Edged weapons of ancient Rus'.

Slavic warrior 6-7 centuries

Information about the earliest types of weapons of the ancient Slavs comes from two groups of sources. The first is written evidence mainly from late Roman and Byzantine authors who knew well these barbarians who often attacked the Eastern Roman Empire. The second is materials from archaeological excavations, which generally confirm the data of Menander, John of Ephesus and others. To later sources covering the state of military affairs and, including, the weapons of the era Kievan Rus, and then the Russian principalities of the pre-Mongol period, in addition to archaeological ones, there are reports of Arab authors, and then the Russian chronicles themselves and the historical chronicles of our neighbors. Valuable sources for this period are also visual materials: miniatures, frescoes, icons, small sculptures, etc.

Byzantine authors repeatedly testified that the Slavs of the 5th – 7th centuries. had no defensive weapons except shields (the presence of which among the Slavs was noted by Tacitus in the 2nd century AD) (1). Their offensive weapons were extremely simple: a pair of darts (2). It can also be assumed that many, if not all, had bows, which are mentioned much less frequently. There is no doubt that the Slavs also had axes, but they are not mentioned as weapons.

This is fully confirmed by the results of archaeological studies of the territory where the Eastern Slavs settled at the time of the formation of Kievan Rus. In addition to the ubiquitous arrowheads and throwing arrows, less often spears, only two cases are known when in the layers of the 7th - 8th centuries. more advanced weapons were found: armor plates from excavations of the Khotomel military settlement in Belarusian Polesie and fragments of a broadsword from the Martynovsky treasure in Porosye. In both cases, these are elements of the Avar weapons complex, which is natural, because in the previous period it was the Avars who had the greatest influence on the Eastern Slavs.

In the second half of the 9th century., the activation of the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” led to an increase in Scandinavian influence on the Slavs, including in the field of military affairs. As a result of its merger with the steppe influence, on the local Slavic soil in the middle Dnieper region, its own original ancient Russian weapons complex began to take shape, rich and universal, more diverse than in the West or East. Absorbing Byzantine elements, it was mainly formed by the beginning of the 11th century. (3)

Viking swords

The defensive weapons of a noble warrior from the time of the first Rurikovichs included a simple shield (Norman type), a helmet (often Asian, pointed), and a plate or ringed armor. The main weapons were a sword (much less often a saber), a spear, a battle axe, a bow and arrows. Flails and darts - sulitsa - were used as additional weapons.

The warrior's body was protected chain mail, which looked like a mid-thigh length shirt made of metal rings, or armor made of horizontal rows of metal plates tied together with straps. Making chain mail required a lot of time and physical effort. First, wire was made by hand drawing, which was wrapped around a metal rod and cut. One piece of chain mail required about 600 m of wire. Half of the rings were welded, and the ends of the rest were flattened. Holes less than a millimeter in diameter were punched at the flattened ends and riveted, having previously connected this ring with four other already woven rings. The weight of one chain mail was approximately 6.5 kg.

Until relatively recently, it was believed that it took several months to make ordinary chain mail, but recent research has refuted these speculative theories. Making a typical small chain mail of 20 thousand rings in the 10th century. took “only” 200 man-hours, i.e. one workshop could “deliver” up to 15 or more pieces of armor in a month. (4) After assembly, the chain mail was cleaned and polished with sand until it was shiny.

In Western Europe, canvas cloaks with short sleeves were worn over armor to protect from dust and overheating in the sun. This rule was often followed in Rus' (as evidenced by the miniatures of the Radziwill Chronicle of the 15th century). However, the Russians sometimes liked to appear on the battlefield in open armor, “as if in ice,” for greater effect. Such cases are specifically mentioned by the chroniclers: “And it’s scary to see someone in bare armor, like water to the sun shining brightly.” Especially shining example quotes the Swedish “Chronicle of Eric,” although it goes beyond the scope of our study (XIV century): “When the Russians came there, they could see a lot of light armor, their helmets and swords shone; I believe that they went on a campaign in the Russian way.” And further: “...they shone like the sun, their weapons were so beautiful in appearance...” (5).

It has long been believed that chain mail in Rus' appeared from Asia, supposedly even two centuries earlier than in Western Europe (6), but now the opinion has become established that this type of protective weapon is an invention of the Celts, known here since the 4th century. BC, used by the Romans and by the middle of the first millennium AD. reached Western Asia (7). Actually, the production of chain mail arose in Rus' no later than the 10th century (8)

From the end of the 12th century. the appearance of the chain mail has changed. Armor with long sleeves, knee-length hem, chain mail stockings, gauntlets and hoods appeared. They were no longer made from round cross-sections, but from flat rings. The collar was made square, split, with a shallow cutout. In total, one chain mail now required up to 25 thousand rings, and by the end of the 13th century - up to 30 of different diameters (9).

Unlike Western Europe in Rus', where the influence of the East was felt, at that time there was a different system of defensive weapons - lamellar or “plank armor”, called by experts lamellar armor. Such armor consisted of metal plates connected to each other and pushed over each other. The most ancient “armors” were made of rectangular convex metal plates with holes along the edges, into which straps were threaded, tightening the plates together. Later, the plates were made in various shapes: square, semicircular, etc., up to 2 mm thick. Early belt-mounted armor was worn over a thick leather or quilted jacket or, according to Khazar-Magyar custom, over chain mail. In the XIV century. the archaic term “armor” was replaced by the word “armor”, and in the 15th century a new term appeared, borrowed from the Greek language, “shell”.

The lamellar shell weighed slightly more than ordinary chain mail - up to 10 kg. According to some researchers, the cut of Russian armor from the times of Kievan Rus differed from the steppe prototypes, which consisted of two cuirasses - chest and back, and was similar to Byzantine (cut on the right shoulder and side) (10). According to the tradition going through Byzantium from ancient Rome, the shoulders and hem of such armor were decorated with leather strips covered with inlaid plaques, which is confirmed by works of art (icons, frescoes, miniatures, stone items).

Byzantine influence manifested itself in the borrowing of scale armor. The plates of such armor were attached to a fabric or leather base with their upper part and overlapped the row below, like tiles or scales. On the sides, the plates of each row overlapped one another, and in the middle they were still riveted to the base. Most of these shells found by archaeologists date back to the 13th – 14th centuries, but they have been known since the 11th century. They were hip-length; the hem and sleeves were made from longer plates. Compared to the plate lamellar shell, the scaly one was more elastic and flexible. Convex scales attached only on one side. They gave the warrior greater mobility.

Chain mail dominated quantitatively throughout the early Middle Ages, but in the 13th century it began to be replaced by plate and scale armor. During the same period, combined armor appeared that combined both of these types.

The characteristic spheroconic pointed helmets did not immediately gain dominance in Rus'. Early protective headdresses differed significantly from each other, which was a consequence of the penetration of different influences into the East Slavic lands. Thus, in the Gnezdovo burial mounds in the Smolensk region, of the two helmets found in the 9th century. one turned out to be hemispherical, consisting of two halves, connected by stripes along the lower edge and along the ridge from the forehead to the back of the head, the second was typically Asian, consisting of four triangular parts with a pommel, a lower rim and four vertical stripes covering the connecting seams. The second had brow cutouts and a nosepiece, and was decorated with gilding and a pattern of teeth and notches along the rim and stripes. Both helmets had chain mail aventails - nets that covered the lower part of the face and neck. Two helmets from Chernigov, dating back to the 10th century, are close in manufacturing method and decoration to the second Gnezdov helmet. They are also of the Asiatic, pointed type and are topped with finials with sleeves for plumes. In the middle part of these helmets there are rhombic linings with protruding spikes. These helmets are believed to be of Magyar origin (11).

