the horsemen converged in the middle of the field. Many English fell in this first onslaught, but the rest drove deep into the mixed ranks of the French, pushing them back and following the English banner, which fluttered in the front ranks above the battle. The rush was soon stopped, and the battle turned into many fierce one-on-one fights. In the center of his detachment, the French king John the Good fought valiantly, and next to him, like a tiger cub testing its teeth, his young son Philip fought. The French stood firm, withstanding the onslaught of the British for a long time. But gradually one or two people began to retreat from the rear, unable to withstand the pressure of the English cavalry. And then confusion began on the French left flank - loud cries of people and wild neighing of horses were heard, trumpets roared. Now the French began to retreat even faster, and soon a whole group of them retreated in disorder to their horses. Only the knights, standing in close ranks around the king and pressed on all sides by the triumphant enemy, continued to offer stubborn resistance.

The prince and his retinue fought their way through the ranks of the French, and now there were no more enemies before them. Edward was about to turn back, but Chandos and others convinced him not to do so. The banner was mounted on a tall cherry tree in the garden of the village of Maupertuis, marking a rallying point for the soldiers, who were now reaping a rich harvest of prisoners, some pursuing the knights who fled towards Poitiers.

Suddenly a noisy group of people appeared in front of the prince's camp, pushing through the crowd. In the middle of this group stood a knight in rich, but battle-worn armor and a boy in armor, who were roughly pushed and dragged towards the prince. Sitting on a horse and looking over their heads, Edward clearly saw how noble prisoners were dragged to him.

- This is the king! John, Robert, they have captured the king! – Edward spurred his tired horse and rode closer. The voice, cracked with fatigue, thundered like the blow of a whip. - Stop! Stop, they tell you! Is this the way to treat a king? I swear to God, I will hang anyone who still dares to touch him! Make way for me.

Edward got off his horse and, with a glare of anger, made his way. Staggering from fatigue, he walked up to the prisoners and ceremoniously dropped to one knee.

“Sir,” he said, “my apologies for the rudeness caused.” Come with me, you need to rest. My tent will be set up now. Do me the honor of sharing it with me.

He stood up and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

- This is my cousin Philip, isn't it? – Edward smiled sincerely and warmly, but the child angrily pulled back. His small, dirty face became chalk pale, his eyes sparkled angrily from under his raised visor. The king spread his hands helplessly.

- Philip, this is discourteous. Your cousin is a great commander. – The king sighed. - Too great, on the mountain of France... Treat him appropriately.

Edward hugged the king by the shoulders:

- Don't reproach him, sir. It is very difficult to be captured on the battlefield, and not a very appropriate circumstance for cousins ​​to meet. I have no doubt that I look terrible too. Come on, we need to rest.

These events took place near Poitiers on September 19, 1356. It was the greatest and most brilliant victory that England won in the Hundred Years' War with France. The battles of Crecy in 1346 and Agincourt in 1415 were won mainly by archers and their terrible weapons, but at Poitiers the English were victorious despite the numerical superiority of the French, surpassing them in courage and thanks to the ardent genius of the great commander, the Prince of Wales. One of the most beautiful moments, that moment captured in English history, when a tired, almost defeated army mounted its horses and committed an act that brought it victory and allowed it to capture the French king himself. The political results of this battle surpassed the results of all other battles: the fact that the whole war was just a senseless aggression could not obscure the glory of that day. It was after this that Edward showed himself to be a military leader, not inferior to the great dukes and counts, some of whom eclipsed kings, as the sun eclipses the moon.

Despite the fact that 641 years have passed since the day of Poitiers and 621 since the death of Edward, who died in 1376, we still feel an inextricable and living connection with him. For example, on the hand with which these lines are written, I put on the gauntlet of the Black Prince, perhaps the same one in which he fought in that brilliant attack, and the eyes with which I am now reading this page looked through the narrow slit of the visor of his helmet. Trying on these things is no small privilege, but anyone can see these armors - they are on display in Canterbury Cathedral, where they have served as Edward's tombstone for several centuries. Luckily for us, exact replicas of the weapons and armor were made in 1954, so the fragile original can now be kept safely under an impenetrable glass case, while durable and indistinguishable replicas are placed above the coffin. Above the grave rises a life-size statue of the Black Prince in full battle garb, made of gilded bronze. The surviving piece of ammunition is part of the scabbard; There should also be a sword here, but it was lost during the English Civil War in the 17th century. The scabbard is only a worn relic, and on the side of the statue hangs a sword made of gilded bronze - a real work of art; The scabbard is decorated with red and blue enamel, and on the head of the handle is a lion mask protruding from the blue enamel. Figure 62 shows what this weapon looked like.

Rice. 62. Statue of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral; the sword is depicted in detail.

At the Battle of Poitiers, warriors used a variety of weapons. Although there were several thousand English archers and French crossbowmen on the battlefield, their arrows had little effect on the outcome of the battle. The English arrows were completely spent during the first two attacks, and the French commanders positioned their crossbowmen so poorly that they often simply could not shoot. The outcome of the battle was decided by single combat using spears and swords, axes and maces, as well as war hammers.

Spear and pike

The spear appeared a long time ago, at the dawn of humanity. About twenty thousand years ago, a sharp piece of flint tied to the end of a stick was used to hunt for food or to kill an enemy for personal satisfaction. This crude tool was improved over time and in the Neolithic era (about 6000 years ago) it turned into a real spear with an elegantly finished flint tip, and later (about three and a half thousand years ago) it acquired a beautiful bronze tip (Fig. 63).

Rice. 63. Bronze spearhead (circa 1000 BC) On right iron spearhead of a Celtic warrior (circa 300 BC).

A knightly weapon of this kind, naturally, was a long spear, but before we begin our consideration, it is worth taking a look at its predecessors and understanding how they were used. The shape of the tip has not undergone significant changes over many centuries. The arrowhead used by Pharaoh's soldiers as Egypt asserted its power in the Eastern Mediterranean is not very different in shape from the arrowheads used by Queen Victoria's troops as they asserted the British crown's authority in India. And over the three thousand years that separate these eras, we see that spears changed little in the space from Wales to Japan and from Finland to Morocco.

In ancient Greece (from approximately 600 to 120 BC), one of the ways to use a spear on foot was to throw it from a distance of several feet. At the same time, the warrior tried to hit the enemy in the diaphragm area. Throwing a spear, the fighter continued to run at the enemy and, when he bent forward with a spear in his stomach, finished him off with a strong blow to the back of the head with an ax or sword. If the warrior missed, he could try his luck by throwing a second spear to wound his opponent on the second attempt.

Rice. 64. Pilum.

The Romans invented a very unique tip shape. A spear with such a point was called pilum. At the end there was a small leaf-shaped tip, mounted on a long thin iron neck, which ended in a hollow extension; it was mounted on a shaft made of ash or acacia (Fig. 64). The purpose of this long iron isthmus was as follows: when meeting an enemy, a legionnaire would throw a pilum at him while running. If the weapon hit the shield, the tip would pierce it, and the iron neck would bend under the weight of the massive shaft. The unlucky enemy could not wield the shield, which pulled his arm down under the weight of the spear. Naturally, the best solution in this case was to chop off the shaft with a blow from a sword or an ax, but this possibility was excluded by the iron isthmus.

This type of spear was adopted by the Franks and Anglo-Saxons, who called it engon and were used in exactly the same way - with the goal of depriving the enemy of the opportunity to fully use the shield - unless, of course, the spear seriously wounded or killed the enemy.

Greek and Roman horsemen used exactly the same spear as infantrymen - a light javelin with a long sharp tip, but never fought with a pilum. Such spears - due to the fact that they were very short - were not taken under the arm, like a knight's spear, but were held in the hand. Sometimes they were thrown.

The Vikings and their predecessors were armed with many copies of various types. Each type had its own special name - for example, chopping spear, cord spear (such a spear was thrown using a loop wound around the shaft), dart, etc. Numerous, well-preserved examples of such spears were discovered in Denmark. Many shafts even retain the loops with which they were thrown. The Vikings used very colorful and poetic names to designate their copies. Spears were often called "snakes": Blood Serpent, Warlinden Serpent (Shield), and so on. Chain mail was likened to nets, a very apt name for heavy weaving: for example, “spear net,” while spears were sometimes called “fish of the nets of war.” Sometimes the spears were called ornately and attractively - for example, Flying Dragon of Battle.

Soldiers on foot used spears throughout the long centuries from the Sumerian era (3000 BC) to the Thirty Years' War in Europe (1648). Sumerian and Egyptian infantrymen used spears about six feet long with broad bladed tips; They used this weapon like a rifle with a bayonet, and they operated in tight formation in separate units. Such weapons were used by the Franks, Saxons and Vikings, the Scots at Bannockburn in 1314 and the French at Poitiers in 1356, as well as professional mercenary Welsh and Brabant spearmen in the armies of the 14th and 15th centuries. The shape of the tip of this spear - no matter whether it was used by the infantry of the pharaoh, Themistocles, Svein Forkbeard, Bruce or Charles the Bold - remained the same: ten to twelve inches long, two or even three inches wide at the base, and along the middle line ran powerful rib. In the Middle Ages - in the 8th and 9th centuries, and later in the 15th - spears were often equipped with wings or ears located under the tip, made as a part of the bell (Fig. 65). Such wide spears were used as cutting and piercing weapons.

Rice. 65. Spears with wing-shaped tips, 9th century. On right - wing-shaped spear tip from the late 15th century.

Another specialized type of infantry spear was the pike, a thrusting weapon with variously shaped tips mounted on an exceptionally long shaft, often up to eighteen feet in length. The tip was small and narrow, up to six inches long, and was no wider than the shaft that followed it (Fig. 66). Initially, pikes were used in Ancient Greece, in the Macedonian army in the period from 300 to 120 BC. e. They were used for a specific purpose by the ruler of Macedonia, Philip, father of Alexander the Great. The pike became the main means of warfare in the areas of the Middle East conquered by Alexander until 168 BC. e., when the warriors armed with them met in battle with the Roman legions at Pidna. Here the pilum and short sword in the hands of an experienced legionnaire surpassed the pike, and after that it ceases to be mentioned in documents. We don't hear anything about pikes until the 15th century, when the Swiss took them back into service. Just as it had done in ancient Macedonia, the pike again dominated the battlefield until the great bloody Battle of Bicocca in Northern Italy in 1522, when the pikemen were routed by the firepower of improved arquebuses.

Rice. 66. Lance tips from 1500.

The reason why the peaks were so incredibly long was simple. Three or four rows of warriors standing behind each other could simultaneously put their points forward. The warriors of the first rank held their pikes low, resting their blunt ends on the ground behind their backs; the soldiers of the second row put their pikes between the soldiers of the first row, holding their weapons at the level of the first row. In the third row, the peaks were raised higher and placed on the shoulders of the soldiers in the front row (Fig. 67). The warriors in the very rear ranks held their pikes with their points raised upward and were ready to take the place of those who had fallen in the first ranks, so as not to break the formation. The column constructed in this way, which often numbered up to two thousand people, was capable of rolling forward uncontrollably, overcoming any resistance. Nothing could resist such columns, but only until cannons and arquebuses were invented, with the fire of which it was possible to disrupt the column before it came into direct contact. Before the invention of firearms, only exactly the same column could withstand a column of such spearmen. When they came into contact, a “pushing of peaks” occurred, that is, two formations pressed on each other, like lines in American football squeeze each other out - until one column began to move away.

Rice. 67. Warriors in formation.

Rice. 68. Modern lopper.

There were many other types of spear-like weapons - all of which are direct descendants of the flint tied to the stick of the Paleolithic hunter. This weapon was not used by knights of the Middle Ages, but infantrymen used it against knights, which caused changes in the design of knightly armor. Given this influence, we will still consider this weapon. All types of it can be called the result of crossing a military spear and an agricultural lopper - a pruner. This simple but very effective tool is designed for cutting branches, trimming hedges and similar manipulations; this instrument is still produced today, giving it the same shape as eight hundred years ago (Fig. 68). This tool has very respectable traditions; each locality produces its own original loppers - for example, Westmoreland loppers are different from Gloucestershire loppers, etc., although in principle they all have essentially the same design. If the lopper is mounted on a long shaft, it turns into an infantry weapon, which it was throughout the early Middle Ages. Until 1300 it was nothing more than a lopper on a long pole, and only from that time onwards something like a spear was introduced into the design. As a result of such crossing, so to speak, two sisters appeared - Glevia And halberd. On the main cutting edge of the gleyvia blade there was one large spear-like spike, and on the other side of the blade there was a smaller spike; The blade itself, compared to the pruning shears, became longer and narrower (Fig. 69). The halberd had a wider and shorter blade, and a sharp protrusion was placed in front. In fact, it turned out to be a large ax with a five-foot handle. (By the way, when they talk about poles on which spears, axes, glaives, halberds and the like were mounted, the word “shaft” refers to poles with spears and pikes, and the term “handle” is reserved for axes, halberds, etc.)

