Middle ages; Battle and Equipment Jack Helberg 2/13/13 Period 3 Battle in the middle ages was brutal and extremely violent. The warriors in the battles were known as knights. Foot soldiers and archers accompanied the knights into battle; they also were peasants who fought for money. The long-range weapons used by archers during this time were the longbow and the crossbow. The crossbow took longer to reload than the longbow but it could pierce a knight’s thick armor better than a longbow could. The knight’s armor was made of layers of chain mail a series of metal rings all hooked together. On top of that they wore thick iron plates covering almost their entire body. The knights were mostly nobles or upper class people. When a knight went to battle, he rode on a horse and carried a sword and shield. Most knights were men and so were the other fighters. The knight’s armor was very heavy and cumbersome so once they reached their target they set up catapults and hurled rocks at the enemy castle. They also hurled decapitated heads and dead animals to spread disease. Once the siege has begun they would use scaling ladders to climb up the walls and secure the castle. These few items and apparel helped the middle ages knights and their armies win battles.