The northern, Varangian influence was manifested in the Kyiv discovery of a fragment of a half-mask-mask - a typically Scandinavian part of a helmet.

Since the 11th century, a unique type of sphero-conical helmet, smoothly curved upward, ending in a rod, has developed and become established in Rus'. Its indispensable element was a fixed “nose”. And often a half mask with decorative elements combined with it. From the 12th century helmets were usually forged from a single sheet of iron. Then a separately made half mask was riveted to it, and later - a mask - a mask that completely covered the face, which is generally believed to be of Asian origin. Such masks became especially widespread from the beginning of the 13th century, in connection with the pan-European tendency to make protective weapons heavier. The face mask with slits for the eyes and holes for breathing was capable of protecting against both slashing and piercing blows. Since it was attached motionlessly, the warriors had to take off their helmet to be recognized. From the 13th century known helmets with visors on a hinge, folding upward, like a visor.

Somewhat later, a high spheroconic helmet appeared with a domed one. There were also helmets of a unique shape - with brims and a cylindrical-conical top (known from miniatures). Under all types of helmets it was necessary to wear a balaclava - “prilbitsa”. These round and apparently low hats were often made with a fur trim. The chain mail aventail, attached to the edges of the helmet and half mask, could reach the size of a cape covering the shoulders and upper chest.

As mentioned above, shields have been an integral part of Slavic weapons since ancient times. Initially, they were woven from wicker rods and covered with leather, like all the barbarians of Europe. Later, during the time of Kievan Rus, they began to be made from boards. The height of the shields was close to the height of a person, and the Greeks considered them “difficult to carry.” Round shields of the Scandinavian type, up to 90 cm in diameter, also existed in Rus' during this period. In the center of both, a round cut was made with a handle, covered from the outside with a convex umbon. The edge of the shield was necessarily bound with metal. Often its outer side was covered with skin. XI century teardrop-shaped (otherwise known as “almond-shaped”) of the pan-European type, widely known from various images, have spread. At the same time, round funnel-shaped shields also appeared, but flat round shields continued to be found. By the 13th century, when the protective properties of the helmet increased, the upper edge of the teardrop-shaped shield straightened, since there was no longer a need to protect the face with it. The shield becomes triangular, with a deflection in the middle, which made it possible to press it tightly to the body. At the same time, trapezoidal and quadrangular shields also existed. At that time there were also round ones, of the Asian type, with a lining on the back side, fastened to the arm with two belt “columns”. This type most likely existed among the service nomads of the southern Kiev region and along the entire steppe border.

It is known that shields of different shapes existed for a long time and were used simultaneously ( The best illustration of this situation is the famous icon “The Church Militant"). The shape of the shield mainly depended on the tastes and habits of the owner.

The main part of the outer surface of the shield, between the umbo and the bound edge, the so-called “crown,” was called the border and was painted to the owner’s taste, but throughout the use of shields in the Russian army, preference was given to various shades of red. In addition to the monochromatic coloring, it can also be assumed that the shields will contain images of a heraldic nature. So on the wall of the St. George Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky, on the shield of St. George, a predator of the cat family is depicted - a maneless lion, or rather a tiger - the “fierce beast” of Monomakh’s “Teachings”, apparently, which became the state emblem of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality.

Swords of the 9th-12th centuries from Ust-Rybezhka and Ruchiev.

“The sword is the main weapon of a professional warrior throughout the pre-Mongol period of Russian history,” the outstanding Russian archaeologist A.V. wrote at one time. Artsikhovsky. “In the early Middle Ages, the shape of swords in Rus' and Western Europe was approximately the same” (12).

After clearing hundreds of blades dating back to the period of formation of Kievan Rus, stored in museums different countries Europe, including the former USSR, it turned out that the vast majority of them were produced in several centers located on the Upper Rhine, within the Frankish state. This explains their similarity.

Swords forged in the 9th – 11th centuries, originating from the ancient Roman long cavalry sword - spatha, had a wide and heavy blade, although not too long - about 90 cm, with parallel blades and a wide fuller (groove). Sometimes there are swords with a rounded end, indicating that this weapon was originally used exclusively as a chopping weapon, although from the chronicles there are examples of stabbing blows already at the end of the 10th century, when two Varangians, with the knowledge of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, met a brother walking towards him at the door - the overthrown Yaropolk, pierced him “under the sinuses” (13).

With an abundance of Latin marks (as a rule, these are abbreviations, for example, INND - In Nomine Domini, In Nomine Dei - In the name of the Lord, In the name of God), a considerable percentage of blades do not have marks or cannot be identified. At the same time, only one Russian mark was found: “Lyudosha (Lyudota?) Farrier.” One Slavic mark made in Latin letters is also known - “Zvenislav”, probably of Polish origin. There is no doubt that local production of swords already existed in Kievan Rus in the 10th century, but perhaps local blacksmiths branded their products less often?

Sheaths and hilts for imported blades were made locally. Just as massive as the blade of the Frankish sword was its short, thick guard. The hilt of these swords has a flattened mushroom shape. The actual handle of the sword was made of wood, horn, bone or leather, and the outside was often wrapped with twisted bronze or silver wire. It seems that the differences in the styles of decorative design of the details of the handles and scabbards actually have much less significance than some researchers think, and there is no basis for inferring from this the percentage of a particular nationality in the squad. One and the same master could master both different technical techniques and different styles and decorated the weapon in accordance with the wishes of the customer, and it could simply depend on fashion. The scabbard was made of wood and covered with expensive leather or velvet, and decorated with gold, silver or bronze overlays. The tip of the scabbard was often decorated with some intricate symbolic figure.

Swords of the 9th-11th centuries, as in ancient times, continued to be worn on a shoulder belt, raised quite high, so that the hilt was above the waist. From the 12th century, the sword, as elsewhere in Europe, began to be worn on a knight's belt, on the hips, suspended by two rings at the mouth of the scabbard.

During the XI - XII centuries. the sword gradually changed its shape. Its blade lengthened, sharpened, thinned, the crosspiece - the guard - stretched out, the hilt first took on the shape of a ball, then, in the 13th century, a flattened circle. By that time, the sword had turned into a cutting-and-piercing weapon. At the same time, there was a tendency to make it heavier. “One and a half” samples appeared, for working with two hands.

Speaking about the fact that the sword was a weapon of a professional warrior, it should be remembered that it was such only in the early Middle Ages, although exceptions for merchants and the old tribal nobility existed even then. Later, in the 12th century. the sword also appears in the hands of the townspeople's militia. At the same time, in the early period, before the start of mass, serial production of weapons, not every warrior owned a sword. In the 9th - first half of the 11th centuries, only a person who belonged to the highest stratum of society - the senior squad - had the right (and opportunity) to possess precious, noble weapons. In the younger squad, judging by the materials of excavations of squad burials, back in the 11th century. only wielded swords officials. These were the commanders of detachments of junior warriors - “youths”, in peacetime they performed police, judicial, customs and other functions and bore the characteristic name - “swordsmen” (14).

