| The Medieval period was mostly a time of | | | | craftsmanship and the materials used to build |
| evolution for weapons man had already previously | | | | weaponry improved. A couple examples of this |
| developed and used. Advancements in metallurgy | | | | show up with the bow and catapult. In the |
| and manufacturing techniques gave rise to more | | | | never-ending pursuit of accuracy and range, the |
| versatile, durable, and deadly weaponry. The early | | | | simple bow turned to the crossbow which then |
| Medieval period mostly involved the sword, lance, | | | | evolved into the longbow. The killing efficiency of |
| pike, bow, and catapult; relatively simple weapons | | | | the bow is evidenced by the Churchs outlawing of |
| by any count, but effective. For many of these | | | | crossbows at one point because the weapon was |
| simple weapons, perhaps the largest leap forward | | | | so lethal. The longbow eventually eclipsed the |
| was a move from iron to steel. Throughout the | | | | other bow variations with its effective range, |
| period, the process for creating steel saw | | | | power, and accuracy. |
| refinements which would eventually transform the | | | | Catapults were perhaps the most notable targets |
| weapons of old to a newer, deadlier form. | | | | of innovation, giving rise to a variation called the |
| Lets take swords, for example, in earlier times, | | | | trebuchet. Trebuchets could heft enormous |
| the blades were prone to breakage and were | | | | amounts of weight, beating out their earlier, less |
| generally unreliable. The advancements in steel and | | | | sophisticated catapult cousins. Siege battle took a |
| general building products allowed the sword to | | | | deadly turn when trebuchets entered the |
| become more flexible and more lethal. At the | | | | battlefield and their effectiveness is noted |
| same time, different iterations of the common | | | | throughout history. Innovation was the main |
| sword appeared such as the bastard sword and | | | | driving force during the Medieval times; taking |
| broadsword. Extra accoutrements such as hand | | | | weapons of old and making them better and |
| guards, and double-edged swords with sharpened | | | | creating variations to fit the needs of the |
| points appeared during the medieval period as | | | | battlefield. The effectiveness of those innovations |
| well; further evidence of the evolutionary process | | | | has been proven through the ages as many of |
| of weaponry during the Medieval period. | | | | those improvements are with us in todays simple |
| Apart from metallurgical advancements, general | | | | weaponry. |