The late period is effectively 1302 - whenever you think the middle ages ended. I tend to think the middle ages ended in 1667 with the Scottish enlightenment, but that's just me. However, to make this primer coherent, I'll pick 1525 and the battle of Pavia as my end date, as it is the triumph of firearms over melee weapons. (In the West. In the East they used firearms to great effect earlier).
Equipment:
The later period is the time when the most radical changes began to take hold in arms and armor. To begin with, I'll discuss the change from mail armor to plate armor.
In the 14th century, plate armor began to take precedence over mail. As I mentioned in the High Middle Ages primer, the coat of plates showed up, helping to protect against lance thrusts. To the coat of plates, knights began adding knee plates and elbow plates to protect their joints. These are like the metal version of the kneepads and elbowpads your mom made you wear when you went rollerblading back in the early 90s. To this, the knights began to add more pieces of plate armor. They put on shin guards, plates to protect the upper arms, gorgets (throat plates), and breastplates. By about 1350, the knight was now what we imagine him - encased in plate armor.
The helmets of the period varied radically depending on the exact time and location. However, they generally had a single hammered out piece to protect the whole head, with a visor to protect the face. The visor could generally be lifted to give the knight a better view of the battlefield.
The new plate armor spawned a whole host of new weapons. It was impossible to cut through the plates with a sword, so cutting swords rapidly fell out of favor. They were replaced by one and two-handed swords with needle sharp points and thick diamond cross-sections to increase rigidity. The swords were used to poke through the chinks in the armor, thrusting through the mail in the vulnerable joints - the armpits, groin, etc.
The poll ax came into being as well. It was a popular knightly weapon, about 5 to 7 feet long, which consisted of a hammer or ax, with a crow's beak (kind of like a spike) on the back side, and a tall spike on the top. This way the knight could thrust through the gaps in the plate (or sometimes through the plate) with the spike, punch through the armor with the crow's beak, or batter his opponent with the hammer or ax part of the weapon. The haft of the weapon could also be used to fight, as could the queue, or tail end, which often contained a buttspike.
The war hammer was invented in this period. It usually consisted of a hammer, with a crow's beak or spike on the back. These varied in length from quite short, and used only in one hand, to reasonably long and used in two hands. The shorter variety were generally used on horseback.
The mace was also favored in this period, as it could crush helmets, or rend armor. The flanged mace was particularly popular. It consisted of several pieces of steel, or flanges, welded to a central cylindrical tube. Because the flanges were separate, they could individually punch through armor, but because they were all grouped together, they all added weight and crushing power to the weapon.
The longbow came into being in this period. Really, the longbow had been hanging out in Europe for about 5000 years, but the longbow as we know it, capable of taking out knights, arrived in the mid-14th century. The English dedicated large groups of people to training with the longbow. They became able to wield much heavier bows than normal - up to 140 pound draw weights. (Similar draw weight bows were used in the east). Using these massive bows, they could unleash a shower of arrows to deadly effect. However, there is a LOT of debate over whether or not longbows could pierce plate armor. I personally don't believe that they could on any kind of a regular basis. However, they could pierce mail, they could get into gaps in the knight's armor, or they could hit weak points - like a helmet visor.
Crossbows increased in power as well. New steel prods were developed, along with complicated systems for loading the weapon. While slower than longbows, the crossbows could pack more punch, and they took much less time to learn how to use effectively.
Gunpowder is another important innovation at this time. Most people don't realize that one of the things Joan of Arc was greatly admired for amongst the French was her skill with artillery. By the middle of the 15th century, cannon were quite common in sieges, and men were beginning to use primitive guns on the battlefield. By 1525, the end of this period for me, the matchlock musket had come into use, capable of piercing right through knightly armor.
Tactics:
The major tactical development in this period is the death of the knightly charge on horseback. It is somewhat ironic that the stereotypical knight in shining armor probably did most of his fighting on foot. Horses could be killed or maimed easily, and the knew missile weapons could stop a charge. This was shown again and again in the hundred years' war. By the time of the war of the roses, the knights fought entirely on foot.
Another tactical change is the impact of gunpowder on warfare. A few historical cases will highlight what I'm talking about.
Siege of Constantinople, 1453: In 1453, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the Ottoman Sultan, attacked Constantinople. He laid siege, and he brought up huge artillery pieces. For days he battered the city walls, before finally making a series of assaults that resulted in the capture of the city. The cannon were able to obliterate huge sections of wall, and that was a major change from the past, where sieges could not be easily resolved militarily. It brought about changes in the way city defenses were designed.
The Hussite Wars: The hussites were a group of Bohemian heretics who developed a technique for fighting where men were placed inside specially designed wagons. The men were armed with heavy crossbows and primitive guns. The wagons resisted cavalry attacks, provided protection against enemy missiles, and allowed them to shoot at the enemy at will. The wagons were protected by other hussites carrying spears and halberds. This tactic helped them to, time and again, beat superior forces with their firearms.
