Medieval Weapons Medieval society, despite its stereotypes, was not inherently more violent than modern society. “Although there was no state in the modern sense, and therefore no set of laws that intrinsically took away from the average man or woman the power to exercise violence, the violence of the time was viewed differently, and without the intrinsic sense of criminality that accompanies you today. Our understanding of the weapons of the medieval world is distorted by the vast disarmament of “civilians” that is taken for granted today, but it is a very different situation than what existed in many parts of the “West” just seven years ago. years ago. Medieval weapons and armor are, for better or worse, generally viewed in the light of knighthood and nobility. The nobility, fighting as heavy cavalry, had exerted enormous influence on the battlefield. Despite the pressures placed on knights by the increasing use of the longbow, crossbow, pistol and pike, heavy cavalry continued to play an absolutely essential role on the battlefield. The 14th-16th centuries saw great singing of weapons and armor, not because they "evolved" per se, but because they changed to maintain their effectiveness under deferential conditions, as John Clements writes in his book Medieval Swordsmanship "after all, swords did not become sharper, stronger or above all more effective after the Middle Ages. They haven't evolved the way guns have to become more accurate, that is...