In the southern regions of Ancient Rus', from the second half of the 10th century, the saber, borrowed from the arsenal of nomads, became widespread. In the north, in the Novgorod land, the saber came into use much later - in the 13th century. It consisted of a strip - the blade and a "roof" - the handle. The blade had a blade, two sides - “holomeni” and “rear”. The handle was assembled from a “flint” - a guard, a handle and a knob - a hilt, into which a cord - a lanyard - was threaded through a small hole. The ancient saber was massive, slightly curved, so much so that the rider could use it, like a sword, to stab someone lying on a sleigh, which is mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. The saber was used in parallel with the sword in the areas bordering the Steppe. To the north and west, heavy armor was common, against which the saber was not suitable. To fight the light cavalry of the nomads, the saber was preferable. The author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” noted a characteristic feature of the weapons of the inhabitants of the steppe Kursk: “they... have sharp sabers...” (15). From the 11th to the 13th centuries, the saber in the hands of Russian soldiers is mentioned in chronicles only three times, and the sword – 52 times.

Cutting and piercing weapons also include a large combat knife, occasionally found in burials no later than the 10th century, the skramasax, a relic of the barbarian era, a typical weapon of the Germans, found throughout Europe. Combat knives have long been known in Rus' and are constantly found during excavations. They are distinguished from economic ones by their large length (over 15 cm), the presence of a lobe - a blood flow or a stiffening rib (rhombic cross-section) (16).

A very common cutting weapon in the ancient Russian army was the axe, which had several varieties, which was determined by differences both in combat use and in origin. In the IX-X centuries. The heavy infantry were armed with large axes - axes with a powerful trapezoidal blade. Appearing in Rus' as a Norman borrowing, this type of ax remained for a long time in the north-west. The length of the ax handle was determined by the height of the owner. Usually, exceeding a meter, it reached the gudi of a standing warrior.

Universal battle hatchets of the Slavic type for one-handed action, with a smooth butt and a small blade, with a beard drawn downwards, became much more widespread. They differed from a regular ax mainly in their smaller weight and size, as well as the presence in the middle of the blade of many specimens of a hole for attaching a cover.

Another variety was the cavalry hatchet - a hammer with a narrow wedge-shaped blade, balanced by a hammer-shaped butt or, less commonly, a claw - clearly eastern origin. There was also a transitional type with a hammer-shaped butt, but a wide, often equilateral blade. It is also classified as Slavic. The well-known hatchet with the initial “A”, attributed to Andrei Bogolyubsky, belongs to this type. All three types are very small in size and fit in the palm of your hand. The length of their ax – “cue” – reached a meter.

Unlike the sword, a weapon primarily of the “noble”, hatchets were the main weapon of the junior squad, at least its lowest category - the “youths”. As recent studies of the Kem squad burial mound near White Lake show, the presence of a battle hatchet in the burial in the absence of a sword clearly indicates that its owner belonged to the lower category of professional warriors, at least until the second half of the 11th century (17). At the same time, in the hands of the prince, a battle ax is mentioned in the chronicles only twice.

Melee weapons include striking weapons. Due to the simplicity of production, it received in Rus' widespread. These are, first of all, various kinds of maces and flails borrowed from the steppe people.

The mace - most often a bronze ball filled with lead, with pyramidal projections and a hole for a handle weighing 200 - 300 g - was widespread in the 12th - 13th centuries. in the average Dnieper region (in third place in the number of weapons finds). But in the north and northeast it is practically not found. Solid forged iron and, less commonly, stone maces are also known.

The mace is a weapon primarily used in equestrian combat, but undoubtedly was also widely used by infantry. It made it possible to deliver very fast short blows, which, although not fatal, stunned the enemy and incapacitated him. Hence the modern “stun”, i.e. “stun”, with a blow to the helmet - get ahead of the enemy while he swings a heavy sword. The mace (as well as a boot knife or hatchet) could also be used as a throwing weapon, as the Ipatiev Chronicle seems to indicate, calling it a “horn.”

Flail- a weight of various shapes made of metal, stone, horn or bone, usually bronze or iron, usually round, often drop-shaped or star-shaped, weighing 100 - 160 g on a belt up to half a meter long - was, judging by frequent finds, very popular everywhere in Rus', however, it had no independent significance in battle.

The rare mention in sources of the use of impact weapons is explained, on the one hand, by the fact that they were auxiliary, backup, spare, and on the other, by the poeticization of “noble” weapons: the spear and sword. After a ramming spear collision, having “broken” the long thin lances, the fighters took up swords (sabers) or hammered axes, and only in case of their breakage or loss came the turn of maces and flails. By the end of the 12th century, in connection with the beginning of mass production of bladed weapons, hammered hatchets also became a backup weapon. At this time, the butt of the hatchet sometimes takes the shape of a mace, and the mace is equipped with a long spike curved downwards. As a result of these experiments, at the beginning of the 13th century in Rus', archaeologists noted the appearance of a new type of impact weapon - the shestoper. To date, three samples of iron eight-bladed pommels of a rounded shape with smoothly protruding edges have been discovered. They were found in settlements south and west of Kyiv (18).

Spear- the most important element of the Russian warrior’s weapons during the period under review. Spearheads, after arrowheads, are the most common archaeological finds of weapons. The spear was undoubtedly the most mass weapons of that time (19). A warrior did not go on a campaign without a spear.

Spearheads, like other types of weapons, bear the mark of various influences. The oldest local, Slavic tips are a universal type with a leaf-shaped feather of medium width, suitable for hunting. Scandinavian ones are narrower, “lanceolate”, adapted for piercing armor, or vice versa - wide, wedge-shaped, laurel-leaved and diamond-shaped, designed to inflict severe wounds on an enemy not protected by armor.

For the XII – XIII centuries. The standard infantry weapon became a spear with a narrow “armor-piercing” four-wound tip about 25 cm long, which indicates the widespread use of metal defensive weapons. The sleeve of the tip was called vtok, the shaft was called oskep, oskepische, ratovishche or struzhie. The length of the shaft of an infantry spear, judging by its images on frescoes, icons and miniatures, was about two meters.

Cavalry spears had narrow faceted tips of steppe origin, used to pierce armor. It was a first strike weapon. By the middle of the 12th century, the cavalry spear had become so long that it often broke during collisions. “Breaking the spear...” in squad poetry became one of the symbols of military valor. The chronicles also mention similar episodes when talking about the prince: “Andrey broke his copy against his own”; “Andrei Dyurgevich took up his spear and rode forward and came together before everyone else and broke his spear”; “Izyaslav rode alone into the military regiments, and broke his spear”; “Izyaslav Glebovich, grandson Yurgev, having arrived with his squad, took a spear... having driven the raft to the city gates, broke the spear”; “And Daniel struck his spear against the warrior, breaking his spear, and drew his sword.”

The Ipatiev Chronicle, written, in its main parts, by the hands of secular people - two professional warriors - describes such a technique almost as a ritual, which is close to Western knightly poetry, where such a blow is sung countless times.

