Throughout its history, mankind has been manufacturing various weapons. The Middle Ages are known for their unusual and sometimes frightening weapons. Here is a list of ten of the most interesting and unusual types of weapons of the Middle Ages.
1
Flying Crow with Magic Fire
The treatise, written in China in the 14th century, contains numerous examples of weapons that use gunpowder. These are different missiles, rocket launchers, sea and land mines, fire spears and more. But among the most interesting and unusual species can be called an illustration with the name "Flying Crow with Magical Fire." An ordinary crow served as an aerodynamic winged bomb. Unfortunately, we never found information about the very process of using these weapons.
You may also be interested to know about the TOP 10 real types of suicidal weapons in history, there is an interesting article on most-beauty.ru
2
Quicklime
Like calcium oxide, quicklime is made by burning limestone in a furnace. Lime was pulverized and effectively used in battles, especially in naval battles. Most-beauty.ru found a good description of its use from a 13th-century Roman writer Giles: - “They made a large number of pots filled with quicklime, which they dropped from a height on enemy ships. From a strong blow they break, forming a cloud of powder around. The powder enters the eyes of the enemy and causes severe irritation. Almost blind, they cannot see and defend normally. ”
3
Gripper’s grapple or “human catcher”
One of the few medieval weapons whose purpose was not to kill. The “People Catcher” was intended to grab and throw riders off horses. It was a kind of grip with internal spikes. It was assumed that the soldiers of that time were in armor and these spikes did not injure them, but only kept them. With the help of this weapon, the knights were captured, to then demand a ransom.
4
Plumbat
These small iron throwing darts were used in the troops of the late Roman Empire and Byzantium. In the 4th century treatise De re Militari, the writer Vegetetius describes this weapon as follows: “Each soldier has five throwing darts in the recess of the shield. Thus, the legionnaire acts as an archer before the start of the attack, hitting the horses and soldiers of the enemy before they are in the reach of swords. "
5
Self-loading crossbow
Presumably, this advanced weapon was invented (or significantly improved) by Zhuge Liang, who was a famous military adviser during the Three Kingdoms. Until the 19th century, it was a very popular weapon in China. The crossbow could fire up to 10 arrows in 15 seconds.
6
Napta and greek fire
Since ancient times, various armies of the world have used incendiary weapons. The term "napta" was applied to weapons using different types of oils that were capable of prolonged burning even in water. The liquid was poured into a special container and used as a bomb. In the 7th century, Greek fire was invented by the Byzantine architect Kallinik. Its exact composition is still unknown, as different ingredients are indicated in different annals. But the main component was oil, also lime, sulfur and phosphite, which allowed the mixture to burn on water. The first successful use of Greek fire was against the Arab fleet in the defense of Constantinople. Tsar Constantine IV equipped two large ships with Greek fire installations and terrified the Arabs. All this infernal mixture with a rumble and a roar burst from copper siphon pipes.
7
Conrad Keyser Military Wagon
In the 14th century, military expert Conrad Keyser invented the first semblance of a tank. His military wagon was set in motion by mechanisms. Sharp spears peered along the sides, which moved in the direction of movement. Inside were soldiers. Through loopholes, they could hit the spears and arrows of opponents.
8
Wagonfort
Also known as Wagenburg. These were mobile fortifications from carts, which were widely used during the Hussite wars in the 15th century. High wagons were equipped with loopholes, inside them were people and weapons. They successfully opposed the cavalry and the knights, repulsing the horse attacks of the enemy. After the invention of firearms and artillery weapons, wagonforts lost their advantage on the battlefield.
9
Jumping arrow
It is more a death trap than a weapon. It was a kind of crossbow driven by the victim. According to the notes of Gaimar, when in the XI century the English king Edmund Ironside went to the toilet, inside was a stretched crossbow with a rope attached to the seat. As soon as the king sat on the seat, the mechanism worked, and the arrow pierced the king's back. So Edmund was killed. Another story goes that the Scottish king Kenneth II was also killed by an arrow when he was tricked into touching an ingenious mechanism.
10
Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci
Working for the Duke of Milan at the end of the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci invented a number of military devices. It includes the invention of a chariot with braids and its own version of a combat mechanical tank. According to him, all these inventions were good for breaking through the enemy ranks. In fact, it was.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is a fascinating article about the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci.