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Arms and Armor History - 4th Century BC
Ballista - Ballista was a type of siege weapon that was developed by the Ancient Greeks. The weapon relied on stored energy in the torsion spring which upon releasing it, in an instant manner, propelled spherical or shafted bolts at the enemy. The ballista was a very accurate weapon with maximum range of about 500 yards. The ballista were usually constructed on the site where they were used, however, components that were not made of wood were transported to the site. Ballistae could be easily converted to fire either spherical object or shafted bolts depending on the situation and need on the battle field. The ballistae were popular in the Ancient Greece and during the Roman Empire. Later, in the Medieval Period, they were replaced by simpler weapons such as the crossbow or trebuchet.
Chainmail - Chainmail (also maille, often called as chain mail or chain maille) is a type of armor consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. The word chainmail is of relatively recent coinage, having been in use only since the 1700s; prior to this it was referred to simply as mail. The word itself refers to the armor material, not the garment made from it. A shirt made from mail is a hauberk if knee-length, haubergeon if mid-thigh length, and byrnie if waist-length. Mail leggings are called chausses, mail hoods coif and mail mittens mitons. A mail collar hanging from a helmet is camail or aventail. A mail collar worn strapped around the neck was called a pixane or standard.The use of chainmail was prominent throughout the Dark Ages, High Middle Ages and Renaissance, and reached its apex in Europe, in terms of coverage, during the 13th century, when mail covered the whole body. In the 14th century, plate armor began to supplement mail. Eventually mail was supplanted by plate for the most part. However, mail was still widely used by many soldiers as well as brigandines and padded jacks. Several patterns of linking the rings together have been known since ancient times, with the most common being the 4-to-1 pattern (where each ring is linked with four others). In Europe, the 4-to-1 pattern was completely dominant.
Chainmail was also common in East Asia, primarily Japan, with several more patterns being utilized and an entire nomenclature developing around them. Historically, in Europe, from the pre-Roman period on, the rings composing a piece of chainmail would be riveted closed to reduce the chance of the rings splitting open when subjected to a thrusting attack or a hit by an arrow. Up until the 14th century European mail was made of alternating rows of both riveted rings and solid rings. Later it was almost all made from riveted rings only. Chainmail is believed to have been invented by the Celtic people in Eastern Europe about 500 BC. When these Celts moved West they took mail with them. Most cultures who used chainmail used the Celtic word Byrnne or a variant, suggesting the Celts as the originators. The Roman Army used chainmail for almost all of its history. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD the infrastructure to make plate was largely lost in Europe, as a result mail was the best available armor during the ensuing Early Medieval period.
Coif - Coif, also called chaimail coif or coif of mail is simply a chainmail hood. The purpose of the mail coif is to protect the top, sides and back of the head and neck. The coif was worn by the knights underneath a helmet and by the foot soldiers as a sole head protection.
Dory Spear - Dory spear was the main weapon of hoplites in the Ancient Greece. The dory spear measured between six to ten feet in length and it was intended for single-handed use. Typically the dory spear was held with right hand while the hoplite's shield was held in the left hand. The working end of the spear was equipped with leaf-shaped blade made of iron. The end of the spear was equipped with a bronze butt-spike that acted as a counter-balance to the spearhead. Also, the butt-spike could have been used as a weapon in case the spearhead was broken off. The dory spear was used for thrusting and sweeping cut attacks. The Ancient Greeks, had an advantage over the Persian army during the Greco-Persian was as their dory spear was longer and allowed multiple ranks of soldiers to engage in combat simultaneously.
Hauberk - A hauberk is a shirt that is made of chainmail. Hauberk usually refers to a shirt that is mid-thigh in length and features sleeves. Little hauberk also called haubergeon relates to a shorter version with shorter sleeves. Hauberks that are mid-thigh in length usually have slits to make horseback riding comfortable. The word “hauberk” originated from old German word “halsberge”. The word halsberge referred to small piece of chainmail protecting the neck and the throat. The oldest example of hauberk that dates from the 12th century is kept at the Prague Cathedral in the Czech Republic. The hauberk supposedly belonged to Saint Wenceslaus. The chainmail hauberk was in wide use throughout the entire Europe. It began to disappear when plate armor began to be used instead of hauberk.
Javelin - A javelin is a light spear that was designed to be thrown as a ranged weapon. The javelin was always thrown by hand; however, there were hurling devices in existence that allowed to achieve increased throwing distance. The word javelin derived from Old French word javeline which was a diminutive of the word javelot which meant spear. Javelins were used in many different cultures.
Rhomphaia - Rhomphaia was a type of a pole arm weapon that was used by the Thracians around 400 B.C. Rhomphaia featured a long, single-edged, straight or curved blade mounted atop of a wooden haft that was considerably longer than the blade. In a sense, Rhomphaia was similar to the Dacian Falx sword but it was much longer and its blade was not as curved as in Falx sword. This type of weapon was mainly used for slashing and thrusting. Because of its length, Rhomphaia was a powerful weapon able to deliver powerful cutting and hacking blows.
Sarissa - Sarissa was a very long pike used by the Ancient Greeks in their famous phalanx formations. The sarissa featured a leaf-shaped, short iron head and at the opposite end, a butt-spike made of bronze. The butt-spike was used to anchor the pike against charging soldiers. The sarissa was available in two sizes. One was 15 foot in length with weight about 12lbs and the other was 18 foot in length with weight about 14.5lbs. Because of its length, the sarissa carrying soldiers must have been trained with its use to coordinate their movement. The sarrisa was invented by the father of Alexander the Great, Philip II. He also invented the tactic to use the sarissa.
Trebuchet - Trebuchet was a siege engine that was used in the Middle Ages to attack fortifications or to throw projectiles over their walls. The first trebuchet engines were powered by the sheer power of men. Such machines were used in Ancient Greece and China around the 4th century BC. In the Medieval Times, trebuchet engines were powered by the counterweight attached to the engine. These were used in Europe and in the Middle East and they could propel very heavy projectiles weighting up to 350lbs into the enemy’s fortifications. Trebuchet type siege engines were a lot more accurate and precise compared with catapults.
History of Arms and Armor | Arms and Armor Origin Timeline