In addition to the long and heavy cavalry and short main infantry spears, a hunting spear was used, although rarely. The horns had a feather width of 5 to 6.5 cm and a laurel tip length of up to 60 cm (including the bushing). To make it easier to hold this weapon. Two or three metal “knots” were attached to its shaft. In literature, especially fiction, a spear and an ax are often called peasant weapons, but a spear with a narrow tip capable of piercing armor is much cheaper than a spear and incomparably more effective. It occurs much more often.

Sulitsa darts have always been the favorite national weapon of the Eastern Slavs. They are often mentioned in chronicles. Moreover, as a piercing melee weapon. The tips of the sulitsa were both socketed, like those of spears, and stalked, like those of arrows, differing mainly in size. Often they had ends pulled back, making it difficult to remove them from the body and jagged, like a spear. The length of the throwing spear shaft ranged from 100 to 150 cm.

Bow and arrows have been used since ancient times as hunting and combat weapons. Bows were made from wood (juniper, birch, hazel, oak) or from turk horns. Moreover, in the north, simple bows of the European “barbarian” type from one piece of wood prevailed, and in the south, already in the 10th century, complex, composite bows of the Asian type became popular: powerful, consisting of several pieces or layers of wood, horn and bone overlays, very flexible and elastic. Middle part such a bow was called the handle, and everything else was called the kibit. The long, curved halves of the bow were called horns or limbs. The horn consisted of two slats glued together. On the outside, it was covered with birch bark, and sometimes, for reinforcement, with horn or bone plates. The outer side of the horns was convex, the inner side was flat. Tendons were glued onto the bow and secured at the handle and ends. The joints of the horns with the handle, previously coated with glue, were wrapped with tendons. The glue used was high quality, made from sturgeon ridges. The ends of the horns had upper and lower pads. A string woven from veins passed through the lower ones. The total length of the bow, as a rule, was about a meter, but could exceed human height. Such bows had a special purpose.

They wore bows with a taut string, in a leather case - a bow attached to the belt on the left side, with the mouth forward. Bow arrows could be made of reed, reed, various breeds trees, such as apple or cypress. Their tips, often forged from steel, could be narrow, faceted - armor-piercing or lanceolate, chisel-shaped, pyramidal with lowered ends-stings, and vice versa - wide and even two-horned “cuts”, to form large wounds on an unprotected surface, etc. In the 9th – 11th centuries. Mostly flat arrowheads were used in the 12th - 13th centuries. – armor-piercing. A case for arrows in this period was called a tula or tula. It was hung from the belt on the right side. In the north and west of Rus', its form was close to the pan-European one, the one that is known, in particular, from the images on the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells about the Norman conquest of England in 1066. In the south of Rus', tuls were equipped with lids. So about the Kuryans in the same “Tale of Igor’s Host” it is said: “Their crowns are open,” i.e. brought into combat position. This tula had a round or box-shaped shape and was made of birch bark or leather.

At the same time, in Rus', most often by serving nomads, a steppe-type quiver was used, made from the same materials. Its form is immortalized in Polovtsian stone sculptures. This is a box that is wide at the bottom, open and tapering at the top, oval in cross-section. It was also suspended from the belt on the right side, with the mouth forward and upward, and the arrows in it, in contrast to the Slavic type, lay with their points upward.

Bow and arrows are weapons most often used by light cavalry - “streltsy” or infantry; the weapon that started the battle, although absolutely all men in Rus' at that time knew how to shoot a bow, this main weapon of hunting. Most people, including warriors, probably had a bow as a weapon, which made them different from Western European chivalry, where in the 12th century only the British, Norwegians, Hungarians and Austrians owned bows.

Much later, a crossbow or crossbow appeared in Rus'. It was much inferior to the bow in rate of fire and maneuverability, significantly surpassing it in price. In a minute, the crossbowman managed to fire 1-2 shots, while the archer, if necessary, was able to fire up to ten in the same time. But a crossbow with a short and thick metal bow and a wire bowstring was far superior to a bow in power, expressed in the range and impact force of the arrow, as well as accuracy. In addition, it did not require constant training from the shooter to maintain the skill. A crossbow “bolt” - a short self-firing arrow, sometimes solid-forged in the West, pierced any shields and armor at a distance of two hundred steps, and the maximum firing range from it reached 600 m.

This weapon came to Rus' from the West, through Carpathian Rus', where it was first mentioned in 1159. The crossbow consisted of a wooden stock with something like a butt and a powerful short bow attached to it. A longitudinal groove was made on the stock, into which a short and thick arrow with a socketed spear-shaped tip was inserted. Initially, the bow was made of wood and differed from the usual one only in size and thickness, but later it began to be made of an elastic steel strip. Only an extremely strong person could pull such a bow with his hands. An ordinary shooter had to rest his foot on a special stirrup attached to the stock in front of the bow and with an iron hook, holding it with both hands, pull the bowstring and put it into the slot of the trigger.

A special round-shaped trigger device, the so-called “nut”, made of bone or horn, was attached to the transverse axis. It had a slot for the bowstring and a figured cutout into which the end of the trigger lever entered, which, when not pressed, stopped the rotation of the nut on the axis, preventing it from releasing the bowstring.

In the 12th century. A double belt hook appeared in the equipment of crossbowmen, which made it possible to pull the bowstring, straightening the body and holding the weapon with the foot in the stirrup. The oldest belt hook in Europe was found in Volyn, during excavations in Izyaslavl (20).

From the beginning of the 13th century, a special mechanism of gears and a lever, the “rotary”, began to be used to tighten the bowstring. Is this where the nickname of the Ryazan boyar Evpatiy - Kolovrat - comes from for his ability to do without it? Initially, such a mechanism was apparently used on heavy machine tools, which often fired solid forged arrows. The gear from such a device was found in the ruins lost city Vshchizh in modern Bryansk region.

In the pre-Mongol period, the crossbow (crossbow) spread throughout Rus', but nowhere except the western and northwestern outskirts was its use widespread. As a rule, finds of crossbow arrow tips account for 1.5–2% of their total number (21). Even in Izborsk, where the largest number of them were found, they make up less than half (42.5%), inferior to the usual ones. In addition, a significant part of the crossbow arrowheads found in Izborsk are of the Western, socket type, most likely having flown into the fortress from outside (22). Russian crossbow arrows are usually stalked. In Rus', the crossbow was an exclusively serf weapon; in field warfare it was used only in the lands of Galicia and Volyn, and moreover, not earlier than the second third of the 13th century. - already outside the period we are considering.

The Eastern Slavs became acquainted with throwing machines no later than the campaigns against Constantinople. Kyiv princes. The church tradition about the baptism of the Novgorodians preserved evidence of how they, having dismantled the bridge across the Volkhov to the middle and installed a “vice” on it, threw stones at the Kyiv “crusaders” - Dobrynya and Putyata. However, the first documentary evidence of the use of stone throwers in Russian lands dates back to 1146 and 1152. when describing the inter-princely struggle for Zvenigorod Galitsky and Novgorod Seversky. Domestic weapons expert A.N. Kirpichnikov draws attention to the fact that around the same time, a translation of Josephus Flavius’ “The Jewish War” became known in Rus', where throwing machines are often mentioned, which could increase interest in them. Almost simultaneously, a hand-held crossbow also appeared here, which should also have led to experiments in creating more powerful stationary samples (23).

