Weapons In The Renaissance Era

The Renaissance era gave birth to many well made and useful weapons. The most important and manageable of these weapons are the sword, bows and crossbows, and axes. These weapons each have differ- ent uses and styles making them convenient for many tasks.
Swords are normally depicted as only a knightly weapon, but were also used by commoners for many a duel. Of course they were mostly a knights weapons as they used them in battle for "hewing, slicing, and stabbing" (Renaissance Weapons). Some of the later types of the sword were shaped like big meat cleavers making them useful to butchers.
Since swords could be used for many different reasons, there are many different types of swords. The most popular swords are the Arming Sword and the Falchion.
Most were based loosely on the ballista, a large siege weapon. A crossbow could be loaded for hours, and was able to be ready at all times, keeping the crossbowman from be- ing taken by surprise. The disadvantage, of course, was that it took quite a while to reload." (Medieval Weapons)
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Unlike the bows and crossbows that were long distance weapons, axes of the Renaissance were the favored weapon of men-at-arms fight- ing on foot. Axes had a heavy crescent shape head mounted on a haft 4ft- 6ft. In the 13th century the weapon had a larger head with a broader blade, while another development later on extended the forward part of the crescent. The basic long axe then gained a spike on the back with the ability to pierce armor and in the next century it evolved into the pollaxe.
There were many different types of axes made along the centuries. Some of these are the halberds, Danish axes, sparths, bardiches, and pol- laxes. "The halberd is still used as a ceremonial weapon today. The Dan- ish axe was a viking weapon at first but was adopted by the Anglo-Saxons and Normans in the 11th century, spreading though Europe in the 12th and 13th century "The Evolution of