10 Facts about Medieval Warfare

This article will present the 10 interesting facts about medieval warfare. Medieval warfare is European warfare during the middle ages. The warfare gave big impacts. Technological, cultural, and social developments had forced a dramatic transformation. Moreover, the medieval warfare saw the emergence of the castle in Europe, which then spread throughout Western Asia. The others pieces of facts about the history of warfare in Europe will be described in the explanation below.

Facts about Medieval Warfare 1: The Strategy of Warfare

To get knowledge about the strategy of warfare, we can see the phenomenal book “De re militari (concerning military matters)” written by Publius Flavius Vegetius around in the late of the 4th century.

Facts about Medieval Warfare 2: Fortifications

In medieval Europe, the robbery increased significantly as a source of income. Hence, building a great fortification was a good way to provide the refugee and protection for the people and the wealth in the region. During the middle ages, fortifications were the most important form being the castle.

the 10 amazing facts about medieval warfare

Facts about Medieval Warfare 3: The Importance of Fortifications for Warfare

Fortifications were being a very important part of warfare because they provided safety to the lord, his family, and his servent. Also, they provided refugee from armies too large to face in open battle.

Facts about Medieval Warfare 4: Siege Warfare

During the middle ages, besieging armies used a wide variety of siege engines including scaling ladders, battering rams, siege towers, and various types of catapults such as the mangonel, onager, ballista, and trebuchet.

Facts about Medieval Warfare 5: The Medieval Knight

The medieval knight was usually a mounted and armoured soldier, often connected with nobility and royalty. Medieval knights could also from lower classes, and could even be enslaved person.

Facts about Medieval Warfare 6: Light Cavalry

Light cavalry consisted usually of lighter armed and armoured men, who could have lances, javelins or missile weapons, such as bows or crossbows. Moreover, the medieval light cavalry usually consisted of wealthy commoners.

the 10 amazing facts about medieval warfare

Facts about Medieval Warfare 7: The Medieval Infantry

Infantry was recruited and trained in a wide variety of manners in different regions of Europe. Many infantrymen in prolonged wars would be mercenaries. Most armies contained significant numbers of spearmen, archers and other unmounted soldiers.

Facts about Medieval Warfare 8: Recruiting

Typically the feudal armies consisted of a core of highly skilled knights and their household troops, mercenaries hired for the time of campaign and feudal levies fulfilling their feudal obligations, who usually were little more than rabble.

Facts about Medieval Warfare 9: Weapons as Equipment of Warfare

The medieval weapons including battleaxe (e.g. horseman’s pick), blades (e.g. arming sword, dagger, knife, longsword messer), blunt weapons (e.g. mace, club, war hammer), Polearm (e.g. helberd, lance, military fork, pollaxe), ranged (e.g. bow, longbow, crossbow), etc.