In the following, stone throwers are mentioned in 1184 and 1219; also known the fact of the capture of a mobile ballista-type throwing machine from the Polovtsians of Khan Konchak, in the spring of 1185. Indirect confirmation of the spread of throwing machines and easel crossbows capable of throwing cannonballs is the appearance of a complex echeloned system of fortifications. At the beginning of the 13th century, such a system of ramparts and ditches, as well as dams and dams located on the outside, rows of gouges and similar obstacles, was created in order to push throwing machines beyond their effective range.

At the beginning of the 13th century in the Baltic states, Polotsk residents, followed by Pskov and Novgorod residents, encountered the effects of throwing machines. The German crusaders entrenched here used stone throwers and crossbows against them. These were probably the most common balance-lever type machines in Europe at that time, the so-called peterellas, since stone throwers in chronicles are usually called “vices” or “praks”. those. slings. Apparently, similar machines prevailed in Rus'. In addition, the German chronicler Henry of Latvia often, speaking about the Russian defenders of Yuryev in 1224, mentions ballistas and ballistarii, which gives reason to talk about their use not only of hand crossbows.

In 1239, when trying to relieve Chernigov besieged by the Mongols, the townspeople helped their saviors by throwing swords at the Tatars with stones that only four loaders were able to lift. A machine of similar power operated in Chernigov several years before the invasion, when troops of the Volyn-Kiev-Smolensk coalition approached the city. Nevertheless, we can say with confidence that in most of Rus', throwing machines, like crossbows, were not widely used and were regularly used only in the south- and north-western lands. As a result, most cities, especially in the northeast, continued to arrive in readiness only for passive defense and turned out to be easy prey for conquerors equipped with powerful siege equipment.

At the same time, there is reason to believe that the city militia, which usually made up the majority of the army, was armed no worse than the feudal lords and their warriors. During the period under review, the percentage of cavalry in the city militias increased, and at the beginning of the 12th century, completely mounted campaigns in the steppe became possible, but even those who in the middle of the 12th century. There was not enough money to buy a war horse, and they often found themselves armed with a sword. A case is known from the chronicle when a Kiev “footman” tried to kill a wounded prince with a sword (24). Owning a sword by that time had long ceased to be synonymous with wealth and nobility and corresponded to the status of a full member of the community. So, even “Russkaya Pravda” admitted that a “husband” who insulted another with a blow of a sword might not have the money to pay a fine. Another extremely interesting example on the same topic is given by I.Ya. Froyanov, referring to the Charter of Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich: “If a “robichich,” the son of a free man adopted from a slave, was supposed to take a horse and armor even from the “little belly...”, then we can safely say that in a society where such rules existed, weapons were an integral sign of free status, regardless of one’s social rank” (25). Let us add that we are talking about armor - an expensive weapon, which was usually considered (by analogy with Western Europe) to belong to professional warriors or feudal lords. In such rich country, which was pre-Mongol Rus' in comparison with Western countries, a free person continued to enjoy his natural right to own any weapon, and at that time there were enough opportunities to exercise this right.

As you can see, any middle-income urban resident could have a war horse and a full set of weapons. There are many examples of this. In support, one can refer to archaeological research data. Of course, the excavation materials are dominated by arrowheads and spears, axes, flails and maces, and items of expensive weapons are usually found in the form of fragments, but one must keep in mind that excavations give a distorted picture: expensive weapons, along with jewelry, was considered one of the most valuable trophies. It was collected by the winners first. They searched for it deliberately or found it by accident later on. Naturally, finds of armor blades and helmets are relatively rare. It has been preserved. As a rule, something that was of no value to the victors and looters. Chain mail in general, in its entirety, seems to be more often found in water, hidden or abandoned, buried with its owners under ruins, than on the battlefield. This means that the typical set of weapons of a city militia warrior of the early 13th century was in fact far from being as poor as was commonly believed relatively recently. Continuous wars in which, along with dynastic interests, clashed economic interests urban communities. They forced the townspeople to arm themselves to the same extent as the vigilantes, and their weapons and armor could only be inferior in price and quality.

This nature of socio-political life could not but affect the development of weapons craft. Demand generated supply. A.N. Kirpichnikov wrote about this: “An indicator of the high degree of armament of ancient Russian society is the nature of military craft production. In the 12th century, specialization in the manufacture of weapons noticeably deepened. Specialized workshops appeared for the production of swords, bows, helmets, chain mail, shields and other weapons.” “...Gradual unification and standardization of weapons are being introduced, examples of “serial” military production are appearing, which are becoming massive.” At the same time, “under the pressure of mass production, the differences in the manufacture of “aristocratic” and “plebeian”, ceremonial and folk weapons are increasingly erased. The increased demand for cheap products leads to limited production of unique designs and increased production of mass products (26). Who were the buyers? It is clear that the majority of them were not princely and boyar youths (although their number was growing), not the newly emerging layer of servicemen, conditional land holders - nobles, but primarily the population of growing and richer cities. “Specialization also affected the production of cavalry equipment. Saddles, bits, and spurs became mass products” (27), which undoubtedly indicates the quantitative growth of the cavalry.

Regarding the issue of borrowing in military affairs, in particular in weapons, A.N. Kirpichnikov noted:“We are talking... about a much more complex phenomenon than simple borrowing, delayed development or an original path; about a process that cannot be imagined as cosmopolitan, just as it cannot be contained within a “national” framework. The secret was that Russian early medieval military affairs in general, as well as military equipment, which absorbed the achievements of the peoples of Europe and Asia, were not only eastern or only western or only local. Rus' was a mediator between East and West, and Kyiv gunsmiths had a wide selection of military products from near and far countries. And the selection of the most acceptable types of weapons occurred constantly and actively. The difficulty was that the weapons of European and Asian countries were traditionally different. It is clear that the creation of a military-technical arsenal was not reduced to the mechanical accumulation of imported products. The development of Russian weapons cannot be understood as an indispensable and constant crossing and alternation of foreign influences alone. Imported weapons were gradually processed and adapted to local conditions (for example, swords). Along with borrowing other people’s experience, their own samples were created and used...” (28).

It is necessary to specifically address the issue on the import of weapons. A.N. Kirpichnikov, contradicting himself, denies the import of weapons to Rus' in the 12th – early 13th centuries. on the basis that all researchers during this period noted the beginning of mass, replicated production of standard weapons. This in itself cannot serve as proof of the absence of imports. Suffice it to recall the appeal of the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” to the Volyn princes. Distinctive feature the weapons of their troops are named “Latin sheloms”, “Lyatsky sulitsa (i.e. Polish Yu.S.) and shields”.

What were the “Latin” ones? Western European helmets at the end of the 12th century? This type, most often, is deep and deaf, only with slits - slits for the eyes and holes for breathing. Thus, the army of the Western Russian princes looked completely European, since, even if we exclude imports, there remained such channels of foreign influence as contacts with allies or military booty (trophies). At the same time, the same source mentions “Kharalu swords”, i.e. damask steel, of Middle Eastern origin, but the reverse process also took place. Russian plate armor was popular in Gotland and in the eastern regions of Poland (the so-called “Mazovian armor”) and in the later era of the dominance of solid forged armor (29). The shield is of the “lucky” type, with a shared groove in the middle, according to A.N. Kirpichnikov, spread across Western Europe from Pskov (30).

