Flail (weapon)
| Flail (weapon) | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Flail |
| Designations: | Flail, Flail, Flail, Scorpion, Fléau d'armes |
| Use: | War weapon, tool |
| Creation time: | approx. 12th century |
| Working time: | approx. 12-17 Century |
| Region of origin / author: |
Germany , peasant army |
| Distribution: | Europe |
| Overall length: | approx. 200 cm |
| Handle: | Wood, leather |
| Particularities: | The "further development" of the flail was the morning star |
| Lists on the subject | |
The flail (also: Streitflegel , Kriegsflegel , Engl. Scorpion , French. Fléau d'armes ) is a medieval polearm that was developed from the peasant flail in the 12th century . The flails generally fall under the striking weapon , as they do not penetrate the body when used. However, variants were used that were equipped with spikes or blades. These are also to be classified under the cutting weapon, as they penetrate the body when they are used.
description
The simplest variant was probably the flail itself, which was used as a primitive improvised weapon alongside pitchforks or scythes . In the further development of the flail into a pure weapon, the leather strap between the handle and striking head was replaced by a chain and the head was often set with points or simply hammered through with nails. In a later version, the moving part on the chain was replaced by a forged rod (Swiss flail with “rod” or “handlebar”, approx. 15th century).
The later versions, like the morning star , consist of a 50 cm long wooden handle with a 30 to 50 cm long chain attached to the end. The head, a pointed, heavy iron ball with a diameter of approx. 10 cm (often much smaller) is attached to the other end. Instead of simple iron balls, more complicated models often use elaborately manufactured heads with radially arranged blades or hooks (compare with a mace ) or with heavy, angular pieces of metal. Often several heads with several chains were attached to the handle. The handlebar was dimensioned so that the chains with the impact balls were no more than 1/3 of the length of the rod, in order to prevent the user of the weapon from hitting their own arms or hands.
One reason for the confusion about this type of weapon and its naming (like the mace , the flail is often confused with the morning star ) could have been the nobility of the time, who swore by sword or lance and shield, since peasant weapons were considered unchivalrous. Production was easy and inexpensive. No steel was needed, which was lacking throughout the Middle Ages. Training with the weapon could be dispensed with, as every farmer was familiar with the underlying equipment.
The flail was used until the beginning of the 17th century. The so-called drischel , a variant of the peasant threshing drum shod with iron ribbons and thorns, was one of the typical weapons used by the Hussite rebels during the Hussite Wars (1419–1434).
The use of a flail as a weapon is shown in Paulus Hector Mair's compendium on the art of fencing along with other peasant weapons such as sickle, scythe and club . The fight with the Mangual , an Iberian flail weapon with three bullets attached to individual chains, is briefly described in the fencing book by Perez De Mendoza y Quixada.
literature
- George Cameron Stone , Donald J. LaRocca: A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times , Courier Dover Publications, 1999, page 228, ISBN 978-0-486-40726- 5
- City in Transition: Art and Culture of the Bourgeoisie in Northern Germany 1150–1650 , Authors: Cord Meckseper, Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum für Geschichte und Volkstum, Herzog Anton-Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig, Dom St. Blasii (Braunschweig, Germany), Cord Meckseper , Verlag Edition Cantz, 1985, ISBN 978-3-922608-37-0
- Manuel Braun, Cornelia Herberichs: Violence in the Middle Ages: Realities - Imaginations , Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-7705-3881-2
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Karl Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen: Propylaea Technology History Volume 2, 1000 to 1600, Metals and Power. Propylaen / Ullstein, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3 549 07111-6 , p. 349
- ↑ Compendium