Rice. 69. Glaevius blades. Left glevia or bill (circa 1470), on right gleyvia of a different form (circa 1550).

Rice. 70. Halberds: A - around 1470; b – around 1570.

These weapons were invented and improved in the 14th and 15th centuries. Glevia (which in England was called bill) became a very elegant and intricate weapon, in contrast to the halberd, which acquired a complete, maximum effective design around 1470 (Fig. 70a), and then gradually ceased to be used and by 1525 turned into a decorative and ceremonial weapon. Halberds from the time of Elizabeth I were very beautiful, but absolutely ineffective as a military weapon (Fig. 70b). Indeed, their only purpose remained to show off in the hands of state and city guards.

Over the period from 1400 to 1600, the shape of the spear also underwent significant changes, and the weapon itself became more diverse. In the Middle Ages, each of these forms was given its own name, and now it is very difficult to figure out which spears were called by which terms: vuzh, ranser, gizarma, runka etc. Probably, the vuzh is the same as the glevia, the ranser looked like a bill, and the guisarma was a very large and beautiful spear, the improvement of which was completed at the same time as the halberd, that is, around 1470. This weapon was more often called protazan, the tip of which resembled the blade of a large broad sword. Typically, the blade is very wide at the base (called shoulders of the blade), from which one wing or ear(Fig. 71). These ears differ from those attached to the spears described above in that the latter were attached to the socket of the tip below the blade, and in the protazan these devices protruded directly from the blade. Tens of thousands of these protazanes were forged for actual battle, but many examples were richly finished and decorated with engraving, gilding, or gold and silver incisions; such protazans were used as ceremonial weapons in the retinues of aristocrats. Over time, the blades became smaller, and the wings, or ears, became larger. Gradually, the protazan took the form it has today: for example, in the ceremonial weapons of the yeomanry guard of the Tower of London. These ceremonial protazans - like all pole-armed ceremonial weapons - are decorated with a large tassel attached to the top of the shaft directly below the blade. The same tassels were attached to combat protazans. But in this case, the goal was purely practical - the brush absorbed the blood flowing from the blade, and its handle remained dry.

Rice. 71. Partisan. Left – around 1470; on right - around 1600.

This weapon, used by infantrymen for a long time, did not, however, have a significant impact on the outcome of battles, which were usually decided by heavy cavalry - armed horsemen and knights. However, at the beginning of the 14th century, the halberd - a new invention of the Flemings and Swiss - had a great influence on the improvement of armor and weapons of cavalrymen and knights. In two battles - at Courtrai in Flanders (1302) and at Mount Morgarten in Switzerland (1315) - large forces of superbly equipped cavalry suffered heavy defeats from dismounted townspeople and peasants armed with halberds.

Under Courtrai, the flower of French chivalry, warriors armed with spears and swords, protected by chain mail, fastened at the knees and shoulders with iron plaques, and covered with iron plates under their cloaks, made several valiant but poorly organized attacks, trying to cross the river to defeat the dense crowd of Flemings. Two things happened that the French knights did not expect. Firstly, the townspeople stood firm, did not flinch and did not run away in front of the proudly performing horses. Secondly, the heavily armed horsemen got stuck in the muddy ground of the meadow located between the river and the Flemish positions. While the knights were floundering in the mud, trying to gain speed in order to fall on the ranks of the enemy, the latter himself rushed forward, seized the initiative and attacked the armored warriors who found themselves in a very difficult situation. Halberds (the Flemings called them “gudendags” - “good day”) cut chain mail, shields and helmets like a hot knife through a piece of butter.

The French knights trembled. They tried to escape, but they had to move through a muddy valley, in the middle of which a fast river flowed. In panic and disorder, the knights huddled on the river bank. Those who reached the river first began to move along the shore, trying to find a shallow place to cross, but the pressing mass of other knights pushed them into the water; they fell and drowned in hundreds in the muddy muddy river.

Something similar happened at Mount Morgarten. The reasons that led to this battle are very complex and intricate, and we will not touch on them. But in short, the matter boiled down to the following: in 1314, two rival kings were elected to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, and one of the cantons of Switzerland, Schwyz, decided, taking advantage of the general unrest, to secede from the empire and proclaimed its independence. The brother of one of the emperors, Duke Leopold of Austria, at the head of a knightly army, was sent to force the Swiss to due submission. So, one November day in 1314, this army was moving along the road to a mountainous country. The Swiss blocked all roads except one, along which the unprepared and arrogant Austrians moved. This road wound between steep hills and a lake, and where the space between the lake and the hills was narrowest, the Swiss blocked this only road. They set up an ambush on a forested mountain top, having previously felled many trees, the trunks of which were cleared of branches and twigs so that the resulting logs could roll down the slope. Having thus prepared, the Swiss began to wait.

Soon the vanguard of the Austrian column appeared. Suspecting nothing, the careless Austrians, who did not even bother to send scouts ahead, cheerfully moved along the road until they came across a blockage. The vanguard stopped, but the rest - in the middle and at the tail of the column, not knowing what had happened, continued to move, flowing around the front ones, and thus the entire mass of the knightly army filled the narrow meadow between the lake and the foot of the steep hills. The knights crowded into a gorge, pressed to the left by the lake, and to the right by the slopes covered with sleepy autumn forest. Suddenly, from this peaceful, idyllic forest, came the deafening cry of thousands of powerful throats; Huge logs rolled down the slopes, knocking the Austrian horses off their feet. The Swiss were running down the slopes after the logs. In the blink of an eye they pounced on the faltering knights, striking them with terrible halberds and cutting their helmets as easily as if they were made of cardboard. The Swiss easily cut off the arms and legs of knights, protected only by chain mail, and beheaded noble horses. Taken by surprise, the knights fought like lions, but what could they do? The survivors were pushed into the lake; those few who were able to repel the blows of the halberds with long swords made their way through the close ranks and fled. For several minutes, masses of people fought in one place, but soon, realizing that the Swiss had risen to the occasion, and realizing its complete hopelessness, the knights, who were in the rear and did not take part in the battle, turned their horses and rushed to retreat, leaving more than third of his army. Thus ended one of the bloodiest battles of the Middle Ages.

After these two battles, it became clear to the military that chain mail - even if reinforced with metal plaques and plates - was clearly not enough for protection. Although chain mail had proven its effectiveness against any other - old - weapon, it turned out to be completely powerless in the face of a new terrible threat. The armor has been strengthened. Now, in addition to chain mail, the arms and legs were protected by metal plates; in addition, metal armor was put on the chain mail shirt. The knight's weapons, chain mail and all the equipment thus became stronger, but also heavier and clumsier.

Then, in the forties of the 14th century, the French armies met on the battlefield with English archers and their deadly arrows almost a meter long. Even improved armor could not withstand the new weapons, as the Battle of Crecy in 1346 showed especially clearly. After it, it became completely clear that something better was required - so armor appeared, consisting of plates of hardened iron well fitted to each other, protecting the entire body of the knight. In the late fifties of the 14th century, almost all the best warriors in Europe began to wear such armor. Such armor could not be penetrated even by shooting from a longbow.

Rice. 72. Spearheads of the XIV-XV centuries.

But no matter what armor and armor the knights wore, their weapons basically remained the same. The predominantly knightly weapon remained the old spear, which was the main weapon of the knightly tournament - an equestrian clash between two horsemen in single combat. I described this fight in detail in another book, but here I want to say a few words about the spears that knights fought with in tournaments and how they used these weapons.

From more ancient times - from the era of the Goths in the 4th and 5th centuries until the time of the Black Prince in the 14th century, the spear shaft was a straight pole, tapering towards the end, from nine to eleven feet long with a small tip, which did not differ from that of a pike, although it was famous a very large variety of forms (Fig. 72), which in no way correlated with the eras; all types of points were used simultaneously throughout the Middle Ages. This diversity was due to local peculiarities, just as today the shapes of garden pruning shears differ from each other, and the Bordeaux spears differed from the Cologne copies, and the Milanese from both.

Rice. 73. Garda. Around 1450.

Only at the end of the Middle Ages did the spear acquire a device that protected the hand. In 14th-century illustrations we see knights and cavalry with spears equipped with a short cross-shaped crossbar similar to the front of a sword hilt; but only in the second third of the 15th century, that is, after 1425 and after the reign of Henry V, does the garda. This is a large iron disk through the center of which the shaft of a spear is passed. The disc is mounted on the shaft and protects the hand of the knight, who grasps the spear directly behind the guard (Fig. 73). You can see many modern illustrations showing Normans or Crusaders with spears equipped with guards. Such pictures have nothing to do with historical truth.

During the same period of time, other devices and improvements appeared on the spear. The blunt end becomes thicker, so at the grip site you have to cut out a narrowing of the shaft so that you can wrap your hand around it. In addition, a support appears, onto which part of the weight of a heavy spear could be transferred. This device was a thick steel clamp attached to the right side of the breastplate. The shaft of the spear was placed on this bracket directly in front of the guard, which made it possible to partially support the weight of the spear with the body. This device first appears around 1400. Sixty years later, or even later, when special weapons for jousting tournaments were fully developed, the so-called tail was also invented, which was welded to the back of the shell. This tail protruded approximately one foot from the dorsal part of the shell. At the end of the tail there was a loop into which the rear - blunt - end of the spear was tightly inserted. Thus, with the emphasis in front and the tail behind, it was possible to transfer almost the entire weight of the spear from the hand to the armor. After the “tail” began to be used, a special device began to be attached behind the handle of the spear - Graper. It was a disk made of iron, its diameter was slightly larger than the diameter of the shaft and made it possible to fit the blunt end of the spear tightly to the shank.

In friendly fights (“a plaisance”) a special type of tip was used. It was called a “cronel” because it really looked like a crown with three blunt teeth located at a considerable distance from each other. This device provided the sharp end of the spear with a reliable grip on the opponent’s helmet or shield. This was enough to throw him to the ground without piercing his armor. Such tips came into fashion in the 12th century; this weapon was called the “spear of courtesy.”

There are as many ways to use a spear on foot as there are types of spearheads, but there is only one way to use a long spear. It is too big and weighs too much to be held suspended in your hand. The weapon must be held under the right hand and the shaft pressed tightly to the chest. The shape of the chest is such that the spear pressed against it and directed forward is deflected to the left at an angle of thirty degrees; thus, if the spear is held tightly, otherwise it cannot be held, it will not point exactly forward from the right side of the knight. Elsewhere I have already described the position of the knight during a tournament duel, but it is important to recall that in the Middle Ages the spear was held in this way - obliquely, diagonally, so that its sharp end was directed into the gap between the warrior’s body and the horse’s neck; at the same time, the tip of the spear was turned to the left.

The knight should have taken care that this angle was not too obtuse, since in this case the force transferred to the blunt end of the spear located on the right threatened to knock him out of the saddle in the event of a collision. We are no longer talking about the enemy, who is trying his best to do the same with the end of his spear at the moment of impact. The force of the impact when the two heavily armed and armored horsemen collided was enormous, and all the speed and weight was concentrated in the tiny tip of the spear. Often the shaft would break upon impact, but if this did not happen, then the armor had to be really strong so that the tip of the spear could not pierce it. When the main protection of the knight was chain mail, the main blow was taken by a shield made of leather and wood, but later, when chain mail was replaced by metal armor made of hardened steel, shields were no longer used in knightly fights. Smooth, polished, rounded steel plates perfectly deflected and reflected the most powerful impacts. The overlaps of individual metal plates were carried out in such a way that, in any direction of impact, the tip of the spear would not fall into the gap between the plates and would not tear the armor.