It should be noted that the “Russian weapons complex” has never represented a single whole in the vastness of the vast country. In different parts of Rus' there were local peculiarities and preferences, determined primarily by the enemy’s weapons. The western and steppe southeastern border zones stood out noticeably from the general massif. In some places they preferred a whip, in others they preferred spurs, a saber over a sword, a crossbow over a bow, etc.

Kievan Rus and its historical successors - the Russian lands and principalities - were at that time a huge laboratory where military affairs were improved, changing under the influence of warlike neighbors, but without losing the national basis. Both the weapons-technical side and the tactical side absorbed heterogeneous foreign elements and, processing, combined them, forming a unique phenomenon, whose name is “Russian mode”, “Russian custom”, which made it possible to successfully defend against the West and the East with different weapons and different techniques .

"Goodness must come with fists." And sometimes with a flail, a berdash and a spear... We are conducting an audit of the arsenal of the Russian warrior.

"Sword-of-a-hundred-heads-off-shoulders"

True or fairy tale, but Russian heroes could cut an enemy in half along with a horse with a sword. It is not surprising that there was a real “hunt” for Russian swords. However, unlike a sword obtained from an enemy in battle, a blade taken from a mound never brought good luck to its owner. Only wealthy warriors could afford to forge a sword. The most famous, for example, in the 9th century was considered the blacksmith Lutoda. The master forged high-quality damask steel swords. But mostly swords were made by foreign craftsmen, and the most popular were Carolingian swords, the blade of which was predominantly steel blades welded onto a metal base. Warriors of modest means armed themselves with cheaper all-iron swords. The blade of the weapon had fullers running along it, which lightened its weight and increased its strength. Over time, the swords became shorter (up to 86 cm) and a little lighter (up to a kilogram), which is not surprising: try cutting for about 30 minutes with a one and a half kilogram meter sword. True, there were especially hardy warriors who wielded a two-kilogram sword 120 cm long. The weapon was placed in a sheath upholstered in leather or velvet, which was decorated with gold or silver notches. Each sword received a name at “birth”: Basilisk, Gorynya, Kitovras, etc.

"The sharper the saber, the quicker the deal"

From the 9th-10th centuries, Russian warriors, mainly horsemen, began to use a lighter and more “agile” saber, which came to our ancestors from the nomads. By the 13th century, the saber “conquered” not only the south and southeast of Rus', but also its northern borders. The sabers of noble warriors were decorated with gold, niello, and silver. The first sabers of Russian warriors reached a meter in length, their curvature reached 4.5 cm. By the 13th century, the saber extended by 10-17 cm, and the curvature sometimes reached 7 cm. This curvature made it possible to deliver a glancing blow, which left longer and deeper wounds. Most often, sabers were all-steel; they were forged from carburized iron blanks, after which they were subjected to repeated hardening using a very complex technology. Sometimes they made non-monolithic blades - they welded two strips or welded one strip into another. By the 17th century, sabers of both domestic and imported origin were in use. However, our masters looked up to foreigners, primarily the Turks.

"Stunning Impact"

The flail appeared in Rus' in the 10th century and firmly held its position until the 17th century. More often the weapon was a short belt whip with a ball attached to the end. Sometimes the ball was “decorated” with spikes. The Austrian diplomat Herberstein described the brush of Grand Duke Vasily III this way: “on his back, behind his belt, the prince had a special weapon - a stick slightly longer than the elbow, to which a leather belt is nailed, on its edge there is a mace in the form of some kind of stump, decorated on all sides with gold " The flail, with its mass of 250 grams, was excellent light weapons, which turned out to be very useful in the thick of the battle. A deft and sudden blow to the enemy’s helmet (helmet), and the road is clear. This is where the verb “to stun” takes its origins. In general, our warriors knew how to suddenly “amaze” the enemy.

"Ax head, shake your gut"

In Rus', the ax was used primarily by foot warriors. On the butt of the ax there was a strong and long spike, often curved downwards, with the help of which the warrior easily pulled the enemy off the horse. In general, the ax can be considered one of the varieties of axes - a very common chopping weapon. Everyone owned axes: princes, princely warriors, and militias, both on foot and on horseback. The only difference was that foot soldiers preferred heavy axes, and horse soldiers preferred hatchets. Another type of ax is the reed, which was used to arm the infantry. This weapon was a long blade mounted on a long axe. So, in the 16th century, the archers rebelled with just such weapons in their hands.

"If there was a mace, there would be a head"

The parent of both maces and clubs can be considered the club - ancient Russian weapons"mass destruction". The club was preferred by militias and rebellious people. For example, in Pugachev’s army there were people armed only with clubs, with which they easily crushed the skulls of their enemies. The best clubs were made not just from any tree, but from oak, or, at worst, from elm or birch, and the strongest place was taken, where the trunk turned into the roots. To enhance the destructive power of the club, it was “decorated” with nails. Such a club will not slip! The mace represented the next “evolutionary stage” of the club, the tip (top) of which was made of copper alloys, and lead was poured inside. A club differs from a mace in the geometry of its pommel: a pear-shaped spiked weapon in the hands of heroes is a mace, and a weapon with a cubic pommel, “decorated” with large triangular spikes, is a mace.

“The fighters’ hands are tired of stabbing”

A spear is a universal, military-hunting weapon. The spear was a steel (damask) or iron tip mounted on a strong shaft. The length of the spear reached 3 meters. Sometimes part of the shaft was forged in metal so that the enemy could not cut the spear. It is interesting that the tip could reach half a meter in length; there were cases of the use of an entire “sword” on a stick, with the help of which they not only stabbed, but also chopped. Horsemen also loved spears, but they used a different method of fighting than medieval knights. It should be noted that the ram strike appeared in Rus' only in the 12th century, which was caused by heavier armor. Until this moment, the riders struck from above, having previously swung their arms strongly. For throwing, the warriors used sulitsa - light spears up to one and a half meters long. The Sulitsa, in its damaging effect, was something between a spear and an arrow fired from a bow.

“A tight bow is a dear friend”

Wielding a bow required special virtuosity. It was not for nothing that the Streltsy children trained day after day by shooting arrows at tree stumps. Archers often wrapped a rawhide belt around their hand, which allowed them to avoid significant injuries - an awkwardly released arrow would take with it an impressive piece of leather and meat. On average, archers shot at 100-150 meters; with great effort, the arrow flew twice as far. In the middle of the 19th century, during excavations of a mound in Bronnitsky district, they found the burial of a warrior, in whose right temple an iron arrowhead was firmly lodged. Scientists have suggested that the warrior was killed by an archer in an ambush. The chronicles describe the amazing speed with which the archers fired their arrows. There was even a saying “Shoot like making a strand” - the arrows flew with such frequency that they formed a continuous line. The bow and arrows were an integral part of the allegory of speech: “Like an arrow dropped from a bow,” which means “quickly went away,” when they said “like an arrow from a bow,” they meant “straight.” But the “singing arrow” is not a metaphor, but a reality: holes were made on the tips of the arrows, which made certain sounds in flight.

