Medieval Weapons – hand cannons and things you can’t pronounce
Medieval weapons were plentiful and go beyond your garden variety knightly sword. I do profess an undying love for them all.
Over time, I’ve accumulated quite a lot of reference material about these weapons that I organised into short cheat sheets to use during my own writing. Since a writer can never have enough reference material, I figured it would be great to share them with other writers.
The first list I posted (Medieval Weapons – more than swords for fantasy writing) had the more common weapons and I doubt there were many surprises in there. The second weapons cheat sheet I put together (Medieval Weapons – beyond the sword, lance, and crossbow) had some weapons of a more interesting nature, but likely not entirely unfamiliar. This list of Medieval weapons, however, contains some of the more obscure ones with equally obscure names and while none of us might reference many of them in our writing, I figured what the hell, so here you go.
Medieval Weapons Cheat Sheet 3
Ahlspiess – (also known as an awl pike) was a type of thrusting spear developed by the German and Austrian infantry and in use from about the 15th – 16th centuries. The pole had a spike-like head measuring as much as a yard long mounted on a long wooden shaft. A rondal guard (round metal plate) was located below the spike to protect the user’s hands. An Ahlspiess shaft ranged from 5-6 feet.
Arbalest – This is a bit of a trick listing, because the correct term for a crossbow is an Arbalest. However, when we think of one of 
these, we’re generally thinking of a late variation of the crossbow used in Europe around the 12th century. They’re easy to recognise, because they have a very distinctive feature. They were so large, they were difficult to draw by hand and needed a winding mechanism to draw them. This very large bow had a steel prod that delivered arrows with much greater force due to the tensile strength of the steel bow combined with its greater overall size.
Bardiche – Another pole weapon, this primitive halberd evolved out of the butchers’ tool for cleaving the heads of oxen, so had a long, curved blade used for chopping. In use through the 14th to 17th centuries, the lower end of the curved blade touched the shaft and was later fixed to it. By the late 16th century, this pole weapon became associated with Russian streltsy guardsmen.
Baselard – A dagger common in the 14th and 15th centuries (Late Middle Ages). This blade originated from Baselard, Switzerland, where wealthy merchants carried one on their belts for self-protection. At the same time, it was a fashion accessory. On the long side for a dagger, it could be considered a short sword, though the length was more so it could be noticed. Considered a noble’s weapon, servants and labourers were forbidden from carrying them. Some blades were mounted with silver. A knight’s page would have carried this visible armament (as opposed to a dagger), because it suggested a better sense of protection when seen at a distance.
Estoc – (or English tuck) A sword with no cutting edge used for thrusting from the 14th to 17th centuries. A variation of the longsword, it was designed for fighting against mail or plate armour. In earlier times, it was designed to be hung from a saddle or from a belt when on the ground. The extended grip made it easy to wield with two hands for extra leverage and averaged about 2kg in weight.
Fustibal – A portable, lightweight ballistic weapon also known as the shepherd’s sling. This staff sling was more accurate than a slingshot and also makes a good hunting tool.
Guisarme – (or sometimes gisarme, giserne or bisarme) A pole weapon with a two-sided crescent-shaped blade. These pole weapons were used primarily in Europe between 1000 and 1400 A.D.. A handy weapon for ground troops, it was used to pull knights and horsemen from the saddle to negate their height advantage.
Like all polearm weapons, the guisarme can find its origins in peasants affixing hand tools to poles. In this case, originally it would have been a pruning hook onto a spear shaft.
Glaive – A polearm weapon with the attacking end being a long blade that had a shape similar to a butterknife – only much larger (and sharp).
Goedendag – A wooden staff weapon approximately the size of a baseball bat and with a metal spike on the very end of it. It could be used as a club and as a spearing weapon.
Hand cannon Considered the first true firearm. Successor of the fire lance, it appears in China during the 13th century with the oldest existing hand cannon, the Xanadu Gun, bearing a production date of 1298. Spreading out to the rest of the world, evidence of hand cannons in Europe first appears in 1326. Evidence of European production dates as early as 1327. By 1338 hand cannons were in widespread use in France. There are reported instances of use in Spain between 1247 and 1311 and confirmed sightings of use in Germany in 1313. The manuscripts of Marianus Jacobus record its use as a cavalry weapon in 1449 with an illustration of a mounted soldier resting the weapon on a fork attached to the pommel of the saddle. An all-iron hand cannon with hook dated circa 1400 was found in South Schleswig (Germany, formerly part of Denmark). By the mid fifteenth century multiple barrel hand cannons of iron with a wooden stock appear in Europe. Combinations of the battle axe and hand cannon were used in the sixteenth century (a number of these on display in the Tower of London).
Hand cannons require direct manual external ignition through a touch hole without any form of firing mechanism (the major difference between them and matchlock firearms). A spike extending from the bottom hooked over a rest to absorb recoil. And, interesting side note, the art of firing the hand cannon called Ōzutsu (大筒) has remained as a Japanese Ko-budō martial arts form.
Skeggox – A Skeggox axe (or bearded axe, from the Old Norse Skegg, “beard”, and øx, “axe”) is a single handed axe used for hand-to-hand combat and for throwing.
Image credits
arbalest – (published 1900) source book page: https://archive.org/stream/annualreportof03phil/annualreportof03phil#page/n158/mode/1up, No Known Copyright
hand cannon – Swiss soldier firing a hand cannon, with powder bag and ramrod at his feet, c. late 14th century (produced in 1874) By Viollet-le-Duc – https://archive.org/details/dictionnairerai06violuoft, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8818718
Known reference list
Handbook of Firearms and Ballistics: Second Edition Brian J. Heard © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
But wait, there’s more! You might be interested in other articles in this series on Medieval weapons
Medieval Weapons – more than swords for fantasy writing
Medieval Weapons – beyond the sword, lance, and crossbow