In order to conduct a duel correctly, constant practice and dexterity were required - perhaps the greatest than in all other types of combat; it was necessary not only to control the horse - also specially trained - which had to rush at full speed towards the enemy until approaching him and run near the very side of his horse, but also to accurately direct the spear to the point on the opponent’s body at which it was necessary to hit . At the last moment before the collision - not earlier and not later - it was necessary to group, stand up in the stirrups and, at the moment of delivering the blow, quickly move forward with the whole body. At the same time, hold the shield tightly at such an angle that the enemy’s spear slides over it and deflects to the left; in addition, it was necessary at the last moment to grasp exactly where the opponent wanted to strike. If the blow was aimed at the head, then it had to be tilted so that the spear slid across the helmet. All this required unprecedented skill and excellent reaction.

In the great battles of the Hundred Years' War, which took place in the 14th and 15th centuries, knights often had to fight on foot. In these cases, the spear became practically useless, since it was too long to be used as a rifle with a fixed bayonet. Usually, for such a battle, knights cut their spear shafts to a suitable length. At Poitiers, all French knights who fought on foot had their spears cut to six feet in length. We also read that they took off their cavalry boots and cut off their long toes. Boots with short toes made it easier to move around the battlefield. They were not high, since greaves were placed above them, protecting the calves and shins. Therefore, we can say that they resembled a kind of cavalry ankle boots.

The methods of teaching spear fighting were simple. The main thing that was required was to accurately hit targets with a spear while galloping. The best known exercise was the exercise with a target post, which was a rather ingenious device. It consisted of a pillar dug vertically into the ground, on which a board rotated horizontally, to one end of which was attached a target - usually in the form of a Saracen - and to the other a bag of sand. The height at which such a horizontal crossbar was located, rotating around the axis of the post, was approximately seven feet. If the target was hit correctly, that is, in the right place, then the crossbar rotated a quarter of a circle and stopped, but if the blow was struck incorrectly, then the crossbar described a semicircle and the bag of sand hit the knight passing by on the back.

A less sophisticated but more practical way of training was loop training; a noose made of rope or some other material was hung from a branch of a tall tree. It was necessary to hit the noose with the end of the spear at full gallop. They did the same with a piece of cloth. If you want to try this now, you can use an empty tin can or any other small target that is difficult to hit with a spear and will remain on the tip if you hit it successfully.

Rice. 74. Spear for boar hunting. Around 1500.

Another area of ​​application for the knight's spear was boar hunting, one of the most risky and respected types of hunting. Until the end of the 15th century, an ordinary infantry spear with wings or ears was used to hunt wild boar, but in the late sixties of the 15th century a special hunting spear was invented for this kind of knightly fun. This spear had a large, wide leaf-shaped tip, to the base of which was attached a short transverse rod. This rod was inserted into the holes at the base of the tip so that the ends of the rod protruded at right angles to the plane of the tip (Fig. 74). The presence of such a device was absolutely necessary, since, while killing a boar rushing forward, the hunter had to stand still, resting the tip of the spear on the chest of the animal. The beast usually charged fearlessly and uncontrollably straight at the hunter—nearly two hundred pounds of foam-spitting, bloodshot-eyed, untamed rage, armed with seven-inch fangs that could rip a man's guts out in a split second—at speeds of twenty miles an hour. If the hunter had strong nerves and a faithful eye, then the tip of the spear would hit the lower part of the animal’s chest, but if the tip did not have a crossbar, then the shaft could pass right through the boar, and before he expired, he was able to rip open the belly of his offender. The crossbar stopped the boar within a shaft's length of distance from the hunter, although three feet of such a distance, given that half of the six-foot shaft remained behind the man's back, was hardly enough.

This type of wild boar hunting was quite dangerous fun. Some hunters used swords - sometimes in the same way as a spear, and this was the most dangerous way, or in the way that the notorious and famous Cesare Borgia used when killing a boar while hunting: he stood and waited for the boar to approach, then, like a seasoned bullfighter, the one playing with the bull stepped aside and cut off the head of the beast rushing past with a sword. It was not only more dangerous than hunting with a spear, but also immeasurably more difficult. If the hunter did not have time to jump away, then he could be considered dead; if the blow was unsuccessful and only inflicted a wound on the animal, then it could turn around in a split second and rush at the person on the other side before he had time to take a stance. So it is not surprising that successful boar hunters were considered the most courageous of all warriors.

Axe, mace and hammer

The types of weapons that I want to present in this chapter can be called the auxiliary weapons of the medieval knight. We will talk about an axe, a mace and a hammer. This weapon was worn, like a sword and a spear, as part of a full armor. Of course, there were knights who preferred this, as a rule, auxiliary weapon to the sword, but still most often an ax, mace or hammer was used in case of breakage or loss of the sword, as well as in close combat, when the sword was too long for an effective blow.

The ax has always been the main weapon of infantry, especially among the northern peoples - the Anglo-Saxons, Franks and Vikings - who fought exclusively on foot. A mace is a kind of improved club; in the 15th century it was always carefully finished and given a beautiful shape. The same applies to war hammers, although we have no examples of these weapons dating back to the period before 1380. Many hammers dating from the period from 1380 to approximately 1560 have survived to this day. This is a very beautiful weapon that pleases the eye and is pleasant to hold in your hands.

Perhaps in order to better understand the significance of each of these three types of weapons, it is necessary to consider them separately, discussing the origin, development and use.

Rice. 75. Bronze Age axe.

Rice. 76. Francis, two copies, 7th century.

The ax - like the spear - was one of the most ancient types of weapons. The warrior took a sharp piece of flint and attached it with cords at a right angle to the end of a short handle - an axe. The piece of flint was the same size and shape as the tip of a spear. To make it, it was necessary to attach exactly the same piece of processed stone along the longitudinal axis to the end of a longer shaft. During the New Stone Age, people began to make carefully finished axes, which served as models for the elegant and efficient bronze axes of the subsequent period (Fig. 75). When iron was widely recognized as the best material for making weapons, axes became larger. The bulk of the battle axes that have survived to this day date back to the period from 400 BC. e. before 400 AD e., comes from Scandinavia. It is therefore not surprising that the Vikings were so fond of axes, given how popular the ax was with their ancestors and predecessors. The Celts, who inhabited most of Western Europe, were not very fond of the axe, preferring a long sword.

Rice. 77. Frankish axe, 8th century.

It is difficult to classify an ax as a weapon; it is, among other things, a working tool, and it can be used both as a weapon and as a tool. In ancient times, they were probably used this way, depending on the situation. Very few of the thousands of axes stored in our museums can be unambiguously classified as military weapons. One type of ax, however, could only be used as a military weapon - it was impossible to use it for peaceful purposes. We are talking about the small throwing ax of the Franks, about the Francis, from which all this people got their name. It was a light weapon - a small curved ax on a very short ax handle (Fig. 76). The ancient Franks - before the era of Charlemagne - began the battle, rushing at the enemy with frantic shouts, and, approaching him, threw their axes into his ranks and Angons. Having come into direct contact with the enemy, Frankish warriors fought with swords or axes on long axes. I have one such large ax, found in the burial of an 8th century warrior: the ax weighs two and a half pounds and looks like a very massive piece of iron. But I wanted to understand what it looks like as a whole, real ax. To do this, I mounted it on the ax of a modern tree-cutting tool. The ax immediately came to life and, although it was too heavy to be manipulated with one hand, it was surprisingly convenient and apparently effective when grasped with both hands (Fig. 77). The handles of these axes were shaped like hooks, and over the past centuries the shape of the ax has remained virtually unchanged. This graceful double bend was given to the wooden ax not for beauty, but for greater efficiency. This form of ax became necessary.

Rice. 78. Sockets for axes: A - Frankish; b – Scandinavian.

Rice. 79. Viking axe, 11th century.

The Scandinavians - the ancestors of the Vikings - used axes very similar in shape to the Frankish ones; the only difference was the structure of the ax socket. It's almost impossible to explain this difference in words, so I won't even try. Let the illustration do it for me (Fig. 78). You see that, although this difference is very small, it still allows us to confidently distinguish a Frankish ax from a Norwegian one.

Only with the advent of the Viking Age (750-1000) did an ax with a large wide blade appear (Fig. 79). These axes appear to have been used exclusively by the Vikings. Looking at the drawing, one might imagine that these huge axes, with their beautifully rounded blades ranging from nine to thirteen inches in length, were very heavy, but this is far from the case. The blades are so finely and skillfully forged that they weigh no more than the clumsier and heavier axes we just looked at. On the contrary, it can be rotated overhead with much less force than a modern lumberjack's axe.

Rice. 80. A knight fighting with a Danish axe.

Axes of this shape were used until the 13th century. Most often they were weapons of infantry, but not so rarely they were used by cavalrymen and knights. An example of the massive use of axes is the Battle of Lincoln in 1141. The English King Stephen - a very unimportant king, but a charming man and a valiant knight - was captured in a battle with his rival for the English crown, his own cousin Queen Matilda. In the winter of 1140/41, Stephen captured the city of Lincoln from Matilda's supporters; but while it was under the protection of its walls, the earls of Gloucester and Chester raised an army and marched to liberate the city. Stefan decided to give battle rather than sit in a siege. Having made a decision, he led his army into the field, placing it west of the city. The army of the counts had to overcome a ditch filled with water (this was in February) and fight with it behind them, that is, in a situation where defeat threatened to turn into an inevitable disaster. Both armies fought mostly on foot, with the exception of a small force of cavalry that began the battle. Stephen and his knights dismounted to fight near the royal standard. The enemy leaders did the same.

The clash of cavalrymen at the beginning of the battle led to the complete defeat of the royal cavalry. After this, the rest of the rebel army took over the royal infantry. The Earl of Chester attacked it from the front, and the Earl of Gloucester made a flanking maneuver and hit the royal army in the flanks and rear. The royalists resisted valiantly, but their formation was soon broken. The citizens of Lincoln rushed to the city gates, and the rebels behind them.

Rice. 81. Cavalry axes: A - around 1200; b – around 1400.

The massacre continued on the city streets. But Stefan and his inner circle stood near the standard to the death and continued to fight when the battle, in essence, was long over. The king fought like a lion, keeping his opponents at a respectful distance from him. Then his sword broke. One of Lincoln's soldiers, standing next to the king, handed him a large ax (Roger de Hoveden calls it a Danish axe), and with terrible blows of this weapon the king continued to drive away his enemies for some time. Here is how one of his contemporaries describes this battle: “Here the power of the king became visible, equal to the power of heavenly thunder, he killed some with his huge ax and threw others to the ground. The enemies screamed again and rushed at the king - everyone was against him, and he was alone against everyone. Finally, after many blows, the king’s ax shattered into pieces, and seeing this, one of the strongest knights of the enemy, William de Cam, rushed to the king, grabbed him by the helmet and cried out in a loud voice: “Hurry here! I have captured the king!”

In a manuscript compiled in the monastery (the original word is Bury, it is not in dictionaries, although the root is naturally the same as in Canterbury) of St. Edmund between 1121 and 1148, there is an image of a warrior fighting with an ax (Fig. 80) . Perhaps this is an image of King Stephen himself.

Rice. 82. Cavalry axe, circa 1510.

The cavalry ax was a small, light weapon held with one hand, although some illustrations show horsemen wielding heavy, two-handed Danish axes.

During the Middle Ages, cavalry axes appeared in many different forms. It is almost always possible to tell unmistakably, as, for example, in the case of hooks, in what area these axes were made. However, over time, the ax blade became straight, displacing the curved shape (Fig. 81). Towards the end of the period under consideration, in the last decades of the 15th century and at the beginning of the 16th century, axes became small and narrow, often equipped with a hammer or a tooth on the butt (Fig. 82).

Rice. 83. Ax (poll), around 1450.

