| The Middle Ages was a time of much conflict | | | | caltrop is a good example of the ingenuity of |
| and warfare. During this time many unusual | | | | the art of combat and the dynamics of the |
| weapons were created to solve battlefield | | | | battlefield. The caltrop was a fabrication of |
| problems. Many of these weapons are familiar | | | | metal that had four points much like a |
| to us such as the sword, axe, or lance. But | | | | child's Jack. The unique thing about the |
| there were many lesser known and unusual | | | | caltrop was that if you threw it on the |
| weapons that were created during this time in | | | | ground, because of the four pointed |
| history. | | | | structure, it would always fall with one |
| | | | point standing straight up and this was a |
| Not all weapons were created specifically for | | | | serious danger and deterrent to cavalry or |
| battle or for hand to hand combat against an | | | | even foot soldiers. |
| armored foe and a good example of this was | | | | |
| the Man Catcher. This unusual weapon was a | | | | Some of the most unique and unusual designs |
| long pole arm with a semi-circular pronged | | | | in weapons were in the realm of the dagger |
| shape catch at the end. There was a | | | | and many different daggers came out of the |
| spring-loaded trap on it and it was used to | | | | Middle Ages including the Rondel which was a |
| reach up, capture, and pull down someone | | | | long conical shaped dagger. It was |
| mounted on a horse. The primary use of this | | | | specifically a piercing weapon and it's |
| weapon was to capture enemy royalty for later | | | | conical shape made it look much like a long |
| ransom. | | | | and slender ice cream cone. The Poniard was |
| | | | another unusual dagger because it had either |
| The Sword breaker was another unique weapon | | | | a square or triangular shape. This shape was |
| developed and used during the Middle Ages. | | | | effective for piercing armor. |
| This was a long and very sturdy dagger that | | | | |
| had slots on one side much like the teeth of | | | | The Middle Ages saw a tremendous development |
| a comb. This was a standard off hand weapon | | | | in many types of weapons. Some of these |
| that was used to capture an opponent's sword | | | | weapons are still in use today but some of |
| blade. Once the blade was caught a quick | | | | the more unique ones, because of their very |
| twist of the sword breaker would snap the | | | | specific applications, are no longer seen. |
| opponent's sword blade. | | | | Yet they remain as a testament to the nature |
| | | | of the medieval battlefield. |
| Not all weapons were hand-held and the | | | | |