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Simplistic weapons such as the hammer and clubs were modified. Thus the bashing and crushing weapons made their way back onto the battle field.

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(Keep in mind that the “Code of Chivalry” was a hypocritical oath that definitely did not affect many areas and was very short lived!)Įither way, there was a need for weapons that would actually kill a man in full armor.

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This played into the “Code of Chivalry”, as part of the code was that one chivalrous knight should try not to kill his opposing chivalrous knight, just better him. Full suits of armor do not have many places where a sword is going to be an effective killing tool against. Think about it, if you were to face a knight in full plate armor with a regular sword, chances are you are going to be a while even if you are the better swordsman by far, to kill him. Use of the flailĪs stated, the flail was designed to crush armor. Thus, as a personal opinion, the flail was first widely used in the Middle Ages during the 100-Years War by the English to defeat the French, along with, of course, the longbow (another non-chivalrous weapon). Thus, the code was broken, and England began to use any and everything they had to defeat the French, including peasant armies to fight against the knights. However, chivalry died when the English began using archers against their French foes. The flail was designed to crush armor, as we will discuss later. So, for the majority of the civilized medieval world (not pre-Middle Ages) “Code of Chivalry” would mean that a farm working peasant would not be conscripted to fight against knights in armor, as peasants could never wear it.

Now, this leads us to an interesting thought.īefore the War of the Roses, and the 100-Years War between England and France, there was the “Code of Chivalry” that stated, in an overview, that only knights can fight knights, along with other rules and codes of war.

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This led to the weapon being a favorite for peasants in militant groups to use, as they already knew how to handle it. The agricultural flail was used to thrash wheat. There is not much known about when and where the flails where actually first used (although many different opinions are out there…) What is known is that the flail was a variation of an old farming tool. They also may have flanged balls as the heads instead of the spiked ones that were more common. There are flails that have a metallic handle be it steal or iron. There are, however, many variations as far as what the flail can be made of. This weapon is perhaps one of the least costly and least time consuming to make in all of the middle ages, but when used correctly, one of the most deadly. The heads are heavy balls of metal that are, for the most part, spiked. Most flails have a hard wooden handle that may vary in length but are generally around a foot and a half long, connected to one or more chains of about the same length (the number of chains depending on whether or not it is a single headed, double headed, or triple headed flail) to the head or heads. The flail has a handle with chains connecting to the head or heads.

You will inevitably hear some ignoramus try to call a flail a mace, but the mace is actually an entirely different weapon from the flail.

Medieval weapons flail