English Medieval Knight
His Arms and Armor in the 15th Century
The Sword of the English Knight
Continuing the tradition of several centuries, the main fighting weapon of the English knight remained the sword. There was no standard type of sword, but some varieties were more popular than others. By the second quarter of the century, the most popular type appears to have been a long, heavy thrusting sword (over five pounds and 50 inches), which could be used to stab into the chinks in an enemy's armor. Plate armour had advanced to the point that mere battering with a heavy blade was unlikely to be very effective.
Another popular sword of this time period was the bastard sword, also known as the hand-and-a-half sword, or the sword of war. These swords were even heavier and longer, and could be wielded with one or two hands. Obviously it was impossible to use this weapon while mounted.
The Lance of the English Knight
In the charge, the English Knight used the lance as his primary offensive weapon. These were normally constructed of ash, and had a protective, circular plate called a vamplate covering the hand.
Other Weapons of the English Knight
Although the sword and the lance were the most common knightly weapons, there were many others such as the warhammer. Despite its name, the warhammer looked more like a pick than a hammer. It had a very long and narrow head that was designed to punch through armor and often featured a spike projecting opposite the head. The mace was also in common use. This was a spiked ball set atop a short metal handle.
When on foot, knights often used a variety of long pole-arms including the poleaxe and the halberd both of which resembled axes with very long handles.
Armor of the English Knight
By the 15th century, most knights were completely covered in steel plates. At the beginning of the century, these plates were often worn over chain mail, which was itself worn over a layer of padding. As the century progressed, the chain mail was integrated into the plates and only used to cover vulnerable areas such as the armpits. The armor was attached directly to the padding underneath. The knight actually retained a high degree of manueverability in his armor. However, the armor was extremely heavy and warriors could quickly fatigue. Also, the helmet which normally had a fold down visor to protect the face limited the field of vision.
Shields
Unlike the knight of previous centuries, during this time period the shield was uncommon. The advancement in armor forced knights to carry heavier weapons which often required two hands, thus the shield was discarded and probably reserved for use at tournaments.
Primary information for this article obtained from English Medieval Knight 1400-1500, by Christopher Gravett, Osprey publishing, 2001
