Morning star at the torture museum in Freiburg im Breisgau.

The terms morning star, goedendag and holy water sprinkler are used to describe medieval club-like weapons which included one or more spikes. Each used, to varying degrees, a combination of blunt-force and puncture attack to kill or wound the enemy. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (834x2014, 305 KB) Summary Summary en: Morning star at the torture museum in Freiburg im Breisgau Morgenstern im Foltermuseum in Freiburg im Breisgau Recorded by Flominator on July 22, 2005 Use of pictures approved by I. Stöcklin via e-mail... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (834x2014, 305 KB) Summary Summary en: Morning star at the torture museum in Freiburg im Breisgau Morgenstern im Foltermuseum in Freiburg im Breisgau Recorded by Flominator on July 22, 2005 Use of pictures approved by I. Stöcklin via e-mail... This article is about Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ...

Morning Star

The morning star was a medieval weapon in the form of a spiked club resembling a mace, usually with a long spike extending straight from the top in addition to a number of smaller spikes around the circumference of the head. It was used by both infantry and cavalry, and the horseman's weapon typically had a shorter shaft. The mace, a traditional knightly weapon, developed somewhat independently, becoming all metal with heads of various forms, while the morning star retained its characteristic spikes, with a shaft generally made of wood and often found in longer two-handed forms measuring up to six feet or more, popular among footmen. The morning star first came into widespread use around the beginning of the fourteenth century, and the term is often mistakenly applied to the military flail ("fléau d'armes" in French and "kriegsflegel" in German) which consists of a wooden haft joined by a length of chain to one or more iron balls or an iron shod wooden bar, in either case with or without spikes (heavy sword pommels have also been used as weights). Medieval weapons varied from simple tools to complex engines of emerging medieval warfare technology. ... A club, cudgel, truncheon, night stick, or bludgeon is among the simplest of all weapons. ... An advance on the club, a mace is a strong, heavy wooden, metal-reinforced, or metal shaft, with a head made of stone, copper, bronze, iron or steel. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. ... Soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat are commonly known as cavalry (from French cavalerie). ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that War-sword be merged into this article or section. ...

Although it is often assumed that the morning star was a crude peasant weapon, that is not entirely correct. There were three types in existence, all differing in quality of workmanship. The first was the well crafted military type used by professional soldiers, made in series by expert weaponsmiths for stocking in town arsenals. The second and much simpler type would have been hand cut by peasant militiamen, rather than turned on a lathe, from wood they had gathered themselves (for which reason forests were often known as "arsenals of God") and fitted with nails and spikes by the local blacksmith. The shaft and head were usually of one piece but sometimes reinforced at the top with an iron band. The third type was decorative in nature, usually short hafted and made of metal (one sixteenth century example being of steel and damascened with inlaid gold and silver, in the Wallace Collection of London). In a detail of Brueghels Land of Cockaigne (1567) a soft-boiled egg has little feet to rush to the luxuriating peasant who catches drops of honey on his tongue, while roast pigs roam wild: in fact, hunger and harsh winters were realities for the average European in the... Modern soldiers. ... View of the Entrance to the Arsenal, by Canaletto, 1732. ... Lexington Minuteman representing militia minuteman John Parker. ... Not to be confused with Lath, a thin piece of wood. ... A blacksmith A blacksmith at work A blacksmith at work A blacksmiths fire Hot metal work from a blacksmith A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by forging the metal; i. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Damascening is the art of inlaying different metals into one another-- typically, gold or silver into a darkly oxidized steel background-- to produce intricate patterns similar to niello. ... The Wallace Collection is a national art museum located in London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Two impressive examples of the military type are housed in the museums of Vienna, both from the sixteenth century. The first measures 2.35 m (7' 9") in length including the top spike which is 54 cm (21"). The head is a separate wooden cylinder slipped over the top of the shaft and reinforced with steel bands, with five metal spikes in symmetrical arrangement. The second example has an all steel head of complex craftsmanship with four V-shaped spikes mounted on a long shaft that measures slightly less than two meters in length. A twisted and braided steel bar joins the socket to the base of the top spike. There are also 183 surviving specimens in Graz, made in series and delivered to the arsenal in 1685. They are comparable in length to the previous examples and have three rows of spikes around the head. The wooden shafts of most morning stars of the military type are reinforced with metal langets extending down from the head. Still others can be found in the Swiss arsenals of Lucerne and Zurich. Vienna (German: , see also other names) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... The Grazer Schloßberg Clock Tower Graz [graːts] (Slovenian: Gradec IPA: /gra. ... Events February 6 - James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. ... Another view across Lake Lucerne. ... Location within Switzerland   Zürich[?] (German pronunciation IPA: ; usually spelled Zurich in English) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ...

