Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The History of Weaponry - Medieval Europe (part four) - #TidbitThursday #WeaponHistory

Howdy!

Welcome to Historical Tidbit Thursdays. For the next few weeks, we'll follow the timeline presented in the book, "A History of Weaponry" by John O'Bryan. This week we'll continue to look at some of the weapons created during Europe's Medieval Period (1300 - 1500 AD).


Shillelagh - (1300's) Irish knobby wooden stick


Claymore - (1400's) Scottish two-handed sword; handle usually had spiral leather wrappings for grip


Bombard - (1300's/1400's) By 1453 gunpowder becomes predominant in European warfare and completely changes the game.


Matchlock Arquebus - (1400's) these heavy, cumbersome guns were fired by touching a match to a hole; fired one shot at a time so they were slow to reload; inaccurate; could pierce armor at a few yards

Source:
A History of Weaponry by John O'Bryan; ISBN#978-1-4521-1054-7


Photo Credit: Shillelagh - https://www.medievalcollectibles.com%2Fp-41150-blackthorn-shillelagh-fighting-stick.aspx&psig=AOvVaw0NsPy14LznsbvymPdC2ToC&ust=1535035012549614
Photo Credit: Claymore - http://www.replicaweaponry.com%2Fmedieval-claymore-replica-sword-letter-opener-denix.html&psig=AOvVaw3RFC4h5TBA_YgbE9wMeqRg&ust=1535035053794976
Photo Credit: Bombard - http://www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-weapons/gun-powder-weapons/medieval-gunpowder-weapons-medieval-bombard-canon-2/
Photo Credit: Matchlock - http://www.revolutionarywarjournal.com%2Fmatchlocks-flintlocks-firelocks-that-tamed-a-new-world-claimed-an-american-revolution%2F&psig=AOvVaw3V4PpkvS5dyLVjwDJ0dFKs&ust=1535035163423764

Western Word of the Week - Punching - #WesternWordoftheWeek #WesternWednesdays

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...or, as I affectionately call it, Western Wednesdays!

Punching - the term for herding cattle

Originally, "cowpuncher" who a man hired specifically to chaperone a shipment of cattle. Eventually "cowpuncher" was shortened to "puncher". They didn't actually punch a cow but they did prod it to keep it moving. The device they used was a "prod-pole".

Source:
Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams; ISBN#0-618-08349-9

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The History of Weaponry - Medieval Europe (part three) - #TidbitThursday #WeaponHistory

Howdy!

Welcome to Historical Tidbit Thursdays. For the next few weeks, we'll follow the timeline presented in the book, "A History of Weaponry" by John O'Bryan. This week we'll continue to look at some of the weapons created during Europe's Medieval Period (1300 - 1500 AD).

 
English Longbow - a large bow made from flexible wood (like yew, ash, elm). These bows took four years to craft. Training to use these powerful bows started when a boy was 7 years old and proceeded for 10 years. Once trained, the man could pull the string with a draw weight of over 150 pounds (image the arm muscles) and could shoot 12 rounds per minute.


Bodkin-Tipped Arrow - these deadly-looking arrowheads were added to the longbow's arrows and could pierce armor


Mancatcher or Man Catcher - a giant metal claw device with spikes inside to slip around a victim's neck

Source:
A History of Weaponry by John O'Bryan; ISBN#978-1-4521-1054-7


Photo Credit: Longbow and Longbows man - http://www.historyforkids.net/medieval-longbow.html
Photo Credit: Mancatcher - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_catcher
Photo Credit: Bodkin Arrowhead - https://www.medievalarchery.com/p-20870-long-bodkin-point-arrowhead.aspx

Western Word of the Week - Bull Nurses - #WesternWordoftheWeek #WesternWednesdays

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...or, as I affectionately call it, Western Wednesdays!

Bull Nurses - a humorous term for cowboys who accompanied a shipment of cows

Source:
Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams; ISBN#0-618-08349-9

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The History of Weaponry - Medieval Europe (part two) - #TidbitThursday #WeaponHistory

Howdy!

