Flail

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The Flail which is sometimes called morningstar, was very similar to the Mace in theory, that is, put a hard object with mass on the end of a stick so you could build up momentum before striking the target. In flails, separating the striking object (metal balls, spiked or not) from the haft by a chain gave flails flexibility. This flexibility increased the impact force of the strike and made parrying the attack much more difficult. While also similar in concept to a morningstar or ball and chain, the flail generally consisted of multiple chains and balls attached to a haft; thus, the flail was even more of an weapon impossible to parry against. The earliest flails were merely adaptations of agricultural tools (grain threshers, for example) but served well as weapons of war. Both cavalry and dismounted soldiers used flails; the cavalry flails were generally smaller and lighter.

History

Characteristics

The flail can be traced back to the 12th century, but its heyday as a weapon was in the 14th and 15th centuries, when uprisings and wars racked Central Europe. It wasn't a knightly weapon, but it was pretty common among the lower classes, along with morning stars, pole weapons and other "lowly" weapons. The idea behind the use of a mass weapon with a chain was probably to have the option to entangle the limbs and/or weapons of the enemy, and possibly to have the added bonus of being able to reach behind a shield. Another bonus is that the flexible construction makes the business end build up quite a lot of momentum, belying the rather short total length.