Before the widespread use of iron and steel, swords were made of copper, and then bronze was made of alloys of copper with tin or arsenic. Bronze is very resistant to corrosion, so we have quite a lot of archaeological finds of bronze swords, however, their attribution and clear dating are often very difficult.

Bronze is a fairly durable material that holds an edge well. In most cases, bronze with a tin content of about 10% was used, which is characterized by moderate hardness and relatively high ductility, but in China bronze with a tin content of up to 20% was used - harder, but also more fragile (sometimes only blades were made from hard bronze, and the inner part of the blade is made of softer material).

Bronze is a precipitation-hardening alloy and cannot be hardened like steel, but can be significantly strengthened by cold deformation (forging) of cutting edges. Bronze cannot “spring” like hardened steel, but a blade made from it can bend within significant limits without breaking or losing its properties - having straightened it, it can be used again. Often, to prevent deformation, bronze blades had massive stiffening ribs. Long blades made of bronze were supposed to be especially prone to bending, so they were used quite rarely; the typical blade length of a bronze sword is no more than 60 centimeters. However, it is completely wrong to call short bronze swords exclusively piercing - modern experiments, on the contrary, have shown a very high cutting ability of this weapon, its relatively short length limited only the combat distance.

Since the main technology for processing bronze was casting, it was relatively easy to make a more effective complex curved blade from it, so bronze weapons of ancient civilizations often had a curved shape with a one-sided sharpening - this includes the ancient Egyptian khopesh, the ancient Greek makhaira and the kopis borrowed by the Greeks from the Persians. It is worth noting that, according to the modern classification, all of them belong to sabers or cutlasses, and not swords.

The title of the oldest sword in the world today is claimed by a bronze sword, which was found by Russian archaeologist A.D. Rezepkin in the Republic of Adygea, in a stone tomb of the Novosvobodnaya archaeological culture. This sword is currently on display in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. This bronze proto-sword (total length 63 cm, hilt length 11 cm) dates back to the second third of the 4th millennium BC. e. It should be noted that by modern standards it is more of a dagger than a sword, although the shape of the weapon suggests that it was quite suitable for slashing. In the megalithic burial, the bronze proto-sword was symbolically bent.

Before this discovery, the most ancient swords were considered to be those found by the Italian archaeologist Palmieri, who discovered a treasure with weapons in the upper reaches of the Tigris in the ancient palace of Arslantepe: spearheads and several swords (or long daggers) ranging from 46 to 62 cm in length. Palmieri’s finds date back to the end of the 4th millennium.

The next major find is swords from Arslantepe (Malatya). From Anatolia, swords gradually spread to both the Middle East and Europe.

Sword from the site of Bet Dagan near Jaffa, dating back to 2400-2000 BC. e., had a length of about 1 meter and was made of almost pure copper with a small admixture of arsenic.

Also very long bronze swords dating back to around 1700 BC. e., were discovered in the area of the Minoan civilization - the so-called “type A” swords, which had a total length of about 1 meter and even more. These were predominantly stabbing swords with a tapering blade, apparently designed to hit a well-armored target.

Very ancient swords were found during excavations of monuments of the Harrapan (Indus) civilization, with dating according to some data up to 2300 BC. e. In the area of the ocher painted pottery culture, many swords dating back to 1700-1400 were found. BC e.

Bronze swords have been known in China since at least the Shang period, with the earliest finds dating back to around 1200 BC. uh..

Many Celtic bronze swords have been discovered in Great Britain.

Iron swords have been known since at least the 8th century BC. e, and began to be actively used from the 6th century BC. e. Although soft, non-hardening iron did not have any special advantages over bronze, weapons made from it quickly became cheaper and more accessible than bronze - iron is found in nature much more often than copper, and tin, necessary for obtaining bronze, is found in ancient world In general, it was mined in only a few places. Polybius mentions that Gallic iron swords of the 3rd century BC. e. often bent in battle, forcing owners to straighten them. Some researchers believe that the Greeks simply incorrectly interpreted the Gallic custom of bending sacrificial swords, but the very ability to bend without breaking is a distinctive feature of iron swords (made of low-carbon steel that cannot be hardened) - a sword made of hardened steel can only be broken , and not bend.

In China steel swords, significantly superior in quality to both bronze and iron, appeared already at the end of the Western Zhou period, although they did not become widespread until the Qin or even Han era, that is, the end of the 3rd century BC. e.

Around the same time, the inhabitants of India began to use weapons made of steel, including those similar to welded Damascus. According to the periplus of the Erythraean Sea, in the 1st century AD. e. Indian steel blades arrived in Greece.

An Etruscan sword from the 7th century found in Vetulonia. BC e. was obtained by connecting several parts with different carbon contents: the inner part of the blade was made of steel with a carbon content of about 0.25%, the blade was made of iron with a carbon content of less than 1%. Another Romano-Etruscan sword of the 4th century BC. e. has a carbon content of up to 0.4%, which implies the use of carburization in its production. Nevertheless, both swords were of low quality metal, with a large number of impurities.

The widespread transition to blades made of hardened carbon steel was very delayed - for example, in Europe it ended only around the 10th century AD. e. In Africa, iron swords (mambele) were used back in the 19th century (although it is worth noting that iron processing in Africa began very early, and with the exception of the Mediterranean coast, Egypt and Nubia, Africa “jumped” the Bronze Age, immediately switching to iron processing).

The greatest fame in classical antiquity received the following types piercing-cutting swords:

-Xiphos

An ancient Greek sword with a total length of no more than 70 cm, the blade is pointed, leaf-shaped, less often straight;

The general name for all swords among the Romans, today is usually associated with the specific short sword of the legionnaire;

Scythian sword - from VII BC. e.;

Meotian sword - from the 5th to the 2nd centuries. BC e.

Later, the Celts and Sarmatians began to use cutting swords. The Sarmatians used swords in equestrian combat, their length reached 110 cm. The crosshair of the Sarmatian sword is quite narrow (only 2-3 cm wider than the blade), the handle is long (from 15 cm), the pommel is in the shape of a ring.

Spata, which is of Celtic origin, was used by both foot soldiers and horsemen. The total length of the spatha reached 90 cm, there was no crosspiece, and the pommel was massive and spherical. Initially, the spat had no tip.

In the last century of the Roman Empire, spathas became the standard weapon of legionnaires - both cavalry and (a shorter version, sometimes called "semispatha" - English semispatha) infantrymen. The latter option is considered transitional from the swords of antiquity to the weapons of the Middle Ages.

From the mace to the "Bulava" - Russian weapons have always evoked fear and trepidation among their enemies.

"Sword-of-a-hundred-heads-off-shoulders"

“The sharper the saber, the quicker the deal”

"Stunning Impact"

The flail appeared in Rus' in the 10th century and firmly held its position until the 17th century. More often the weapon was a short belt whip with a ball attached to the end. Sometimes the ball was “decorated” with spikes. The Austrian diplomat Herberstein described the brush of Grand Duke Vasily III this way: “on his back, behind his belt, the prince had a special weapon - a stick slightly longer than the elbow, to which a leather belt is nailed, on its edge there is a mace in the form of some kind of stump, decorated on all sides with gold " The flail, with its mass of 250 grams, was an excellent light weapon, which turned out to be very useful in the thick of battle. A deft and sudden blow to the enemy’s helmet (helmet), and the road is clear. This is where the verb “to stun” takes its origins. In general, our warriors knew how to suddenly “amaze” the enemy.