Battle of Pavia, 1525: In this battle, musketeers, protected by pikemen, completely devastated French heavy cavalry. The victory signaled the end of knightly combat, and the beginning of the period of warfare we know of as "early modern."
Equipment:
The later period is the time when the most radical changes began to take hold in arms and armor. To begin with, I'll discuss the change from mail armor to plate armor.
In the 14th century, plate armor began to take precedence over mail. As I mentioned in the High Middle Ages primer, the coat of plates showed up, helping to protect against lance thrusts. To the coat of plates, knights began adding knee plates and elbow plates to protect their joints. These are like the metal version of the kneepads and elbowpads your mom made you wear when you went rollerblading back in the early 90s. To this, the knights began to add more pieces of plate armor. They put on shin guards, plates to protect the upper arms, gorgets (throat plates), and breastplates. By about 1350, the knight was now what we imagine him - encased in plate armor.
The helmets of the period varied radically depending on the exact time and location. However, they generally had a single hammered out piece to protect the whole head, with a visor to protect the face. The visor could generally be lifted to give the knight a better view of the battlefield.
The new plate armor spawned a whole host of new weapons. It was impossible to cut through the plates with a sword, so cutting swords rapidly fell out of favor. They were replaced by one and two-handed swords with needle sharp points and thick diamond cross-sections to increase rigidity. The swords were used to poke through the chinks in the armor, thrusting through the mail in the vulnerable joints - the armpits, groin, etc.
The poll ax came into being as well. It was a popular knightly weapon, about 5 to 7 feet long, which consisted of a hammer or ax, with a crow's beak (kind of like a spike) on the back side, and a tall spike on the top. This way the knight could thrust through the gaps in the plate (or sometimes through the plate) with the spike, punch through the armor with the crow's beak, or batter his opponent with the hammer or ax part of the weapon. The haft of the weapon could also be used to fight, as could the queue, or tail end, which often contained a buttspike.
The war hammer was invented in this period. It usually consisted of a hammer, with a crow's beak or spike on the back. These varied in length from quite short, and used only in one hand, to reasonably long and used in two hands. The shorter variety were generally used on horseback.
The mace was also favored in this period, as it could crush helmets, or rend armor. The flanged mace was particularly popular. It consisted of several pieces of steel, or flanges, welded to a central cylindrical tube. Because the flanges were separate, they could individually punch through armor, but because they were all grouped together, they all added weight and crushing power to the weapon.
The longbow came into being in this period. Really, the longbow had been hanging out in Europe for about 5000 years, but the longbow as we know it, capable of taking out knights, arrived in the mid-14th century. The English dedicated large groups of people to training with the longbow. They became able to wield much heavier bows than normal - up to 140 pound draw weights. (Similar draw weight bows were used in the east). Using these massive bows, they could unleash a shower of arrows to deadly effect. However, there is a LOT of debate over whether or not longbows could pierce plate armor. I personally don't believe that they could on any kind of a regular basis. However, they could pierce mail, they could get into gaps in the knight's armor, or they could hit weak points - like a helmet visor.
Crossbows increased in power as well. New steel prods were developed, along with complicated systems for loading the weapon. While slower than longbows, the crossbows could pack more punch, and they took much less time to learn how to use effectively.
Gunpowder is another important innovation at this time. Most people don't realize that one of the things Joan of Arc was greatly admired for amongst the French was her skill with artillery. By the middle of the 15th century, cannon were quite common in sieges, and men were beginning to use primitive guns on the battlefield. By 1525, the end of this period for me, the matchlock musket had come into use, capable of piercing right through knightly armor.
Tactics:
The major tactical development in this period is the death of the knightly charge on horseback. It is somewhat ironic that the stereotypical knight in shining armor probably did most of his fighting on foot. Horses could be killed or maimed easily, and the knew missile weapons could stop a charge. This was shown again and again in the hundred years' war. By the time of the war of the roses, the knights fought entirely on foot.
Another tactical change is the impact of gunpowder on warfare. A few historical cases will highlight what I'm talking about.
Siege of Constantinople, 1453: In 1453, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the Ottoman Sultan, attacked Constantinople. He laid siege, and he brought up huge artillery pieces. For days he battered the city walls, before finally making a series of assaults that resulted in the capture of the city. The cannon were able to obliterate huge sections of wall, and that was a major change from the past, where sieges could not be easily resolved militarily. It brought about changes in the way city defenses were designed.
The Hussite Wars: The hussites were a group of Bohemian heretics who developed a technique for fighting where men were placed inside specially designed wagons. The men were armed with heavy crossbows and primitive guns. The wagons resisted cavalry attacks, provided protection against enemy missiles, and allowed them to shoot at the enemy at will. The wagons were protected by other hussites carrying spears and halberds. This tactic helped them to, time and again, beat superior forces with their firearms.
Battle of Pavia, 1525: In this battle, musketeers, protected by pikemen, completely devastated French heavy cavalry. The victory signaled the end of knightly combat, and the beginning of the period of warfare we know of as "early modern."
