Warriors of the Medieval World: Battles * Castles * Weapons * Sieges

Chapter One: Knights and Armor Knights, or warriors on horseback, were the tanks of the medieval battlefield. No other warrior could stand up to them in single combat. They had speed, power and often more protection than anyone else on the battlefield. However, this came at a price. Maintenance of both armour and horses was expensive, and required the help of other people. But the knights were also the upper classes, given land in return for their duties in times of war. Armour was an item. Early armour was of leather, and then chain mail was developed. Plate armour was developed to protect against arrows and swords, and felt lighter to the wearer, as its weight was distributed more evenly around the body than that of chain mail. Only the richest knights could afford horse armour. Chapter Two: Horse Archers Bows and arrows were the machine guns of the Medieval world. Put an archer on horse back and they became deadly. In the 13th Century, the Mongols ruled the world's largest unbroken land empire. This was largely thanks to their incredible horsemanship. Sixty percent of a Mongol Hoard was made up of horse archers. The rest was light and heavy cavalry, often armed with lances or swords. It was an unbeatable combination. European archers could fire ten longbow arrows a minute, but they had to stand in one spot to shoot well. On horse back, Mongol archers could cover more of the battlefield and kill more of the enemy. Their bows were small and light. So, skill rather than raw power was the secret to their success. Chapter Three: Foot Soldiers The front line of infantrymen, as well as others in various formations used in medieval battle, often carried spears. They angled these forward to deter cavalry from the opposing side. Pairs of men carrying different weapons, such as axes and swords, often fought as a team, defending one another and operating as a unit. Other bladed instruments included flails, maces and daggers. Many of the foot soldiers fighting in the ranks were peasants, fighting with nothing more than agricultural tools. Chapter Four: Archers Usually further back in the fighting lines, archers shot over the heads of the front lines. The longbow, and later the crossbow, gave them a relatively long distance from which to shoot. Crossbows, which took longer to load, were sometimes prepared in relay, the spent bows being passed back and the newly armed bows being passed forward to the archer best positioned to shoot. Chapter Five: Castles and Siege Warfare Castle design developed quickly throughout the world. Stone soon began to be the construction material of choice, and walls became thicker as better weapons were conceived to destroy them. In attempts to breach a castle's defences, many kinds of machines were developed. As well as simple battering rams and various forms of catapult, such as the trebuchet, designed to break down the castle walls, huge siege towers, rolling turrets containing soldiers who would climb up and surge over the castle walls, might be used. Other devices protected miners who would dig under the walls to make them collapse.