During the 14th century, a different type of ax began to appear in armies. This weapon was intended for combat on foot, but did not become an infantry weapon. On the contrary, it was a knightly modification of the infantry axe. The combat part of the weapon, often made with great skill, resembles a halberd. The end of the ax is crowned with a long, thin point, like a pike or spear. They varied greatly in form. Some had a straight blade, others had a slightly rounded blade. The hammers on the butt of the ax could be flat or slightly serrated. Sometimes six sharp teeth were placed on the combat surface of the hammer, like on the soles of cricket boots (Fig. 83). Some had a very short handle, only about four feet, but in other examples the handle reached six feet. This weapon became truly popular among the knightly class only by the middle of the 15th century; but between 1430 and 1530 it became a favorite means of fighting on foot. Most of these fights were fights in tournaments or duels, although in some cases they were used to resolve legal disputes. It was a continuation of the old tradition of “God's judgment.” Honor fights or judicial duels were held in small square fenced areas, reminiscent of a boxing ring. These sites were called in French Chanclo(champclos). The participants in the duel were usually dressed in armor, but this was not mandatory and was left to the discretion of the opponents. Many famous duels were arranged in this way. The technique of fighting with dueling axes or hammers was simple and effective (Fig. 84). One side of the ax could be used to chop the enemy, the tooth or hammer of the butt could be used to deliver blunt blows, and the long tip could be used to stab the opponent. The weapon was held by the shaft with widely spaced hands, which made it possible to deliver strong blows, quickly manipulate the weapon and parry the enemy’s blows with great force. With the right, dominant hand, the ax was held by the shaft approximately eighteen inches from the axe. This leading hand was often protected by a round guard, reminiscent of a spear guard. The second hand remained unprotected, since blows were not delivered to this place of the shaft. The blows were parried in the same way as with a club or like a good old rifle during a bayonet fight. The blows were delivered, as a rule, rather slowly - in fact, each blow had to be delivered slowly and very calculatedly.

Rice. 84. Duel with axes (polls).

The same technique was used in the fight on halberds And bills The latter was a most excellent weapon, since, despite its great length, it was much lighter than a pole or halberd. All of the bill's devices - hooks, points and eyes - were very useful in defense and deadly in attack during combat on foot. An infantryman armed with a bill and skilled in handling it could provide worthy resistance to an armored horseman. Once, during a demonstration, I myself used a bill and was surprised at how easy it is with the help of this weapon to reflect a blow with a sword, mace or ax and at the same time, with the same movement, inflict a piercing or slashing blow on a knight or, using the long protrusion on the tip, pull enemy from the saddle.

The halberd was often used as an axe, but the halberd had one valuable feature that the battle ax lacked. If a heavily armed and armored knight received a blow to the back of the head and began to fall forward from the saddle, then parts of the body not protected by armor were exposed - the thighs and seat. In this situation, the enemy could strike at them with the long tip of a halberd. Truly it was a terrible weapon. The same thing, no doubt, could be done by bill or half.

Rice. 85. War hammer, circa 1420.

Poll – the ax or hammer seems to have been the most popular weapon. But swords and spears, or spear-like weapons consisting of a long point - up to thirty inches - mounted on a shaft about four feet long, also found use. In tournaments, the opponents' hands were protected by steel plates or discs placed on the shaft directly above the grip of the weapon, like the guard of a sword or spear. Sometimes on swords a simple cross-shaped guard was replaced with a solid hilt, which better protected the hand in fights. When we read in medieval manuscripts: “How a man schal be armyd at his ese when he schall fyghte on foote,” we find that his sword “schall be wel besagewed before ye hilts.” You and I have encountered similar instructions for knights before when we discussed knightly armor, and we will find even more instructions when we move on to swords in the next chapter.

Rice. 86. Duel with war hammers - pollahs.

In its use in combat, a hammer is very similar to an axe; The size of the warhead was quite large - usually about three inches in length with an impact surface area of ​​​​about two square inches. The front flat surface had teeth, and the counterbalancing rear part was a massive protrusion. The handle was approximately 2-2.5 feet long. Sometimes at the end there was some kind of handle, wrapped in wire or a strip of leather, with a small guard and a rudimentary head (Fig. 85). But this was rare - usually the handle was a simple wooden or steel rod. Polla hammers, similar in shape to those just described, but larger in size and mounted on a longer handle, were extremely popular in the second half of the 15th century, which brought them closer to pollla axes. And the technique of using both weapons in fights was the same (Fig. 86).

Rice. 87. Head of a bronze mace.

Mace, as is clear from its shape, it was the result of an improvement on an ancient club. From the ancient times of the Stone Age, examples of carefully finished and polished stone clubs have survived to this day - more or less spherical in shape with a hole drilled in the center, although some examples of these deadly weapons were carefully processed disks. Such disc-shaped maces were the favorite weapon of the ancient Egyptians, and many examples have survived to this day. There is a huge variety of bronze maces, but in general it is never completely certain that they came to us from the Bronze Age, since bronze maces were in great use between 1200 and 1500 AD (Fig. 87). But it is quite possible that clubs made, say, in 800 BC. e., and maces cast in 1300 AD. e., will be identical in material and shape. But with all this, there are forms of maces that are specific to a certain period, and many of them were used as knightly weapons. One such mace, found in London (Fig. 88), is the typical form seen in statues and illustrations of medieval manuscripts dating from 1230 to 1350.

Rice. 88. Iron mace, circa 1300, found in London (London Museum).

Rice. 89. Gothic mace, circa 1470 (Wallace collection, London).

Rice. 90. Mace, 16th century.

At the end of the 15th century, the mace turned into a beautifully designed weapon. Indeed, between 1440 and 1510, most bladed weapons acquired not only a beautiful form - the most beautiful of all their existence - but also an unsurpassed splendor of decoration. Gunsmiths and blacksmiths at that time reached the peak of their skills. Maces of this period were lightweight weapons with flanged heads; the flanges, ribbed longitudinal projections, had a sharp cutting edge, in contrast to earlier blunt examples (Fig. 89). However, this form also had a significant drawback. If a mace with blunt edges delivered a blunt blow and bounced off the armor, then a mace with sharp edges cut the armor and got stuck in it, literally twisting out of the hand of its owner. At the beginning of the 16th century, the sharp edges of the flanges were again made blunt, but the heads of the maces were richly decorated (Fig. 90). In addition, the clubs have become larger. The small, light mace with sharp flanges weighed about two and a half pounds and was in use from 1465 to 1490; before and after the flanges were blunt, and the weight reached four to six pounds.

Sometimes, especially before 1450, mace handles were made of wood, but then, after 1450, they began to be made exclusively of steel.

In illustrations of historical books and in images of knights, we often see a round mace, the ball of which is studded with long sharp spikes. Although examples of such maces have indeed survived to this day, they, as well as the flail-like weapons with three balls suspended on chains, also studded with metal spikes, were infantry weapons. They were brutal weapons, but what poetic and beautiful names they had - the spherical mace was called the “morning star”, and the flail was called the “waterspout”. Our ancestors showed a kind of dark humor, calling very ungentlemanly weapons that way.

Sword and dagger

The knight's sword is a weapon known to everyone, but also completely misunderstood by everyone. It has always been strange to me to see how many paintings depict the sword in ways that are as incongruous as they are inaccurate. The medieval sword had three main elements - a blade, a cross-shaped guard and a head. This head - a large metal lump at the end of the handle - allows you to balance the blade, whose counterweight it, in fact, is. A sword without a suitable head can be likened to a modern airplane without tail planes. Such a sword would be as uncontrollable as, say, the same plane without a stabilizer. For the artisan who makes the sword, the weapon is an example of beauty and perfect design; but for this all proportions had to be correctly observed. So, the head always turned out to be too big to look graceful. Figure 91 gives an idea of ​​what the sword looked like in the knightly era. The shapes of swords underwent numerous changes over the period from 1100 to 1500, but, in essence, the design of the sword remained the same.

It is often said that these swords were heavy and clumsy and that they were almost impossible to fight with, but in reality this was not the case. The average sword weighed no more than three pounds, and, as I said, each sword was balanced in such a way that it could be easily operated.

Think about it, of course, for a modern person, even a three-pound sword seems incredibly heavy, especially considering that they had to fight for hours, using remarkable force. But it is worth remembering that the warriors of that time were trained fighters and learned to wield weapons from the age of ten. Every day a boy from the knightly class learned to wield a sword. Naturally, their swords did not weigh three pounds; swords for children were smaller and weighed much less, as they were designed for children's strength. But as the boy grew up, he learned to work with increasingly heavier weapons. As training progressed, the muscles of the arms, shoulders and back acquired the proper strength and strength, and by the time the boy became a fully prepared, full-fledged fighter (usually this happened at the age of fifteen), he was able to fully handle any weapon of normal size and weight.

Rice. 91. This is what a 15th century sword should look like.

In most modern history museums, everyone can see a pair of medieval swords. Almost all of them were found at the bottom of rivers or dug out of the ground. Their blades are blackened and covered with a thick layer of rust, they look truly pitiful, and to the uninitiated these weapons seem to be just rough oblong pieces of rusty iron. I have no doubt that each of you has seen the skeletons of old rotting boats in river estuaries during low tide, their half-rotten frames protruding ugly from the shallow water. But, looking at these pitiful remains, you understand that once these were sea vessels full of proud beauty, distinguished by the swiftness of their forms. The same can be said about the rusty, blackened remains of medieval swords. There is nothing left in them of the sparkling deadly beauty of “living” swords, just as there is nothing left of the beauty of the yacht that once plied the sea. People tend to think that the only extant examples of swords from the period from 1100 to 1500 are these relics, but fortunately this is not the case. There are knightly swords that seem almost untouched by the heavy hand of time; their blades are still fresh and sharp; the wood and leather on the handles have been preserved intact, on which, it seems, one can still see the fingerprints and palms of the warrior who once grasped this handle. Many such swords are in private collections, but no less can be seen in museums in Europe and America.

In the illustrations for this chapter I will show several swords of this type; If you wish, you can see some of these swords yourself.

The condition of many surviving swords falls somewhere between these two extremes. Such swords were, as a rule, buried in a thick layer of silt, which protected them from the destructive effects of oxygen. The blades, of course, turned black, but almost completely retained their shape. Blackness is a deposit of chemically pure iron, under which steel has been preserved in all its brilliance. Several of these swords are on display in the Arsenal of the Tower of London, along with several medieval swords that were never lost, but have been preserved throughout recent centuries, having been properly cared for. In its original state, the blade of a medieval sword (as well as any other) sparkled like a mirror.

Rice. 92-93. Eight types of swords date between 1050 and 1450, showing changes in hilt and blade shapes: A - around 1050. Paris Army Museum; b – around 1150. Museum of Art, Vienna; V - around 1250. Conde Collection, Madrid; G - around 1300. Tower of London.

d – around 1300. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; e – around 1413. Treasury of the Cathedral of Monza (sword of Estre Visconti, killed in 1413); and - around 1380. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; h – around 1420. Sword of King Henry V. Westminster Abbey Library.

The size of these weapons varied significantly, as did the height of the people who fought with them. Some swords were small and light, some, on the contrary, were large and heavy. There were, however, swords that were larger than all others. These are the so-called "fighting swords" and another type, which, as you might guess, was called a "two-handed sword." In the 13th century and at the beginning of the 14th century, the battle sword was a large weapon, although it never reached the size of a real two-handed sword. Nevertheless, one could fight with a combat sword either with both hands or with one (Fig. 92-93, d). The average length of such a sword was thirty-seven inches (blade), and the hilt was about seven inches long. The real two-handed sword was the same shape as a normal sword, but much larger; the average length of its blade reached fifty inches, and the handle - twelve inches. Thus, the total length of this weapon was almost five feet. True, only by the 16th century did the two-handed sword acquire its complete form with a very long curved cross-shaped guard and two sharp lugs protruding from both sides of the blade directly below the handle. The medieval example of a two-handed sword is simply an exceptionally large ordinary sword.

The combat sword, as its name implies, was not intended for everyday wear, and was used only on the battlefield. It was exclusively a cavalry weapon, since fighting on horseback requires a long sword. Armed with such a sword, a knight could be sure that he could reach his opponent without getting too close to him. The average weight of such a sword was 4.5-5 pounds.

In the second half of the 14th century, long, very heavy swords became popular. Their handle reached a length of seven inches, and they were called “bastard swords”, since in battle they could be held with either one or two hands. You can often see these kinds of swords on statues and monuments.

Although some differences in sword sizes were due to differences in the weight and height of the people for whom the swords were made, there were two main sizes of swords. The knight used each of these swords differently. In this case, we must take into account what happened in the 15th century. The long sword I just mentioned, the size of the handle of which was such that it could be used with one or two hands, began, starting in 1420, to be very different from the “armor”, or short sword. Often a mounted knight was armed with two swords at the same time: a regular, weapon sword was fastened to the belt, and a long sword was attached to the pommel of the saddle. When a knight fought in the ranks on foot, or participated in a legal duel or a friendly duel, which was called "peaceful" or in a duel of honor, he often carried both swords with him.