Welcome to Historical Tidbit Thursdays. For the next few weeks, we'll follow the timeline presented in the book, "A History of Weaponry" by John O'Bryan. This week we'll continue to look at some of the weapons created during Europe's Medieval Period (1300 - 1500 AD).


Maul - French peasants and English archers carried these heavy sledgehammers around (tools they would have already owned)


Sword Breaker - a vicious-looking parrying dagger with deep teeth in back of blade; usually with crossguards and quillons to protect the user's hand; the wielder could break the enemy's sword or at the very least trap and pull it out of their hand.



Main Gauche - a parrying dagger that was used in addition to the thin-bladed rapier

Trident Dagger - a dagger that had two or more additional small blades poking out of the hilt for added damage points

Source:
A History of Weaponry by John O'Bryan; ISBN#978-1-4521-1054-7


Photo Credit: Maul - https://www.dragonsfoot.org%2Fforums%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ft%3D60831%26p%3D1392504&psig=AOvVaw0VAYP8xMObAOvYnT0D_5xh&ust=1535033656473469
Photo Credit: Sword Breaker - https://www.bytheswordinc.com/p-11561-the-knights-swordbreaker-dagger.aspx
Photo Credit: Halberd - https://www.battlemerchant.com/Lances-Spears/Halberd-Marto::59893.html?MODsid1=d06b983cb4cb50d4934b7b55d728c08b

Western Word of the Week - Buggy Boss - #WesternWordoftheWeek #WesternWednesdays

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...or, as I affectionately call it, Western Wednesdays!

Buggy Boss - an Eastern owner of a ranch who rode around in a buggy or wagon on his inspection tour of his outfit because he didn't ride horseback well. (I can imagine they didn't visit often.)

Source:
Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams; ISBN#0-618-08349-9

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The History of Weaponry - Medieval Europe - #TidbitThursday #WeaponHistory

Howdy!

Welcome to Historical Tidbit Thursdays. For the next few weeks, we'll follow the timeline presented in the book, "A History of Weaponry" by John O'Bryan. Last week we viewed weapons from the Dark Ages (400 - 1300 CE).. This week we'll look at some of the weapons created during Europe's Medieval Period (1300 - 1500 AD).


Morning Star - (1300's) German or Flemish spked mace that could penetrate the rings/links of chain mail (shirt of armor).


Buckler Shield - (1200 - 1600) a small round shield held in the hand, with or without spikes


Estoc - (1300's) French slender, thin bladed sword that could squeeze through armor to do damage. (Known as a Tuck in England).


Flail - iron-studded ball on a chain (sometimes multiple balls); impractical and difficult to control but menacing


War Hammer - over two foot long claw or pick hammer; longer version is known as a bec-de-corbin ("crow's beak")

Source:
A History of Weaponry by John O'Bryan; ISBN#978-1-4521-1054-7


Photo Credit: Morning Star Maces - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_star_(weapon)
Photo Credit: Estoc - https://myarmoury.com/review_mrl_estoc.html
Photo Credit: Buckler - https://www.medieval-shop.co.uk/battle-ready-shields-/5165-buckler-to-fight-32-cms.html
Photo Credit: War Hammer - https://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-22632-14th-century-italian-war-hammer.aspx
Photo Credit: Flail - https://www.english-heritageshop.org.uk/collectables/twin-ball-flail

Western Word of the Week - Straw Boss - #WesternWordoftheWeek #WesternWednesdays

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...or, as I affectionately call it, Western Wednesdays!

Straw Boss - slang term for the foreman of a ranch or outfit; he was basically the manager over the cowboys and laborers who reported to the owner/owners.

Other terms include "top screw", "cock-a-doodle-doo", or "range boss".

Interestingly, the term "foreman" was rarely used.

Source:
Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams; ISBN#0-618-08349-9