See also
- Armour
Although the word armour refers to protective gear rather than weapons, the word armoury refers to an arsenal, a storehouse of weapons or a weapons workshop.
» more - Cavalry
The rise and fall of the Mounted warrior throughout military history, from ancient civilisations right up until World War I, the use of the horse conferred a powerful advantage in battle.
» more - Blades, Swords & Spears
The word fencing describes any form of armed combat involving cutting, stabbing or bludgeoning weapons.
» more - Guns & Firearms
The weapons that changed the face of battle. More dramatically than any other weapon before it, the technology of the gun radically altered the face of military confrontation.
» more
Bows & Arrows
The story of archery
Elegant, simple and perhaps the most sophisticated of the early projectile weapons, the bow and arrow take various forms in ancient cultures as diverse as Egypt, Japan, Africa and Europe. It most likely began as a hunting tool, and only later became an implement of war.
Although the operating principle is simple, it requires hundreds of kilograms of force to bend a bow, and years of long training to achieve accuracy of aim.
Early bows were of two basic kinds – wooden and composite. A simple wooden bow would have been cut and shaped from a single piece of wood. The short bow and the longbow were made in this fashion.
Indian re-curved composite bow with painted decoration. 19th century.