This is what was said regarding these items in a manuscript compiled around 1450, where it was stated, “how a man schal be armyd at his ese” (“how to comfortably equip a warrior”). After a detailed description of how a knight should be dressed under armor, instructions regarding weapons followed: “How to arm a husband. First, you should put on the sabatons and secure them with narrow cords to the boots so that they do not come off. Then greaves, and then greaves and legguards made of chain mail. And coattails (protection of the lower abdomen below the waist made of steel plates or hoops). And the breastplate, and the elbow pads, and the shoulder pads, and then the gloves. And then hang his dagger on the right. And then hang a short sword from your belt, threading it into a ring and leaving the blade exposed so that it is easier to remove. And then put the armor on your back. And then put on a helmet for him and fasten it with two large buckles on his chest, and on the back on his back, so that the helmet fits correctly. And give him a pennant with the image of St. George or the Mother of God as a blessing when he goes to battle and enters into it.”

Sometimes the knight took with him another weapon - an ax, a mace, a hammer, a poll - an ax or a hammer - instead of a long sword. One note from the instructions is of interest - the short sword was threaded into a ring without a sheath so that it could be easily removed. Very often people wonder where the knight put his scabbard when he entered battle on foot. But try for yourself, for the sake of demonstration, to fencing with a sword with a sheath fastened to your belt - you will immediately understand what danger they can pose to their owner. What they do now on stage was previously done on foot and, probably, on horseback - they wore a sword without a sheath, just in a ring.

We do not know for certain the techniques of sword fighting until 1550, when the art of fencing had just begun to develop. Sword fighting required skill, training and knowledge - there is no doubt about it, but in the early periods of the age of chivalry, warriors must have used swords in much the same way as their Viking predecessors. These great fighters left quite a lot of information about their games with the sword in poems and colorful narratives. From these sources it is clear that this was not just sword fighting, where the blow was parried with a sword, as shown in the Robin Hood films. Firstly, blows were never or almost never parried with a sword. On the knight’s left hand there was a shield for this purpose - either he reflected the enemy’s blow with a shield, or simply dodged the blow or jumped back or to the side. A good fighter had to, like a good boxer, move quickly from side to side, forward or backward, demonstrating lightning-fast reactions. Very often, the only way to avoid a blow directed from above, with which the enemy could, despite the chain mail, cut off an arm at the shoulder, was to evade, either by jumping to the side, or by a sharp turn at the waist, or by tilting in the opposite direction. The favorite blow was considered to be a cutting blow to the knees, and the only way to avoid it was to jump up; more often than not there was not enough time to parry a blow with a shield; Usually such a blow was delivered obliquely downwards, aiming at the right knee, which was located far from the shield.

In the old days, in the era of deadly duels, warriors dressed in chain mail rarely used movements in the wrist joint when fighting with a sword. The blows were delivered from the shoulder, the arm remained straight, and the sword served as a sensitive and flexible, but rather rigid extension of it. There were two possible reasons for this: firstly, the blow was more powerful and effective; and secondly, a medieval knight in long-sleeved chain mail would very soon become very tired if he bent his arm at the elbow, since the chain mail would gather in heavy, rigid folds at the bend. If, for example, you begin to simply bend and straighten your arm at the elbow, wearing an ordinary woolen sweater, you will soon see that wrinkles and folds will begin to restrict movement, gathering in the area of ​​the elbow bend; Imagine what inconveniences a knight could endure - after all, he would not have coils of soft wool, but heavy and tough rings of chain mail.

These knightly swords could cause serious injuries and severe damage. The blades of the swords were made of very hard steel - even modern files do not leave scratches on old blades - and the blades were as sharp as razors. When such a weapon flew up, lifted by powerful trained muscles of the shoulder and shoulder girdle, and then fell down with terrible force, it - and one should not be surprised at these medieval descriptions - cut off arms, legs and heads, although all these parts of the body were covered with armor and chain mail . There are many references to such things, not only in poems and songs, where artistic exaggeration would be quite forgivable, but also in dry chronicles compiled by monks who cared only about the facts, and not about telling a beautiful fairy tale.

We can also add to this topic what the Japanese could do with their swords sharpened on one side. The Japanese warrior - the samurai - was surprisingly similar to the medieval knight, but, unlike this character who has long since disappeared from the historical stage, the samurai stopped fighting in their full weapons and armor only some one hundred and thirty years ago. The code of samurai honor, the strength of the warrior and his sword were in use during World War II. We know that a samurai could cut a man in half with one oblique blow, and very easily and gracefully decapitate an opponent. He could cut a person diagonally from the shoulder to the opposite thigh, or he could cut him exactly in two halves from the top of the head to the pubis. One of the ways to test the sword was to cut a person into two parts transversely, at the level of the ilium. Such a test was carried out only on a wooden block, since the sword had to cut the femurs, pelvis and spine - that is, a large mass of bones - in one blow. These types of torture were used during the execution of condemned criminals. Knowing that samurai could do these things, there is no doubt at all that medieval knights could do the same.

When great changes in weapons occurred in the second half of the 14th century, it became necessary to use the sword as a piercing weapon. You can throw all kinds of slashing blows with the end of the blade, but it will bounce off strong steel armor. A strong and well-directed attack can hit the enemy in narrow gaps that remain uncovered even by the best and most sophisticated armor. It is for this reason, as I already said, that starting from 1350 they began to make swords with a narrow, durable and very sharply sharpened tip. Later, during the 15th century, armor became much more expensive, which is why it was not used as widely as before. (Good, strong, well-constructed ordinary armor, devoid of ornaments and mass-produced, cost - when compared with modern prices - about $15,000, the same as a passenger car. Armor made for a specific knight by a craftsman cost - at modern prices standards - like a Rolls-Royce or a Jaguar.) Poor knights, horsemen and ordinary warriors were forced to use partial armor or return to wearing chain mail. From this point on, swords again became very useful and effective weapons. A type of sword was invented that was suitable for stabbing and slashing - these were highly sharpened swords with wide blades, reinforced by a ridge running in the middle along the blade from the hilt to the tip. Figure 92-93, h shows a typical example of such a sword. Many such swords have survived to this day; they are beautiful weapons that are pleasing to the eye. They enjoy acting. This is probably the most aesthetically pleasing thing that has been made by gunsmiths over the past centuries. These swords are light, weighing an average of two and a half pounds, and their blades are perfectly balanced. Holding such a sword in your hands is an incomparable feeling that sends shivers down your spine and takes your breath away.

By the time such swords were created, armored knights stopped using shields. They became an unnecessary hindrance, since armor alone provided reliable protection. At the same time, horsemen and infantry who wore partial armor still used shields, although now they became small and round. True, the sword, and this is gradually becoming quite obvious, often in itself provides the opportunity to effectively defend against a blow. The great convenience of using the sword to parry blows was negated by the fact that as a result the blade became heavily jagged and dull. One might think that it would be more convenient and advantageous to repel blows with the flat side of the blade, but in reality this was very impractical. If the sword were rotated accordingly, the wrist would be turned at an unnatural angle to the forearm and would not be able to hold the parried blow; on the contrary, if the blow is reflected with the tip of the blade, then the wrist becomes at a more natural angle to the forearm, and to reflect the blow, you can use the strength of all the muscles of the limb and body to hold the sword in your hands and not miss the blow. With another method of reflection - a counter blow - the normal position of the wrist allows you to more successfully manipulate the sword.

During the 15th century, based on the study of the principles of fighting with a sword with one hand, a theory of such combat was created; Numerous “battle books” have been written on this topic, full of vivid images of methods of wielding weapons (Fig. 94). Many techniques used elements of acrobatics; although the blows were parried with swords, the warrior must slip, dive and dodge as deftly as before. In addition, the battle retained many elements of pure strength martial arts. The knight had to be able to grab the enemy's hand holding the sword, grab the enemy's neck with his hand holding the sword and hit him in the ear with the head of the hilt. After this, the knight passed the cross-shaped guard between the enemy’s knees and with a sharp jerk knocked him to the ground. Very often the knight grabbed the sword by the blade, approached his opponent and hit him in the face with the head of the hilt of the sword or sword. Sometimes the knight used a small round shield worn on his left hand to parry blows, in other cases they used a dagger taken in his left hand, and sometimes the knight simply wrapped his left hand with a hollow cloak.

Rice. 94. The drawing, with some modifications, was borrowed from Talhoffer’s book “Fechtbuch” (“Book on the Art of Fencing”), written in 1467. Long sword fighting technique (top to bottom). Parrying a blow while moving the enemy's blade to the left. Disarmament of the enemy. Deceptive movement; grip of the blade and action with the head of the handle. Another way to fight your opponent.

This method of fencing became especially widespread in Spain, where, starting in the sixties of the 15th century, additional devices appeared on the hilts of swords to protect the fingers from the enemy’s blade (Fig. 118). The expression to which we owe the appearance of the word “rapier” was also born in Spain. In the Middle Ages it was not customary to wear a sword with everyday clothing; the sword was worn only when wearing armor. However, in the second half of the 15th century, a new method of fencing made it possible and even necessary to carry weapons without armor. In the seventies of the 15th century, a new expression “espada de ropera” appeared in Spanish literature, which literally means “costume sword,” that is, a sword worn with ordinary clothes. The French adopted the word "ropera", denoting a way of carrying weapons, which they called "rapiere". This custom spread to England, where the weapon was called a rapier.

In Germanic countries, the piercing sword was always called “degen”, which, in fact, meant “stabbing sword”, and the Spanish word “rapier” was never used there.

In duels, knights competing with each other had to fight with the same weapons - spear against spear, sword against sword, ax against ax, etc. But in battles everything was different. In battles, the sword could be countered by a mace, an ax or anything else. The vicissitudes of the battle were such that sometimes the knight found himself armed with only a dagger. Therefore, in the preparation of a warrior, great attention was paid to ensuring that he knew how to wield all possible types of weapons and could repel blows from any type of weapon.

In the knightly era, as I already said, swords of a wide variety of shapes were made, but these differences were insignificant and small. The best way to introduce them to the reader is to draw them. Images of swords are shown in Figures 92-93. In these drawings I have shown many swords preserved from different periods. All these swords are still in excellent condition and usable. Some swords are so well preserved that it seems as if they were used last week, they are so good and beautiful. The difference in the shape of the heads and cross-shaped guards is visible, and if you look closely, the difference in the shape of the blades also becomes noticeable. Of course, many of these swords were in use during the same historical period, although I have chosen examples that can be dated within fifty years with some confidence. The active life of a real combat sword was long, sometimes up to a hundred years; so if we say that the sword was made in 1350, then it is quite possible that they continued to fight with it in 1440. This circumstance makes the exact dating of the manufacture of swords quite difficult. It is worth remembering that when in a museum or in a book illustration you see a weapon labeled, say, “sword, possibly Italian, 1410-1440,” you can be sure that it was made between these two dates; but this inscription says nothing about when this sword was used. Some medieval swords, and with them armor, taken from private arsenals, found quite widespread use during the English Civil War in 1642-1648.

Engraved inscriptions can be read on many blades. There were many ways to apply inscriptions, and the style changed depending on the era. In the Viking era, their swords had some kind of signs on them that don’t tell us anything, but were of great importance to their owners; On the opposite side of the blade there was usually the name of the blacksmith who made the weapon. Figure 95 shows such icons and the name of the master. Signs and letters were made in the form of iron inlays on a steel blade. The blacksmith carved letters on the still hot blade using a cold tool. Then the master took a piece of wire or an iron rod. This latter (together with the blade) was heated to welding temperature, and then the wire was hammered into the prepared slots. After cooling and hardening the blade, it was carefully polished. As a result of such polishing, the inscription became invisible and appeared only after etching with a weak acid. I have one of these swords, made in Master Ingelri's forge. All letters and signs on this blade are preserved in excellent condition. If the steel is polished, the inscriptions become invisible, but if they are lightly etched, the letters become clearly visible.

Rice. 95. a And b – names and symbols inlaid with iron on the blades of Viking swords (the name is on one side of the blade, the symbols are on the other). Around 900.

