Heavy cavalry

MIDIEVAL WEAPONS AND COMBAT - The Lance (MIDDLE AGES BATTLE HISTORY DOCUMENTARY)

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• published: 11 May 2014
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MIDIEVAL WEAPONS AND COMBAT - The Lance (MIDDLE AGES BATTLE HISTORY DOCUMENTARY) Presenter Mike Loades takes us on a fascinating tour of medieval arms and armour, and demonstrates their central role in key events in British history. As an expert who trains people how to use medieval weapons, Mike is in a unique position to show us how these weapons were made and used and their impact on British society. Using a well-known battle as the focus for each programme, and talking to modern-day experts, Mike shows us the properties of each weapon and how effective it would have been in battle. We learn about much more than the weapons themselves as the series draws in themes of technology, religion, geography and even music. THE LANCE Originally probably nothing more complex than a sharpened stick, and yet incredibly versatile as a weapon, the spear in time evolved into the lance, a much more prestigious and powerful weapon favoured by knights. For centuries, the spear was the main weapon of the Saxons and Vikings. The lance was introduced by the Normans, and their mounted knights remain a potent image of medieval warfare. In medieval times men learnt how to use the lance through many years of intensive training at the 'quintain', a rotating wooden target. They would learn how to hold and charge with a lance, firstly mounted on a wooden horse on wheels pulled by two men. In a joust, men would strike at each other, whilst in battle the horse was the target, both with the aim of dismounting the opponent. Man, horse and lance had to become a single projectile unit in order to produce enough impact during combat, and knights held the lance under their arms (in the couch position) for maximum effect. Lances developed over time to further improve the impact they could deliver. The Battle of Lewes in 1264 was the first ever full-scale cavalry fight with lances on British soil. Simon De Montford was a rebel baron who wanted to depose King Henry III after the King had refused to form a council of nobles from different areas (like a parliament). Henry was determined to keep his power and stood firm at Lewes Castle. De Montford and his troops approached Lewes and provoked an attack. Hugely outnumbered, De Montford's infantry were thrashed but he launched a daring downhill cavalry charge that decimated Henry's troops and forced him to surrender. The Battle of Bannockburn illustrates how brilliant military tactics can be a greater force than weapons. Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II against all the odds due to the ingenious use of 'shiltrons', impenetrable circles of up to 1,000 spearmen working as tight mobile units, which even cavalry could not breach.