|
The Lance
The most important weapon of a knight on horse is the lance. During the late 13th century charges of knights
are performed with a couched lance under the arm, point aiming to the front. This lance was rather long, three to four meters, with a small tip.
The tip was small and sharply tapered because it was designed to pierce maille and plates of armour. The most important function of a lance
is thrusting, seated on horseback. The shaft was almost always made of ashwood and the same overall thickness.
A knight could attach a small pennon to his lance, bearing his colours. For a simple knight, these were triangular
in shape. A bannerlord, commanding about twenty other knights, had a rectangular banner.
An attack of knights with couched lances. Note the pennon and the banner.
|
|
The Pike
A much-favoured weapon by footsoldiers was the pike. It was shorter than the lance (between two and three
meters) but had a thicker shaft. The tip was quite the same though. The weapon could be used in two ways. In attack situations it serves
to keep the enemy at a "safe" distance. In defensive situations the pike can be planted in the ground to take the shock of a charge with
horses. This happened during the Battle of Courtrai.
Part of the Leugemeete fresco from Ghent, dated around 1346.
A fold of the Ghent townmilitia with a mix of pikes and goedendags
The combination of the pike with the goedendag turned to be an extremely effective defence. The Flemish
soldiers at Courtrai were lined up in a way that every man with a pike had a man with a goedendag as his neighbour. The men with the pikes
took the shock of the charge by the French knights and the men with the goedendags finished the job.
|