V - here the name is inlaid on one side of the blade and the Latin phrase “Man of God” on the other. Around 1100.

G - here the name of the master is followed by the Latin phrase “me fecit”, which together with the name means “Cicelinus made me.” On the back is the inscription - "In the name of the Lord."

At the end of the Viking Age, especially on swords intended for Christians, pagan symbols are replaced by Christian ones; for example, with the words “In Nomine Domini”1. But until about 1050, the inscriptions were inlaid with iron. True, already in the Viking Age there were also smaller inscriptions made not with iron, but with silver, tin or copper; after 1100 this method became routine, and iron inlay went out of fashion.

Rice. 96. Silver and brass inlays on blades: A - around 1100. On both sides of the blade there are Latin inscriptions of religious content; b – around 1200; V And G - around 1200. By this time, the inscriptions become a sequence of completely incomprehensible abbreviations.

Later forms of inlay were performed in approximately the same way as the previous one, but now the master used short rods of silver, tin, copper or brass to inlay letters. These rods were placed in pre-prepared slots in the steel of the blade. In such cases, the rods were driven into slots on a cold blade (Fig. 96).

Some blades made during this period, that is, between 1125-1225, are marked with very simple symbols - for example, crosses enclosed in a circle (often this element is repeated several times), or an S in a circle, or a simple pattern reminiscent of the letters OSO or SOS. This is probably a peculiar form of writing “O blessed” (O Sancta).” The same can be said about the letter S, enclosed in a circle.

Rice. 97. Marks of blacksmiths and gunsmiths.

Starting from the second half of the 13th century until the beginning of the 14th century, or more precisely, from 1250 to 1310, the letters in the inlaid inscriptions are placed so close to each other that they become practically indistinguishable, representing a series of vertical lines filling the groove of the blade. (By the way, the groove of a sword is a groove on the blade that runs from the hilt to the tip. Although this groove is sometimes called a “blood drain,” it has nothing to do with blood. The sole purpose of the groove is to make the blade lighter and stronger.)

After 1310, the style of the inscriptions was again simplified. Sometimes these are just four letters inscribed in one line along the entire length of the blade. At the same time, more precisely, around 1280, the old custom was revived again - the master began to leave his mark on the sword. These were not the names of artisans, but marks, very similar to modern trademarks, which, no doubt, they were. Sometimes these marks were made in silver or brass, sometimes they were minted (Figure 97 shows examples of these inscriptions). In the second half of the 14th century and the first half of the 15th century, the inscriptions on the blades disappeared, but appeared on the handles. Signs and marks are nevertheless found very often, and starting from 1450, inscriptions appear on blades again.

Rice. 98. Cross sections of blades.

Rice. 99. Cross section of the blade.

The reason why inscriptions on blades begin to fall out of fashion after about 1325 is because of the radical change in blade shape. During the migrations of peoples and Viking campaigns (that is, between 300 and 1300), the cross-section of the blade appeared flat with a depression in the middle (Fig. 98a). Such a sword was a simple cutting and chopping weapon. At the beginning of the 14th century, when they began to make specialized swords that could be used to deliver stabbing blows, the cross-section of the blade took on the appearance of a flattened diamond (Fig. 98b). When dramatic changes in armor design took place in the 1450s and more or less impenetrable armor replaced old-fashioned chainmail and the old flat cutting swords became less effective, they were replaced by hard, sharp swords that could be used to thrust. In cross section, the blades of these swords had the shape of a flattened diamond or a flattened hexagon (Fig. 99). In most of these swords, the middle longitudinal part was too narrow to place inscriptions on it; This continued until the fifties of the 15th century, when the flattened shape of the blade with a groove was revived, thanks to which the inscriptions again appear on the blade. There were, however, exceptions. Some swords with a hexagonal blade section also retained a groove in the upper half, inside of which inscriptions made in small letters were placed.

Rice. 100. Viking Saxon, circa 850.

Rice. 101. Crooked sword (falcion) of the 13th century (library, Durham Cathedral).

Rice. 102. Sword of Charlemagne, around 850. Vienna Arms Collection (Waffensammlung).

Rice. 103. Crooked sword (falcion), circa 1250 (collection of Mr. Harold Peterson, Arlington, Virginia).

The shape of the handles of medieval swords was usually very simple, but swords with very intricately decorated handles have survived to this day. The most common decoration was located in the center of the round head of the handle, the so-called “wheel-shaped” decoration (see Fig. 107b). Usually it was either an emblem or the coat of arms of the owner, but there were other forms - practically their variety was limited only by the owner’s imagination. Sometimes these decorations were covered with enamel, sometimes they were simply engraved on gold, gilded copper or silver. Patterned plates of these metals were cut into the head of the handle. Sometimes the heads (in such cases they usually had the shape of a wheel) were decorated with floral ornaments or garlands of leaves). Sometimes similar decorations appear on cross-shaped guards, but this position of the pattern is quite rare. It is very curious that the head was often decorated with a very rich - gilded, silver or even pure gold - pattern, while the cross-shaped guard was simply a block of undecorated iron.

What I wrote above applies exclusively to a straight, double-edged sword; but there was another type of sword, with a curved blade. Such swords were also in use in the Middle Ages. These curved swords, or sabers, were the main weapon of the infantry, but sometimes they were also used by knights. This type of weapon was a direct continuation and improvement of ancient edged weapons, which the Vikings especially loved. It's about them saxe. Usually, the sax was smaller in size than a straight sword, having only one chopping, sharpened and curved edge. The opposite edge, the so-called “blunt”, was flattened and straight. The curved cutting edge curved upward and converged with a blunt edge in the form of a point. The entire sword in this case resembled the shape of a huge kitchen knife (Fig. 100). Although some medieval curved swords (falcions) were indeed similar to such knives (Fig. 101), others, originating mostly from Eastern Europe, were more similar to modern sabers (a sword of this form is best embodied in a magnificent example that has survived to this day - the sword that belonged to Charlemagne in VIII century - see Fig. 102). In almost all cases, the chopping part of the blade was convex, but sometimes (the most striking example is the Viking sax) it was also concave, which gave the weapon a very strange appearance (Fig. 103).

Until the 15th century, the handles of these curved swords had the usual shape for a sword, but from that time on they began to be equipped with another guard in addition to the cruciform one. This guard was a curved strip of metal attached to a cross-shaped guard and directed towards the head. This strip protected the fingers.

Rice. 104. Sword of Fernando de Cerda, Prince of Castile, who died in 1270. Sword from the prince's tomb in Burgos.

In order for a sword to turn from a metal structure into a practical weapon, it is necessary to make a handle. This handle, as its name suggests, was the part of the sword by which it was held. The handle is located between the cross-shaped guard and the head. The handles were made of wood and were decorated and decorated in a wide variety of ways - wrapped with cords or wire, covered with leather, parchment, linen or velvet; in short, they used a wide variety of materials. Often pens were real works of art, especially in the 13th and 14th centuries. Often the wooden base was wrapped with thin twine, such as yellow silk, and a thicker scarlet cord was wound on top. The result was something like a wicker bag; sometimes the handle at the hilt and head was decorated with tassels (Fig. 104). Or, for example, a winding of silver wire was intertwined with a thread of green silk. Sometimes, instead of brushes, the lower part of the handle was decorated with a special element called chappe(cape) - it was a kind of double semicircular valve that folded down on both sides of the blade from the central part of the cross-shaped guard (Fig. 105).

Rice. 105. a – chappe on the hilt of the sword. The valve covers the mouth of the sheath. From the grave of Sir John Wyard, who died in 1411; b – drawing from a Bohemian manuscript, circa 1380.

Of course, these “soft” decorations had to be replaced often, or at least the handle had to be repaired and re-coated. The base of the handle could probably last longer than the blade, but the tassels, “capes” and windings had to wear out quite quickly - not to mention the fact that they were often stained with blood and deteriorated.

Of particular interest is the way in which the swords were finally assembled and the handle was firmly attached to the blade. Here's a quick description of how it was done: Each blade ended in a long "sting" called a tang or tongue. A hole was drilled in the center of the cross-shaped guard through which the tongue was passed. In the same way, a hole was drilled in the head into which the end of the tongue was inserted. This end protruded above the top edge of the head about a quarter of an inch. This protruding end was used as a rivet or unforged to securely attach the handle to the blade. But how to insert the handle? There were two ways to do this. In swords from the Viking Age and before 1250, the tongues were wide and flat. The wooden handle was made in the shape of a kind of sandwich. A flat piece of wood was attached to each side of the tongue, on the inner surfaces of which the wood was selected so that it would fit onto the tongue. The free edges of the wooden handle were glued together, and then the entire handle was covered with some material and secured with a winding for reliability. After this, a head was placed on the end of the tongue, the end of the tongue was riveted, and the handle was finally secured. However, after 1250, the tongues became long and narrow, like stalks, and craftsmen began to use a different, simpler technique. The handle was cut to the required shape from one solid piece of wood, after which a hole was drilled along the central axis. Then they heated the tongue, clamped the handle in a vice and inserted the hot tongue into the drilled guide passage. Thus, each tongue burned its own hole in the handle, suitable for it. In this way, a perfect match between the rod and the drilled tunnel was achieved. We know for sure that this method was used, since in swords of a later period and in some medieval samples, when the handles were disassembled, they found traces of firing in the handle and a perfect match between the rod and the hole. Moreover, it was the only simple and sure way. Since I myself not only write about swords and draw them, but also make swords, I can say this based on my own practical experience.

Once a pilot hole was drilled into the handle, it could be covered and bandaged; then it was put in place, clamped firmly, if necessary, the head was put on the top of the tongue and the end of the tongue was riveted. This process is shown schematically in Figure 106.

Rice. 106. How to assemble a sword hilt.

In everyday situations, swords were carried in the hand or in a sheath. In the Middle Ages, scabbards were made in exactly the same way as in the Bronze Age or in the 18th century. The blade itself “set” the shape of the sheath. Two very thin strips of wood were placed on both sides of the blade and the scabbard was cut to its shape. The scabbard was covered with leather, parchment, linen, velvet - according to the customer's preference - as well as the handles. The covering was glued to a wooden base and sewn either on the edge or on one of the sides. Until about 1310, the end of the scabbard was not reinforced with a metal case, the end was protected only by a cap to prevent rapid wear. However, after the specified time, metal circular locks appear on the scabbard. Metal rings were attached to these locks, into which belts were threaded, and the sword was hung from the belt on them. In earlier scabbards, the ends of the straps were wrapped around the body (Fig. 107, a and b).

Locks varied in shape depending on the period in which they were made. Figure 107 shows the evolution of these changes in shape, furthermore, the illustration shows that until about 1430 there were two triangles on the top of the scabbard, overlapping each side of the central part of the cross-guard. In later samples, a convex plate appears on the ecusson (guard guard), which fits into the corresponding recess at the sheath opening. There were, of course, exceptions - cross-shaped guards had ecussons until 1430, and scabbards were equipped with triangles later, but such exceptions are very rare.

Very often, especially during battles, swords were loosely attached to one's own body. In some cases, a ring placed on the handle was used for this. This ring could slide freely along it. A chain approximately three feet six inches long was attached to the ring. The second end was attached to the breastplate of the armor, so even if the sword was knocked out of the knight’s hands, he did not lose it. Another method was the use of a "sword knot", a belt loop that was placed around the hilt and around the warrior's wrist. Jean Froissart, a chronicler of the period and contemporary of Chaucer, describes an amusing incident that shows that this knot could have served the knight badly and put him in a difficult position:

“The lords dismounted and approached the fences, which were very strong, with swords in their hands, and rained down strong blows on those who were inside and who defended themselves very valiantly. Abbott did not spare himself, but, dressed in a good leather doublet, he fought courageously and decisively, boldly swinging his sword, receiving a worthy answer. Many valiant deeds were performed, and those inside also threw stones and pots of lime at the attackers, which greatly irritated the latter.

It happened that Sir Henry of Flanders was in the front ranks, with a sword tied to his wrist, which he swung with great speed. He got too close to Abbott, and Abbott grabbed him by the sword and dragged him to the fence with such force that Henry's hand stuck between the bars, and he could not part with his sword with honor. Abbott continued to pull, and if the gap between the bars had been wide enough, he would have pulled him through the fence, but the king's shoulders went through the fence, much to his inconvenience. His fellow knights tried to pull him back and began to pull from their side. All this went on for so long that Sir Henry suffered thoroughly. Finally the king was saved, but Abbott got his sword. While writing the book, I visited this city, and the monks showed me that sword, very richly and skillfully decorated.”

