Poll: Get medieval on this poll.

[Vern]

Spears/pikes/halberds. Especially the halberd. It let's you stay far enough away from the enemy to avoid swords, maces, axes, and yet you have both the hacking ability of an axe, and you can penetrate armor with the spike. You can also use it to deflect blows, and hell, if they cut it in half you still have a spear/axe hybrid. The only disadvantage would be the loss of a shield, but I suppose one could have a shield strapped on their forearm.

 

[Motti]

It's not here, but I would pick a poleaxe.
It's essentially a halebard with a hammer on one end. You could get through platemail by brute force and just shear through lighter stuff with one.

 

[AvsJoe]

Knives, man. I'm the knife guy. A pair of circular blades with a couple of daggers here and there and I'm all set for combat.

Hwatcha.

Wasn't invented yet in 1257, but looked awesome when they built one on Mythbusters.

Was that the thing that shot the flaming exploding arrows? 'Cause that thing was awesome!

The very same. Put "hwacha" into YouTube and see it in all its glory.

Yeah, I saw that episode. Shame they missed the army but that weapon was bad-ass!

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Hmm. Gonna go with the distance weapons, and the ones that can lob things the size of houses into other things larger than houses.

 

[owyndevaldeck]

Crossbows were the most efficient killing devices of the era.

most likely to kill, or atleast wound. hardly efficient. sides, trained longbow was more effective. Longbow all the way

 

[johnzaku]

I'd go with a halberd. Great for sweeping at enemy troops and groups. Also capeable of dismounting a horseman and breaking most shields and armour. Heavy for clubbin' sharp for cuttin'. My kinda weapon.

 

[CounterAttack]

Break out the longbow. An arrow from one of those, straight to the heart. Or head or anywhere else that hurts. You're dead. Fast, effective and simple.

 

[RavingPenguin]

Grant me a dirk and a dagger along with a set of dark leather armor and I'll be all set. Seriously, I can hide in plain site in broad daylight and not be found. I was so good at hide and seek that once I had an 8 person search party come look for me, and they still couldnt find me until I revealed myself.

 

[Smudge91]

bows are just plain awesome, and it feels very satisfying because it really feels like your doing it, unlike the crossbow and all its mechanisms.

so ill go with bows.

agreed.
Bows can do some nifty damage at a long range distance. I vote for bows too aslong as its an english long bow then i'm happy

 

[FROGGEman2]

Sword, grace and speed are better than brute force. My biggest thread would be anything with a chain link, it will snap the blade.

You have a horrible misconception of swords.

Swords are brute force, and are terribly slow.

That's why rapiers were invented.

...And swords are to thick to "snap".

 

[Acaroid]

Scenario: It's 1257. You've just been selected to be part of a medieval mercenary army. No sorcery, magic, or JRPG shit, just hacking/clubbing people to death for king and glory. Choose your weapon, and post your reasons for the choice in the thread as we determine the greatest medieval weapons in a lively debate.

And if you have to ask "why 1257", I pity you as I play last year's most awesome game (no, not Fallout 3.)

I <3 trebuchets XD

and...maybe a long bow because by law we had to carry one (the law 'Assize of Arms' came in just 5 years ago ie 1252)

 

[RidleyValiant]

Quaterstaff .. Though thats not an option so dual swords.

 

[Custard_Angel]

Crossbow up in this house.

No real skills needed, just some manual strength to lift the thing and wind it up.

 

[US Crash Fire]

AXES!
mostly cause im a firefighter and therefore the only thing from this list im trained on how to use, sorta....(just pretend person is roof and hack away right?)

 

[Twilight_guy]

The bow: sniper rifle of the 11 century. Actually I just want a weapon that puts some distance between me and the enemy. If they get close, I'm in trouble though (unless I manage to shaft him a-la the sniper).

 

[Knight Templar]

Sword, grace and speed are better than brute force. My biggest thread would be anything with a chain link, it will snap the blade.

You have a horrible misconception of swords.

Swords are brute force, and are terribly slow.

That's why rapiers were invented.

...And swords are to thick to "snap".

Rapier? You mean the sword type right? I wasn't thinking two-handed boradswords (in fact I was thinking Rapier), clearly you are.

Compaired to to other weapons on this list a sword is the swiftist thing in the world. Also a flail will snap a sword, can you provide any proof that they will not? Right now I've got history books/doco's and basic logic making me think as I do, what is making you think as you do?

EDIT:

Sword, grace and speed are better than brute force. My biggest thread would be anything with a chain link, it will snap the blade.

The European swords were made of iron, and as such were largely blunt, requiring massive brute force.

I guess I vote mace. If I had training a bow.

Again I was thinking more along the lines of a Rapier than a Boradsword. I guess I should have been more exact, "sword" is a bit generic.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Probably the Longbow. Because they gained quite an evil reputation under the use of English Longbowmen.

Crossbows have a nastier reputation. The Pope tried outlaw them because of their sheer lethality.

I'd heard that the French knights of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance always killed crossbowmen. None of this prisoner stuff for you, you murdering bastard.

Can't you cock a crossbow and then sort of fire it while you are moving because you don't have to maintain the stance? Ancestor of the run-and-gun. Reloadings's a shitter though.

 

[Spacelord]

I'd say some sort of polearm, since you can keep people at a distance and you don't need much formal training (training which I sorely lack) to be reasonably proficient with it.

Though if given the choice, my money's on Boots of Escaping.

 

[Schizzy]

I ticked maces, but I really meant warhammers. It'll go through any armour of the age. Plus, it'll likely break the arms of shieldbearers. Of course, I'd have to be careful about balance