[Corey Skriletz]

Hello,

The flail is a weapon that, quite honestly, I haven't seen evidenced too much in manuscripts. Perhaps I'm just missing them all. I had always thought that the flail was weapon that was used in the later middle ages, and existed solely as an agricultural tool in the earlier middle ages. While browsing through the Melisende Psalter (dated to around 1139), however, I stumbled upon this plate:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullets4brains/9511043299/

In the upper-right-hand corner of the mob, is that not a flail. Am I misidentifying it, or is it common-knowledge that flails existed in the 12th century and I'm just some kid of schmuck? It appears that this flail doesn't have any spikes or other protrusions, and I believe it might be mounted on a long haft. Any thoughts?

[Tyler Jordan]

Pretty undoubtedly a flail, though whether military or agricultural in origin is much less clear. The long pole suggests a simple peasant threshing flail to me.

[Mart Shearer]

The link to the folio at the British Library;
http://molcat1.bl.uk/IllImages/Kslides/big/K004/K004821.jpg

[Corey Skriletz]

Wouldn't a threshing flail be more like another stick rather than a ball and chain? That way it could hit a greater amount of the wheat sheave.

[Craig Peters]

I know the Melisende Psalter is conventionally dated to the 12th century; however, a number of the weapons do not look really consistent with that time period. I have never seen a military flail before at such an early date. There's another instrument, the third from the left, which looks like an early form of poleaxe. It could be that it is just some sort of pick, and therefore a tool. Certainly, if it is a weapon, it seems to be an anachronism. The axe especially looks out of place, although I do not know what sort of axes were in use in the Middle East at this time. All in all, however, I have my doubts that this image is from the 12th century.

I'm not trying to say that the entire manuscript's dating is wrong based upon some weapons. That would be highly presumptuous, to say the least. I do wonder, however, if it could be that parts of the manuscript were produced at an earlier time, and parts later. There are certainly examples of other illustrated manuscripts which contain images from one century and then other images which date from a later period.

[Mart Shearer]

It is a uniform work produced at the same time. The carved ivory cover with gems usually gets all the attention.
http://manuscriptminiatures.com/search/?manuscript=4095

http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanusc...Start=1139

[Bartek Strojek]

Very interesting!

Flails were pretty commonly used in Rus, most certainly originating from the Steppe.

Those were one handed weapons though, and not quite akin to those later, 15th, 16th century ones. The head was usually connected to the stick with a rope, leather strap, or whatever.

This psalter depicts Jesus Christ in Getsemane, of course, so it's very possible, if not certain, that those characters are carrying purposely weird, alien, 'pagan' weapons. Maybe out right fantastic in some cases.

At least alien to the author of the picture, and they obviously had no easy Internet access.

[Corey Skriletz]

Here were my thoughts:

1) The thought of it being pieced together from manuscripts dating from different centuries did occur, however, all the art seems pretty uniform and the art styles themselves seem similar to other pieces from the 12th century. Understand that I haven't really studied later manuscripts the way I have 12th and early 13th century pieces, but the few that I have seen seem to possess a very different art-style.

2) I do believe this is meant to be a military weapon in itself, and not an agricultural version of the flail pressed into service. Now I've never threshed wheat, but a ball-and-chain seem very ineffective when compared to two sticks chained together. The stick that's being swung would cover a lot more of the wheat when it struck, thus it would separate more of the grain. I feel like a steel ball would just tear right through the pile. Here is an example of a agricultural flail from about 1270:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battage_%C3%A0_Fl%C3%A9au.jpg

3) I think that's just a pick and not a early form of pole-ax or warhammer. Although if it is a warhammer, and this plate is from the 12th century, that could well be evidence for the early existence of that weapon as well. But that's a discussion for another thread.

4) The concept of it being a weird or alien weapon could be exactly the case, especially with lack of evidence of anything like it in any other manuscripts. As I understand it, this manuscript was commissioned in the Middle East. Perhaps Crusaders reported to the illustrators some sort of odd weapon that they saw the Saracens using.

5) What's starting to seem curiouser, and curiouser, is the construction of the mace. Are all these weapons on long three-foot+ shafts? Or is this just a one-handed item? Is the ball on the end of the chain, a steel ball, or a led weight, like this one?
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=...tary+Flail
And what about the chain? How was a chain made in the middle ages? Was forge welding involved? And if that's the case, were all chains flattened and the connecting point? Were they riveted together? Or were chain ends just left butted? The latter of those three choices seems to be rather dangerous for the user of the weapon.

[Mart Shearer]

[Corey Skriletz]

Fascinating. There at the end appears to be a double-headed flail (interestingly enough, each head is attached to different parts of the shaft) and the heads appear to be connected by rope, or leather straps, as was mentioned by Mr. Strojek.


The image before that one seems to depict the war sickle and war fork (although that could just be a civilian fork pressed into service). And those appear to be double-bitted axe heads on the last image, which I wasn't sure existed in the middle ages, much less the 11th century.

These are great images. Thanks for posting, Mr. Shearer.

[Ron Reimer]

Note also, the Uffizi Betrayal of Christ has a Bill with an "L" shaped spike on the back of the blade.

[Corey Skriletz]

I noticed that as well. Whenever I thought of an early bill, I imagined simply a billhook on a shaft, without a spike of any sort.

Very interesting.

[Gabriele A. Pini]

The war fork is clearly in metal, like the others weapons. I would think that a farming one would have been totally in wood, no?

[Craig Peters]

[Corey Skriletz]

I think he's talking about the pitch fork. While I have seen several all-wood pitchforks in manuscripts, I have also seen metal-headed forks used in a civilian capacity. See here, in this manuscript dating from the time of King Henry I of England, or shortly after his reign. The three panels represent the three classes of British society (the peasantry, the knights, and the church) who could easily turn on Henry if he did not serve them well. The peasants on top are armed with a scythe, a spade, and a metal-headed pitch fork.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Worcester.dream.jpg