Rice. 107. Equipment: A - detail of a monument from Halton Holegate, Lincs, c.1300. Two ends of a wide belt to which the scabbard was attached; b – from the collection of Sir Robert de Buray, Acton, Suffolk 1302. Variant of the same equipment; V - from the collection of Sir Robert de Centran, Chatham, Kent, England, 1306. Metal fastening for the lower belt; G - sword, circa 1325, found in the Thames (London History Museum). Two silver belt clasp fastenings; d – from the collection of Sir John Reinent, Digsville, Herts, 1415. A separate metal harness was worn on the back with very short straps, attached horizontally, with the strap worn around the hips; e – from the collection of Sir John de Harneyren, circa 1430, Westminster Abbey. A small metal clasp was worn diagonally across the rings on the back.

Although many knights preferred to use an ax or mace in battle, the sword was a special weapon for chivalry. Very effective as a weapon if used correctly, it was also a symbol of the high ideals and spirit of chivalry. The sword was, so to speak, a certificate of nobility.

For over 2,000 years the sword was an emblem of strength and dominance, but around 1100 the rise of knighthood brought the sword its greatest glory. The last touch was added to the previous traditions of strength - Christian holiness. The sword shape that developed from Viking times, with a hilt in the shape of a cross, was adopted and approved by the Christian church. The sword became a symbol of protection from evil and a reminder to the owner that the weapon should be used to protect the mother church and shame her enemies. The double-edged blade of the sword has become synonymous with loyalty and truth. One side is for protecting the weak from the strong, and the other is for the rich oppressing the poor.

Chivalry presupposed voluntary discipline, from which only death could release. The goal of chivalry is to become internally free, but obey the rules of knightly behavior. In knighting ceremonies, everything is full of deep meaning and always symbolic - actions, weapons and clothing. The ancient ceremony was simple - even primitive. We now talk freely about dedication (in English it is called “dubbing”), but we do not think that this is a distortion of the French word “adoubement” - presentation to a knight adoub, that is, full knightly armor, and the presentation of the sword was the central act of the entire ceremony.

Of course, the ceremonies were not always followed in all the necessary details. Every young squire cherished the dream of being knighted on the battlefield. When this happened, the ceremony required only a light blow on the shoulder with a sword, which could be given either by the overlord or the military commander. At the Battle of Marignano (in Northern Italy) in 1515, the young King of France, Francis I, was knighted by the most magnificent and fearless of knights, the Chevalier Pierre de Terrail, known as Bayard.

Rice. 108. Dagger from the 13th century.

It is not always possible to say that a dagger is just a shortened version of a sword. Medieval daggers were very diverse in appearance and design, but still, in fact, there were only two main forms of these weapons. The first is a real dagger, shaped like a sharp cone and double-edged; Other types of daggers had a blade similar to a knife blade. One edge of the blade was rounded, and the other was blunt (Fig. 108). Until the 14th century, the dagger was rarely included in the set of knightly weapons. Although we read that knights used daggers - and sometimes in ancient manuscripts there are illustrations of knights fighting with a dagger - it is not until after 1290 that we see them carrying daggers. Where they kept the daggers before is a complete mystery. But starting from 1300, we often see in illustrations that the dagger hangs from the belt at the right hip.

Early examples of daggers (from about 1000 to 1150) are for the most part similar to ordinary knives; they were called "cultellus" in Latin, from where the English word "cutlass" comes. We know that this word meant a dagger, since there is a corresponding clause in the statute drawn up during the reign of King William the Lion of Scotland (1165-1214). We rarely see modern images of old daggers, and those daggers that have survived to this day are few and in poor condition. But from what remains, we can say with confidence that these were, in fact, knives similar to our modern kitchen knives.

After about 1230, however, daggers began to be valued more highly, as they appeared in the arsenal of knightly weapons, ceasing to be the weapons of the peasantry. The handles of the daggers began to be crafted with greater care; on some, a cross-shaped guard directed concavely downward appeared, balanced by a similar head (Fig. 109) or a crescent-shaped head with a short straight cross. On other daggers, the heads had the shape of a faceted diamond or a disk - variations in shape became countless by 1250 - and depended only on the tastes of the craftsmen and customers.

Rice. 109. Daggers of the 13th century.

During the second half of the 14th century, daggers had long hilts, which often (judging by the sculptures) corresponded in length to the hilts of swords worn on the other side, although of course they were still somewhat smaller (Fig. 114, a). In stories about the battles of the Hundred Years' War, we often read that daggers were also used as throwing weapons. When the opposing ranks of dismounted knights converged, the opponents first threw daggers, axes and maces at each other. And then they moved on to hand-to-hand combat.

Rice. 110. Basilard.

Rice. 111. Kidney-shaped dagger, around 1450.

Rice. 112. Scottish dagger, circa 1520.

Rice. 113. Rondel dagger, around 1400.

Rice. 114. Quillon daggers: A - around 1380; b – around 1450.

From about 1325 until the end of the Middle Ages, there were three main types of daggers, each of which came in endless variations. There was a basilard, often worn with civilian clothing, although it was sometimes worn with armor. The blade was double-edged and looked like a pointed cone, usually very wide, although there were also narrow examples. This type of dagger was used at the end of the 13th century.

It was very popular throughout the 14th century and became less common only in the 15th century (Fig. PO).

A more popular and durable type was the dagger with a carefully finished handle with two kidney-shaped lobes at the base of the handle; Usually such daggers were called kidney-shaped. It was also often worn with civilian clothing (like any civilian weapon, daggers were tucked into the belt behind a bag or purse, also suspended from the belt). The blade was usually sharpened on one side only, although double-edged daggers were also found. We see this type of dagger on statues dating back to the first quarter of the 14th century and further, up to the 16th century (Fig. 111). Around 1540 in England, the shape of the dagger begins to change, and the weapon takes on a typically English shape. The lobes of the kidney-shaped guard decrease in size until they finally turn into a short arc separating the handle and blade. In Scotland, the kidney-shaped dagger developed into its typically Scottish variety (Fig. 112), and then into the well-known dirk.

Military daggers were distinguished by the fact that on their handles the guard and head were made in the form of paired disks located on both sides of the handle (Fig. 113). Some daggers of this type were twenty inches or more in length, approaching the size of short swords. The blade was usually narrow and sharpened on one side.

Throughout the Middle Ages, we find daggers with simple heads and cross-shaped guards, which were made in the same way as those of swords. There is a great deal of variation in dagger design (Figure 114 shows two examples), but between 1360 and 1410 daggers with a short blade, a long handle, a disc-shaped head and a short cross-guard were in vogue.

Early firearms

It is difficult to reconcile the knight and the cannon, for the knight was outdated by the era of firearms, just as the two-wheeled cab is outdated in our days. But in the last years of its existence, chivalry tragically encountered cannon stones and cannonballs, so the earliest examples of cannons and rifles must find their place in this book.

Various examples of flamethrowers and weapons have been known since ancient times, from pieces of burning tow, which were tied to arrowheads, to the terrible "Greek fire", first used by the Byzantines and then by the Arabs and which in all respects was very similar to the modern flamethrower. “Greek fire” was the name given to liquid fire (oily burning liquid), which was directed at the enemy from tubes over a considerable distance. However, all this does not fit into the definition of “firearms,” since this term only refers to throwing weapons from which projectiles are fired under the influence of an explosion.

It can now be considered certain that this weapon first appeared in Western Europe. For some time it was believed that the Chinese and Arabs invented and used firearms long before the Europeans, but few people know that this opinion is erroneous, and is based on inaccuracies in translation from oriental languages. What we thought were descriptions of cannons firing projectiles turn out to be descriptions of fireworks or pots of flammable material being thrown by catapults. Probably the first real cannon was made in England, it was a large bottle-like pot that, when gunpowder exploded, fired a huge crossbow arrow. Such tools were called pots de fer (iron pots), and they appeared back in 1327. In the first year of the Hundred Years' War, the French fleet raided Southampton, modestly armed with one pot de fer, three pounds of gunpowder and forty-eight iron-fletched arrows in two boxes (Fig. 115).

Rice. 115. Iron pot, 1337.

It was a small-caliber weapon; The French used several of these primitive cannons in the defense of Cambrai in 1339. They were bought by weight, and the invoice shows the price of the iron used to make the cannon in pounds. On average, such a cannon weighed no more than twenty-five pounds.

The earliest mention of one type of weapon, the only one used at that time, dates back to the same year. It was a real nest, consisting of small cannons, a series of tubes or barrels, which fit closely together, and the firing hole was so arranged that when the gunpowder was ignited in it, all the tubes fired together. These guns were called ribaldas, and they were transported on wheeled carts equipped with a shield for the shooter, so the entire structure was often called the “cart of war.” Ribalda was considered effective only against manpower, since the cannonballs were too small and light to destroy walls. In order to load the ribalda, it took a monstrously long time - since first each tube had to be cleaned, then loaded with gunpowder and cannonballs, hammered in the wad, compacted, and only then fired.

The ribalda soon gave way to a more effective cannon. Apart from the documentary evidence, which is highly controversial, there is compelling evidence that the English used artillery at the Battle of Crécy in 1346; In the place where the Genoese crossbowmen were located during the battle, caught by the English archers and their “three cannons,” a small iron core was found. The caliber of those cannons was only three inches, which corresponds to the size of the cannonballs that began to be used in sieges starting in the forties of the 14th century. During the period from 1800 to 1850, four more similar cannonballs were found in approximately the same part of the former battlefield - two iron and two stone.

After 1346, cannons became even more common, and they also became larger. They begin to be cast from brass or copper, and not from iron; in 1353, Edward III received four new copper cannons cast by the London foundry William of Aldgate. While these were still small guns, they cost only thirteen shillings and four pence apiece, but we must remember that in the 14th century money was much more expensive than it is now. By modern standards we could say that one cannon cost about $1,000 to make; True, on the other hand, it’s worth thinking about how much it costs to manufacture one gun now. You won't get far with a thousand dollars...

Rice. 116. Cannon with hoops and stone balls, circa 1420.

By the end of the 14th century, the size of the cannon became larger, and commanders realized that it was an excellent means of destroying the walls of enemy fortresses. But when casting large cannons, cracks and cavities inevitably formed in the walls of their barrels, so another method was invented for the production of cannons. Around a wooden rod corresponding in diameter to the caliber of the gun, white-hot strips of iron were laid, edge to edge, and riveted together with blows of a forge hammer. Guns at that time were forged, not cast, from cast iron. To strengthen the trunk, rings or hoops were welded onto it (Fig. 116). But even with all these precautions, unfortunate misfortunes often occurred - the guns exploded when fired. The most famous of these explosions killed James II, King of Scotland, in 1460. While his army was besieging Roxburgh Castle, he watched the firing of a large cannon, cast in Flanders, called the Lion. The hoops were not strong enough, and during the shot the cannon was blown to pieces. One of the pieces of the trunk hit the king in the chest, causing him to die on the spot. Other shrapnel wounded the Earl of Angus and several gunners.

As metallurgy developed and casting techniques improved, cannons reinforced with hoops were gradually removed from service until, finally, at the end of the 15th century they were finally replaced by long-barreled cast bronze cannons. But regardless of whether the cannons were welded or cast, during the period from 1370 to 1380 they became larger and could throw increasingly heavier cannonballs quite far. Early small-caliber cannons fired small balls and were inexpensive to cast, but with the advent of large cannons in the 1480s, things began to change. Copper or lead cores became very expensive, and even iron cores could not be called cheap. Therefore, the cores were made of stone. When you explore medieval European castles, pay attention to these stone cores, sometimes stacked in piles. In Shakespeare's tragedy "King Henry the Fifth" there is a mention of this use of stones when the king gives an answer to the French ambassador who gave the king the Dauphin's mocking gift of tennis balls: "And tell the kind prince that it was his mockery / That turned the balls into stone balls..."

