Weapons+of+the+Crusades

Weapons of the Crusades were used by both the lower class and knights. Some of these weapons included:

The Scimitar
Scimitars were swords with curved blades that were commonly used on horseback. The blade could be found as either long with a narrow curve or wide with a very deep curve. What made it a good choice of weapon was its ability to strike an opponent with a large amount of force even if they were wearing armor. With one stroke, a user could cut off an enemy's body part easily.

The Crossbow [[image:http://gaelicgirl.tripod.com/medieval/crossbow.gif width="243" height="165" align="right"]]
Also called the Arbalest, the crossbow could be fired at an enemy from up to 400 yards away. The downside to the weapon was that it could only fire two bolts per minute. However, the weapon was easy to handle and did not require much training to use.

The Battle Axe
As with the scimitar, the battle axe was capable of dealing tremendous damage with each blow. The blade had broad cutting edge, measuring 10 inches between each of the points. Interestingly, they could be thrown as a projectile. Battle axes could be designed to be single or double handed.

The Flail


Flails were used by knights and foot soldiers alike. However, the knights' version was more often then not smaller and lighter than that of foot soldiers'. Eventually, more chains and balls were added, causing the weapon to become much stronger. The chain's advantage came into play when swinging the weapon. This would cause it to build up momentum and deliver a stronger blow. On the downside, flails proved ineffective in defense.

//For more weapons used in the Crusades, go to: @http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/middle-ages-weapons.htm//

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