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Flail (weapon)
Encyclopedia
The flail is a hand weapon
derived from the agricultural tool
.
The handle is attached to the striking part of a weapon by a flexible chain or cord. Despite being regularly depicted as a common feature of medieval European warfare, only a limited amount of historical evidence exists for their employment in Europe during this era.
A two-handed flail of agricultural origin was used as a weapon of war in Germany and Central Europe in the later Middle Ages
. This weapon consists of a hinged metal bar connected to a longer shaft (see illustration, to the right).
The Japanese term for their equivalent of the ball-on-a-chain bludgeon is "rentsuru", while the Chinese version's name translates vividly into English as meteor hammer
.
were sometimes employed as an improvised weapon by peasant armies conscripted into military service or engaged in popular uprisings.
For example, in the 1420-1434 period, the Hussites fielded large numbers of peasant foot soldiers armed with flails. However, these weapons often featured anti-personnel studs or spikes embedded in the striking end, so they were not always simple agricultural tools snatched up in a hurry by rural insurrectionists: they could be purpose-built instruments of warfare, too, fashioned with professional skill by proper weapon-smiths.
The chief tactical virtue of the flail was its capacity to get around a defender's shield, by striking against the shield's edge with the tip of the main handle. The chain, cord or hinge would then let the striking end whip around behind the shield and strike the defender a forceful blow. Its chief liability was a lack of precision and the difficulty of using it in close combat, or closely ranked formations.
Accompanying the poem Le Chevalier Délibéré, written by Olivier de la Marche
and first published in 1486, there is an anonymous woodcut
depicting a knight carrying a rather simple morning star
with spikes mounted in an asymmetrical pattern—as well as a flail
equipped with a single spiked ball. The modified flail was also used in the German Peasants War in the early 16th century.
At a later date, the long-handled flail is found in use in India, possibly more as a symbol of status than a weapon. An example held in the Pitt Rivers Museum
has a wooden ball-shaped head studded with iron spikes. Another in the Royal Armouries
collection has two spiked iron balls attached by separate chains.
or sansetsukon
n. Flails could easily be modified. Many were customized to be used with one hand by shortening the handle and chain. Multiple heads could be attached to the chain, or multiple chains with individual heads could be mounted to the shaft.
In modern history, improvised flails were also said to been used by members of organized crime
during the Depression-era period of the United States
and other Western countries. Known as a cosh, or blackjack, they are described as being made of a sock filled with sand, or a sock containing a bar of hard soap in the toe end, that were swung against the head of the victim with great but usually non-lethal force.
Mêlée weapon
A melee weapon is any weapon that does not involve a projectile — that is, both the user and target of the weapon are in contact with it simultaneously in normal use...
derived from the agricultural tool
Flail
A flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...
.
The handle is attached to the striking part of a weapon by a flexible chain or cord. Despite being regularly depicted as a common feature of medieval European warfare, only a limited amount of historical evidence exists for their employment in Europe during this era.
A two-handed flail of agricultural origin was used as a weapon of war in Germany and Central Europe in the later Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. This weapon consists of a hinged metal bar connected to a longer shaft (see illustration, to the right).
The Japanese term for their equivalent of the ball-on-a-chain bludgeon is "rentsuru", while the Chinese version's name translates vividly into English as meteor hammer
Meteor hammer
The meteor hammer , often referred to simply as meteor, is an ancient Chinese weapon, consisting at its most basic level of two weights connected by a rope or chain. One of the flexible or 'soft' weapons, it is referred to by many different names worldwide, dependent upon region, construction and...
.
History of the military flail
Throughout the Middle-Ages, two-handed agricultural flailsFlail (agriculture)
A flail is an agricultural tool used for threshing to separate grains from their husks.It is usually made from two or more large sticks attached by a short chain; one stick is held and swung, causing the other to strike a pile of grain, loosening the husks...
were sometimes employed as an improvised weapon by peasant armies conscripted into military service or engaged in popular uprisings.
The chief tactical virtue of the flail was its capacity to get around a defender's shield, by striking against the shield's edge with the tip of the main handle. The chain, cord or hinge would then let the striking end whip around behind the shield and strike the defender a forceful blow. Its chief liability was a lack of precision and the difficulty of using it in close combat, or closely ranked formations.
Accompanying the poem Le Chevalier Délibéré, written by Olivier de la Marche
Olivier de la Marche
Olivier de la Marche was a courtier, soldier, chronicler and poet in the last decades of the independent Duchy of Burgundy. He was close to Charles the Bold, and after his death held the important position of maître d'hotel to his daughter Mary of Burgundy, and her husband, and was sent on a...
and first published in 1486, there is an anonymous woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
depicting a knight carrying a rather simple morning star
Morning star (weapon)
The term morning star is used to describe medieval club-like weapons which included one or more spikes. Each used, to varying degrees, a combination of blunt-force and puncture attack to kill or wound the enemy.- Design :...
with spikes mounted in an asymmetrical pattern—as well as a flail
Flail
A flail is an agricultural implement for threshing.Several tools operate similarly to the agricultural implement and are also called flails:...
equipped with a single spiked ball. The modified flail was also used in the German Peasants War in the early 16th century.
At a later date, the long-handled flail is found in use in India, possibly more as a symbol of status than a weapon. An example held in the Pitt Rivers Museum
Pitt Rivers Museum
The Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed through that building.The museum was...
has a wooden ball-shaped head studded with iron spikes. Another in the Royal Armouries
Royal Armouries
The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
collection has two spiked iron balls attached by separate chains.
Variations
The agricultural flail was not just used as an improvised weapon in Europe. In southeast Asia, short agricultural flails originally employed in threshing rice were adapted into weapons such as the nunchakuNunchaku
is a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:The Japanese word nunchaku is the Kun'yomi reading of the Kanji term for a traditional Chinese two section staff....
or sansetsukon
Three-section staff
The Three-Sectional Staff, Triple Staff, Three-part Staff, Sansetsukon in Japanese, or originally Sanjiegun , is a Chinese flail weapon that consists of three wooden or metal staffs connected by metal rings or rope. The weapon is also known as a "coiling dragon staff," or in Chinese as a "pan long...
n. Flails could easily be modified. Many were customized to be used with one hand by shortening the handle and chain. Multiple heads could be attached to the chain, or multiple chains with individual heads could be mounted to the shaft.
In modern history, improvised flails were also said to been used by members of organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
during the Depression-era period of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and other Western countries. Known as a cosh, or blackjack, they are described as being made of a sock filled with sand, or a sock containing a bar of hard soap in the toe end, that were swung against the head of the victim with great but usually non-lethal force.