Such cannonballs often weighed two or even three hundred pounds. Such cannonballs began to appear in the registers of the English Arsenal between 1382 and 1388, when the keeper of the Arsenal purchased four large copper cannons "made and ordered to fire round stones" from the foundry William Woodward. During the same period, he hired workers to cut stone cannonballs and paid them six pence a day - the salary of a horse archer. By 1399, the wages of the stonemasons who made the cannonballs were already one shilling a day - the salary of a mounted man-at-arms. Thus, these workers were considered highly skilled and their work very important.

Despite the constant increase in the efficiency and size of guns, it was only by the middle of the 15th century that artillery became an independent branch of the military. There are only a few isolated cases of cities being taken by artillery - Henry V's capture of Harfleur in 1414 is a good example - but it was only later that the offensive power of the cannons surpassed the seemingly immutable defensive power of the city and fortress walls.

European artillery achieved its greatest successes in France. Charles VII, in order to expel the British from France with the help of cannons, hired two talented brothers - Jean and Gaspard Bureau. It seems that the French actually made better cannon than anyone before them, since they began to take cities and castles occupied by the English with great ease. During the siege of Harcourt in 1449, “the first shot pierced the shaft of the outer wall, it was a good job and equal in strength to those who held the fortress.” When the French retook Normandy in 1449-1450, they took sixty fortresses within a year and four days. In some places the defenders did not wait for the enemy to tear the fortress to pieces; As soon as they saw that large guns were being installed in positions, they hurried to surrender, because they realized that resistance was hopeless.

Sometimes cannons were used on the battlefield at the beginning of the 15th century. But they were effective only in very rare cases, due to the fact that it was difficult to move them from one position to another. If the enemy suddenly changed his disposition and refused to accept battle in a given place after the cannon had been carefully dug into the ground and installed in position, then it most often turned out to be useless.

The course of many battles was undoubtedly influenced by the invention of small, so to speak, portable cannons - and this immediately affected the military effectiveness of chivalry. At the end of the 14th century, the idea of ​​the ribalda was revived again, but this time the inventors realized that the fire of many trunks would be much more effective if they were not tied together, but divided and distributed one by one to the soldiers. Thus, small cannons began to be attached to the shaft of the spear. They took a long time to load, the aim was inaccurate, they were of little use, but military science took the first step on the long path that led to the modern rifle. This first hand cannon was fired by putting the shaft under the arm and resting its end on the ground. The shot was fired by igniting the gunpowder with a “match,” a piece of smoldering cord soaked in a solution of saltpeter and sulfur.

These guns fired only along a hinged trajectory; it was almost impossible to aim from such a weapon, and therefore much more effective guns soon appeared. The barrel began to be attached to a short shaft, very reminiscent of a rifle butt (Fig. 117). This shaft could be rested on the chest or shoulder, in addition, such a weapon could already be aimed. It’s not that the aim was accurate (even at close range), but if many soldiers fired from these guns at the same time, then with such a volley they inflicted significant damage on the enemy. This weapon did not gain popularity either among the old feudal knights or among professional mercenaries, “free companies” and “condotta”. In Italy, these professional condottieri generally developed such tactics that military operations became practically bloodless for some time. These were battles with the shine of armor, the colorful swaying of banners and standards and the clanging and grinding of steel; these were huge colorful tournaments. Rivals were protected by armor from dangerous wounds, and the soldiers against whom they fought today, tomorrow, by the will of fate, could become comrades in arms. There was no reason for real hostility. For condottieri commanders like Francesco Sforza, or Carmagnola, or Bartolomeo Colleoni, soldiers were irreplaceable capital and they could not risk them, so many battles of that time ended before they began. First, various movements and maneuvers took place, then both sides converged and inspected the positions. If one of the commanders decided that he had been outflanked and was occupying an unfavorable position, then he simply turned the army around and freed the field without a fight.

Rice. 117. A warrior armed with hand guns. From a sculpture in Linköping Cathedral in Sweden, around 1470.

But everything changed when small arms appeared. In 1439, an army hired by Bologna used firearms against an army hired by Venice. The Venetians became so enraged that they completely defeated the Bolognese army. Then the Venetians exterminated all those who were armed with hand guns, for they had fallen so low that they had used “this cruel and vile innovation, firearms.” Indeed, the Venetians could be understood: after all, if such weapons are allowed to be used with impunity, then war, of course, will become a very dangerous activity.

And of course, the war became dangerous, because nothing could stop the progress of military technology, and he made guns and rifles more and more effective and deadly. As the quality of handguns improved, more and more soldiers began to be trained to handle them skillfully. By the beginning of the 16th century, firearms had become a decisive force, and the days of chivalry were numbered.

For a professional soldier, a mercenary, a gun was a gift from heaven, but for an old-fashioned knight the appearance of a gun meant something diabolical and promised a real disaster. Traditional ardent courage, brilliant, dizzying dominance over the battlefield in the past suffered cruel damage, either from the halberds of Swiss and Flemish peasants, or from the terrible arrows of English archers. But even this weapon in the end turned out to be powerless and could not defeat knighthood, and it seemed that it had reached, and reached forever, the pinnacle of power and brilliance - since the gunsmiths created the most effective and beautiful-looking armor for knights. Dressed in shiny iron (not steel - the armor was made from high-quality iron) from head to toe, every detail of which was beautiful in itself, being the fruit of the labor of the best craftsmen, the knight felt like a god of war. Yes, he really looked like a god of war. He was superior to any infantryman, even if he came within a tailor's yard of him, he was invulnerable, beautiful as Apollo, and terrible as Mars; and now a tiny iron ball, pushed by the force of gunpowder from some insignificant pipe by a low little commoner who does not know how to fight at all, easily knocks him out of the saddle into the dust, and only the blood staining the magnificent armor around the small hole pierced by the despicable bullet speaks of to his inglorious end.

Shakespeare very aptly called firearms “abominable saltpeter.” Yes, she is disgusting, and remains so to this day. But the knightly code of honor and the unbending spirit of the knights held firm when their armor failed. During that dark and valiant time in the Middle Ages, many were amazed by the fearlessness of the knights and their reluctance to admit they were defeated. When the knights besieged Constantinople in 1204, the Byzantines experienced admiration mixed with horror for the fierce courage of the “Frankish” knights; nothing could stop them, wrote Greek chroniclers, because they were not afraid of anything. Not caring about preserving life and limbs, not paying attention to wounds and the number of enemies, they stubbornly walked and walked forward. They advanced and pushed back the enemy at any cost, and since they were only interested in victory, they usually won, despite the most unfavorable odds. And if they died, they themselves chose how to die. Meeting one’s end in a hot hand-to-hand fight is the ultimate dream for a warrior brought up in the knightly traditions, and not making a tragedy out of a bloody wound was one of the main principles of the unbreakable iron code of honor.

Carefully read an excerpt from the biography of the Franconian knight Goetz von Berlichingen, who lost an arm in the battle near the walls of Landshut in 1504. Berlichingen writes: “On Sunday, when we fought at the walls of Landshut, the Nurembergers turned their guns and struck, without distinguishing either friend or foe. The enemy took a strong position on the dam, and I was forced to cross spears with one of them. But while I was waiting for the right moment, the Nurembergers brought down the fire of their cannons on us. One of them fired a double charge from a culverin and hit me in the hilt of my sword, so that half of it went into my right hand, and with it three iron plates of armor. The hilt of the sword went so deep under the armor that it was not visible at all. I still wonder how I managed to stay in the saddle. The armor, however, remained intact, but was slightly damaged by the blow. The second half of the handle and the blade were bent, but also remained intact, and it was thanks to this circumstance, it seems to me, that my hand was torn off between the glove and the handcuff. My hand dangled limply from side to side. When I noticed and realized that my hand was dangling on a piece of leather, and the spear was lying at the feet of my horse, I, pretending that nothing special had happened to me, calmly turned my horse around and, no matter what, returned to my , and none of the enemies detained me. Just at this time, an old spearman appeared, heading into the thick of the battle. I called him over and asked him to stay with me, showing him what had happened to me. So he stayed, but was soon forced to call a surgeon to see me.”

Rice. 118. Knight's sword, around 1520. Please note the additional hand guards.

Goetz lost his arm, but the master made him an iron arm, very similar to modern prosthetics; and "Getz the Iron-Handed" took part in many battles, sieges and raids until his death, which came to him in 1562 at the age of eighty-two years.

These were the knights. And such courage is possible today. Even though our bodies have become more fragile than those of our ancestors, the human spirit is still as strong and fearless as ever, and this strength will manifest itself if given the opportunity.

A spear . In XII-XIII For centuries, a knightly battle, as a rule, began with a counter blow with spears, and only after that, when the battle order broke down, it switched to swords. Thus, the spear, along with the sword, represented the main offensive weapon. Moreover, it has always remained the exclusive prerogative of the knightly class.

War Spear

Up to XI centuries, a spear in battle was used as a throwing weapon or pike: with a sharp lunge, that is, straightening the arm when striking. Therefore, its length was no more than 250 cm. After 200 years, the spear, like other weapons of the medieval knight, changes: it becomes longer. Since the tactics of fighting with spears have changed (the lunge disappears, the blow remains), its length already reaches 350 cm and does not stop there. Of course, the weight of the spear also increases in XIV century is 15-18 kg! Apple tree, beech, ash are those trees whose durable wood was used to make the spear shaft.

Under the double-edged tip, the knights of medieval Europe attached either a banner or tricolor flags, each color indicating the place occupied by the knight in the military hierarchy. For example, the commanders of military units owned the banner. And the flags were initially assigned to those knights who, due to lack of funds, could not pay the salaries of other knights. Below the banner or flag on the spear there was a small disk. Its purpose is to prevent the spear from going too deep into the enemy’s body, however, not at all for humane reasons, but rather for reasons of convenience: to make it easier to remove it.

Tournament spear

The weighting of the spear leads to the fact that it begins to be equipped with a disk-support in order to reduce the recoil upon impact. By the end XIV centuries, the armor of a medieval knight is equipped with a special hook. It articulated with the shell and thus relieved the load on the arm. As noted above, combat techniques changed by the end of the Middle Ages. Now the knight had to point the spear at the left side of the enemy above the neck of his horse, and slightly obliquely, that is, at the place covered by the shield.

This explains the obvious asymmetry of the surviving tournament armor, which was made for fighting with spears (their left half is more massive). However, at tournaments, medieval knights fought with blunt spears, since a blow of one horsepower with a combat spear was most often fatal. The tip of the blunt spear had a disc in the shape of a crown: it was impossible to pierce the enemy with it, but it could easily knock him out of the saddle.

Battle ax (axe) is another weapon of medieval knights, often used in tournaments. Like the club, it was well known in the early Middle Ages. Up to IX centuries, the battle ax was the most common weapon among almost all European peoples. For example, the Normans loved them very much; not to be confused with the Normans who landed with William the Conqueror in England. By that time, they had managed to exchange the axes of their ancestors for the weapons of medieval knights - a sword and a spear, which ensured their victory at Hastings (1066) over the Anglo-Saxons, who fought mainly with battle axes and clubs.

Medieval battle ax

The battle ax served both for striking and throwing. Therefore, a long belt was attached to its handle, with the help of which the ax was returned to the warrior after a throwing blow. However, over time, the battle ax and club were used less and less, until it became the tournament weapon of a medieval knight. Almost the same can be said regarding the bow; for knights it was no longer of interest as an offensive weapon - it was replaced by crossbow.

Although crossbows or crossbows were known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, there is no reliable data on their use during the early European Middle Ages. In any case, crossbows did not become widespread. The first written mentions of them date back to the chronicles of the end 9th century. And in X century, the enterprising Genoese virtually monopolized both the production and use of crossbows.

At that time, their penetrating power was simply terrifying. They pierced not only chain mail, but also plate armor from a distance of 150 meters. It is not surprising that the Latran Church Council of 1139 banned the use of crossbows in wars between Christians, although the Church’s ban did not apply to wars with Muslims.

While the crossbow's penetrating power was truly impressive, its rate of fire was rather modest. So, if an archer could fire 5 arrows per minute, then a crossbowman could only fire 2.

Despite the prohibition of the Church, Genoese crossbowmen were highly valued in medieval Western Europe. For example, many of them were in the military service of the French kings, where they received very good salaries. Moreover, in XIII century, not only the monarchs of England, France or the German sovereigns, but even the pope himself did not refuse the services of mounted crossbowmen.