These types of morning stars are also depicted in medieval art. For instance, one is shown being carried by an armored knight or soldier in the Caesar Tapestries in the Historical Museum of Bern, depicting Julius Caesar's battle against the Germanic leader Ariovistus. These tapestries were woven in Tournai between 1465 and 1470, and taken as plunder from Charles the Bold after one of his defeats during the Burgundian Wars against the Swiss. In the poem Le Chevalier Délibéré written by Olivier de la Marche and first published in 1486, there is an anonymous woodcut depicting a knight carrying a rather simple morning star with spikes mounted in an asymmetrical pattern as well as a flail equipped with a single spiked ball, known in German as a "kettenmorgenstern" which, despite its name, is a type of military flail. Byzantine monumental Church mosaics are a crowning glory of Medieval Art. ... Armour is protective clothing intended to defend its wearer from intentional harm in combat and military engagements, typically associated with soldiers. ... This article is about tapestry the textile. ... The Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ... Location within Switzerland The city of Bern, English traditionally Berne (Bernese German Bärn , German Bern , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland, and is the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ... Gaius Julius Caesar [1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC or 102 BC – March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in classical antiquity. ... Ariovistus was king of the germanic tribe of the Suebis, as described in Julius Caesars The Gallic Wars. ... Tournai (in Dutch: Doornik in Latin: Tornacum) is a municipality located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt (in French: Escaut, in Dutch: Schelde), in the Belgian province of Hainaut. ... Events July 13 - Battle of Montlhéry Troops of King Louis XI of France fight inconclusively against an army of the great nobles organized as the League of the Public Weal. ... Events May 15 - Charles VIII of Sweden who had served three terms as King of Sweden dies. ... Charles the Bold Charles, called the Bold (French: Charles le Téméraire) (November 10, 1433 – 1477) was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ... The Burgundy Wars were a conflict between the House of Habsburg and the Valois Dynasty, in which the Old Swiss Confederacy got involved and would play a decisive role. ... Olivier de la Marche (1425-1502) First maître dhotel of Philip the Good and close to Charles the Bold, he was the witness of the ballotage of Flanders between the kingdom of France and the dynasty of the Habsburgs starting from the end of XVe century. ... Events Tízoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan dies. ... Four horsemen of the Apocalypse by Albrecht Dürer Ukiyo-e woodcut, Ishiyama Moon by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1889) Woodcut is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface...

Goedendag

The Goedendag or Plancon was a Flemish weapon which is often described in modern sources as similar to the morning star, it was a pole arm that combined a spear with a mace. The name itself is thought to be sarcastic, as Goedendag is Dutch for "Good Day". It was used to great effect by the guildsmen of Flanders against the French during the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. It was an infantry weapon in the form of a thick wooden shaft between 4 and 6 feet in length, slightly fluted toward the top, from which emerged a stout iron spike. It is depicted in the carvings on the Courtrai Chest (located within New College, Oxford, England) being used along with the long spear of the Flemish, the geldon, against the French knights. As Kelly DeVries states in Medieval Military Technology, the spear part was used to pull the French knights from their horses and then the mace part was used to crush skulls and bones. It saw limited service, with the Flemish themselves abandoning the weapon at the beginning of the fifteenth century. Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; generally called the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; the constituent governing institution... Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; generally called the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; the constituent governing institution... Combatants Flanders France Commanders Willem van Gullik Pieter de Coninc Guy of Namur Robert II of Artois Strength 9,000 8,000 Casualties 100 est. ... Events July 11 - Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch), major victory of Flanders over the French occupier. ... College name New College of St Mary Collegium Novum Oxoniensis/Collegium Sanctae Mariae Wintoniae Named after Mary, mother of Jesus Established 1379 Sister College Kings College Warden Prof. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... A modern recreation of a mid-17th century company of pikemen. ...

Flemish troops at the Battle of the Golden Spurs. In the center are men wielding the goedendag, also known as the plancon. Detail from the Courtrai Chest.

Image File history File links Godendag. ... Image File history File links Godendag. ... Combatants Flanders France Commanders Willem van Gullik Pieter de Coninc Guy of Namur Robert II of Artois Strength 9,000 8,000 Casualties 100 est. ...

Holy Water Sprinkler

The holy water sprinkler (from its resemblance to the aspergillum used in the Catholic Mass), or goupillon in French, was a morning star popular with the English army from the sixteenth century and made in series by professional smiths. One such weapon can be found in the Royal Armouries and has an all steel head with six flanges forming three spikes each, reminiscent of a mace but with a short thick spike of square cross section extending from the top. The wooden shaft is reinforced with four langets and the overall length of the weapon is 6' 2". St. ... An aspergillum (or aspergill) is a tool used to sprinkle holy water. ... A Medieval Low Mass by a bishop. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Looking up the main stairwell of the armouries The Royal Armouries houses the British national collection of arms and armour. ... For the vacuum component, see Vacuum flange. ...

The term can also be used to describe a type of military flail. Rather than a steel ball on the end of a chain, however, it features a short iron bar covered in sharp spines. It was (according to popular legend) the favored weapon of King John of Bohemia, who was blind, and used to simply lay about himself on all sides, as one does not need to see one's opponent. It is easy enough to just "flail" until hitting something. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The steel cable of a colliery winding tower. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Standard atomic weight 55. ... John the Blind of Luxemburg (German: Johann der Blinde; Czech: Jan Lucemburský; August 10, 1296 – August 26, 1346) was King of Bohemia and Count of Luxemburg. ...

References

• Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry by Bradford Broughton (NY, Greenwood Press, 1986, ISBN 0-313-24552-5)
• Hafted Weapons in Medieval and Renaissance Europe: The Evolution of European Staff Weapons Between 1200 and 1650 by John Waldman ( Brill, 2005, ISBN 90-04-14409-9)
• Medieval Military Technology by Kelly DeVries (Broadview Press, 1998, 0-921149-74-3)