The Arsenal

The English longbow was a self bow approximately six feet in length, made from a single stave of yew wood combining the compression resistance of the heartwood with the tension strength of the sapwood. It required years of training to use effectively — the skeletons of English archers show characteristic spinal deformations from decades of drawing 100–180 pound bows. A trained archer could loose ten to twelve aimed arrows per minute at ranges up to 300 yards. At Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, massed longbow fire — thousands of arrows per minute from formations of hundreds of archers — created impenetrable walls of projectiles that armored horses and men could not survive. The weapon was a national institution: English law required all men to practice archery on Sundays.

The crossbow was the primary ranged weapon of French and allied forces, often wielded by Genoese mercenary specialists. A mechanical bow mounted on a stock, it was spanned (drawn) using a stirrup and hook or a windlass, generating enormous power with minimal user training. The steel-bow crossbows used by the Genoese at Crécy could penetrate armor at close range. However, their rate of fire — two to three bolts per minute compared to the longbow's ten — was dramatically inferior. At Crécy, when the Genoese crossbowmen advanced in wet weather with their strings affected by rain (longbow strings were kept dry under the archers' hats), they were overrun by French knights before they could effectively engage.

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries saw the development of full plate armor from the earlier mail-and-plate combinations. By 1400, a wealthy knight might wear a full harness of articulated steel plate covering every part of his body, custom fitted to allow surprisingly free movement. A full harness weighed 40–60 pounds — similar to a modern soldier's combat load — and was designed to deflect sword cuts and lance thrusts. However, it was increasingly vulnerable to longbow bodkin arrows at close range, heavy blunt weapons such as pole-axes, and the simple problem that armored men who fell in mud (as at Agincourt) could not rise without help.

The destrier was the great warhorse of medieval chivalry — a large, powerful stallion bred and trained specifically for battle. Standing 15–16 hands and weighing over 1,200 pounds, the destrier was itself protected by armor (barding) covering its head, neck, and flanks. Knight and horse together represented an enormous investment — a destrier might cost the equivalent of years of a craftsman's wages. The combination of armored horse and armored rider at speed was one of the most formidable forces on the medieval battlefield. At Crécy, however, English arrows killed horses as readily as riders, and fallen horses created impassable obstacles for subsequent charges.

The pike — a long thrusting spear of 12–21 feet — was the primary weapon for infantry holding ground against cavalry. Pikemen formed dense formations with overlapping pike heads that horses would not charge into. At Formigny and Castillon, French infantry used pikes in combination with artillery to create combined-arms formations that the English could not overcome. The shorter spear was used in individual combat and by soldiers who could not afford or carry a full pike.

The bombard was the primary siege artillery of the later Hundred Years' War — a massive, short-barreled cannon firing stone balls weighing 100–400 pounds at castle walls. Early bombards were cast in bronze or forged in iron with hoops, and were slow to reload and prone to exploding. By the 1430s–1440s, the Bureau brothers had systematized bombard production and deployment for Charles VII, creating standardized ammunition and reliable cannon that could reduce any castle in days rather than weeks. The great bombard 'Mons Meg' (c. 1449) is among the surviving examples of this class.

The culverin was a longer, lighter cannon than the bombard, designed for field use rather than siege. Jean Bureau deployed culverins at the Battle of Formigny (1450) to devastating effect: positioned on the flanks of the English defensive line, they fired iron balls into the archers' positions, forcing them to abandon their stakes and charge the guns. At Castillon (1453), Bureau's artillery camp contained approximately 300 guns of various types, including culverins that created an impenetrable wall of fire that destroyed Talbot's charging force.

The pavise was a large rectangular shield, typically 4–5 feet tall, used primarily by crossbowmen to provide cover while reloading their slow-firing weapons. Pavise shields were carried by a specialist assistant called a pavisier, who held the shield in front of the crossbowman while he spanned (drew) his bow — a process requiring both hands and taking 30–60 seconds. Crossbow companies in French armies invariably included paired crossbowmen and pavisiers working together.

The longsword — a double-edged sword of 40–48 inches with a hand-and-a-half grip — was the primary sidearm of armored men-at-arms on both sides. The arming sword (single-handed, 30–36 inches) was more common among soldiers who needed a free hand for a shield. Both were used in close combat after the arrows had done their work. At Agincourt, English men-at-arms and archers who had thrown down their bows fought in the press with swords, knives, and mallets — killing the heavily armored French knights who had fallen in the mud.

The halberd was a pole weapon combining an axe blade, a spear point, and a hook on a 5–7 foot shaft. The pole-axe was a heavier variation used specifically against heavily armored opponents — its hammer face could dent or deform armor, its spike could penetrate visors, and its hook could pull riders from horses. At Agincourt, English and French men-at-arms fought in the mud with pole-axes, and the weapon was considered the premier instrument of armored combat by the late fourteenth century.

The couched lance — held under the arm and braced against the body — was the primary weapon of armored cavalry charges throughout the war. At 10–14 feet long, the lance concentrated the momentum of horse and rider into a narrow point, capable of penetrating armor or hurling opponents from their feet. French knights at Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt led their charges with leveled lances. The weapon's effectiveness depended entirely on the cavalry reaching its target — which English longbowmen consistently prevented.

The hand cannon — an early predecessor of the arquebus and musket — appeared on European battlefields during the Hundred Years' War, particularly in its later phases. It was a simple metal tube, often mounted on a wooden stock or pole, loaded with gunpowder and a stone or iron ball and ignited with a slow match. Accuracy was poor, rate of fire extremely slow, and the weapon was liable to explode in the operator's hands. By the 1440s–1450s, hand cannons were appearing in French forces alongside conventional bows.