“Ax head, shake your gut”

“If there was a mace, there would be a head”

The parent of both maces and clubs can be considered the club - an ancient Russian weapon of “mass destruction”. The club was preferred by militias and rebellious people. For example, in Pugachev’s army there were people armed only with clubs, with which they easily crushed the skulls of their enemies. The best clubs were made not just from any tree, but from oak, or, at worst, from elm or birch, and the strongest place was taken, where the trunk turned into the roots. To enhance the destructive power of the club, it was “decorated” with nails. Such a club will not slip! The mace represented the next “evolutionary stage” of the club, the tip (top) of which was made of copper alloys, and lead was poured inside. A club differs from a mace in the geometry of its pommel: a pear-shaped spiked weapon in the hands of heroes is a mace, and a weapon with a cubic pommel, “decorated” with large triangular spikes, is a mace.

“The fighters’ hands are tired of stabbing”

A spear is a universal, military-hunting weapon. The spear was a steel (damask) or iron tip mounted on a strong shaft. The length of the spear reached 3 meters. Sometimes part of the shaft was forged in metal so that the enemy could not cut the spear. It is interesting that the tip could reach half a meter in length; there were cases of the use of an entire “sword” on a stick, with the help of which they not only stabbed, but also chopped. Horsemen also loved spears, but they used a different way of fighting than medieval knights. It should be noted that the ram strike appeared in Rus' only in the 12th century, which was caused by heavier armor. Until this moment, the riders struck from above, having previously swung their arms strongly. For throwing, the warriors used sulitsa - light spears up to one and a half meters long. The Sulitsa, in its damaging effect, was something between a spear and an arrow fired from a bow.

“A tight bow is a dear friend”

The armament of the Russian warrior consisted of a sword, saber, spear, sulitsa, bow, dagger-knife, various types striking weapons (axes, maces, flails, six-feathers, klevets), piercing and chopping halberd reeds; various protective weapons, which included, as a rule, a helmet, a shield, a breastplate-cuirass, and some elements of armor (bracers, leggings, shoulder pads). Sometimes the horses of rich warriors were also equipped with protective weapons. In this case, the muzzle, neck, chest (sometimes chest and croup together) and legs of the animal were protected.
Slavic swords IX-XI centuries were not much different from the swords of Western Europe. Nevertheless, modern scientists divide them into two dozen types, differing mainly in the shape of the crosspiece and handle. The blades of Slavic swords of the 9th-10th centuries are almost the same type - from 90 to 100 cm long, with a blade width at the handle of 5-7 cm, tapering towards the tip. As a rule, there was one fuller in the middle of the blade. Sometimes there were two or even three of these dols. The true purpose of the fuller is to increase the strength characteristics of the sword, primarily the working moment of inertia of the blade. The thickness of the blade in the depth of the fuller is 2.5-4 mm, outside the fuller - 5-8 mm. The weight of such a sword averaged one and a half to two kilograms. In the future, swords, like other weapons, change significantly. Maintaining continuity of development, at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th centuries, swords become shorter (up to 86 cm), lighter (up to 1 kg) and thinner; their fuller, which occupied half the width of the blade in the 9th-10th centuries, occupies only a third in the 11th-12th centuries , so that in the 13th century it completely turned into a narrow groove. The hilt of the sword was often made of several layers of leather, rarely with any, usually wooden, filler. Sometimes the handle was wrapped with a rope, often with special impregnation.
The guard and the “apple” of the sword were often decorated with fine workmanship, precious materials and blackening. The blade of the sword was often covered with patterns. The handle was crowned with a so-called “apple” - a knob at the end. It not only decorated the sword and protected the hand from slipping from the handle, but sometimes acted as a balance. It was more convenient to fight with a sword in which the center of gravity was close to the handle, but the blow with the same given impulse of force was lighter.
Stamps were often applied to the fullers of ancient swords, often representing complex abbreviations of words; from the second half of the 13th century, the marks decreased in size, were applied not to the fuller, but to the edge of the blade, and subsequently blacksmiths applied marks in the form of symbols. This is, for example, the “Passaur top” applied to Dovmont’s sword. The study of forge marks of blades and armor constitutes a separate section of historical sphragistics.
In clashes with light and mobile nomads, a lighter weapon became a more advantageous weapon for cavalrymen. saber. The saber strike turns out to be sliding, and its shape determines the displacement of the weapon upon impact towards the handle, facilitating the release of the weapon. It seems that already in the 10th century, Russian blacksmiths, familiar with the products of Eastern and Byzantine craftsmen, forged sabers with a center of gravity shifted to the tip, which made it possible, with the same given impulse of force, to deliver a more powerful blow.
It should be noted that some blades of the 18th-20th centuries retain traces of reforging (more elongated, “twisted” metal grains are visible during microscopic analysis of metallographic sections), i.e. old blades, including swords, became “new” in shape, lighter and more convenient in the forges.
Spear was among the first tools of human labor. In Rus', the spear was one of the most common elements of weapons for both foot and horse warriors. The horsemen's spears were about 4-5 meters long, the infantrymen's spears were a little more than two meters long. A separate type of Russian spear was spear- a spear with a wide diamond-shaped or laurel-shaped tip up to 40 cm long (tip only), mounted on a shaft. With such a spear it was possible not only to stab, but also to chop and cut. In Europe, a similar type of spear had the name protazan.
In addition to the spear, a throwing spear received its own name in the sources - sulitsa. These spears were relatively short (probably 1-1.5 meters) with a narrow, light point. Some modern reenactors add a belt loop to the sulitsa shaft. The loop allows you to throw the hook further and more accurately.
Archaeological finds suggest that in Ancient Rus' there were also widespread pillums, a weapon that was in service with the Roman legionnaires - throwing spears with a long, up to 1 m, neck of the tip and a wooden handle. In addition to their damaging function, these spears, which pierced a simple shield and got stuck in it, became a significant hindrance for the owner of the shield and did not allow it to be used correctly. In addition, as the armor becomes stronger, another type of spear appears - peak. The pike was distinguished by a narrow, often triangular tip mounted on a light shaft. The pike replaced both the spear and the spear, first from horse and then from foot weapons. The pikes were in service with various troops before the outbreak of World War II.
Among several types of impact weapons, the most common is axe. The length of the battle ax blade was 9-15 cm, the width was 12-15 cm, the diameter of the hole for the handle was 2-3 cm, the weight of the battle ax was from 200 to 500 g.
Archaeologists have discovered mixed-purpose axes weighing up to 450 g, and purely battle axes - mints- 200-350 g. The length of the battle ax handle was 60-70 cm.
Russian warriors also used special throwing axes (European name Francisca), which had rounded shapes. Like swords, axes were often made of iron, with a narrow strip of carbon steel on the blade. Due to their low cost, versatility, ease of use and high pressure developed on a surface that resists impact, axes have actually become a Russian folk weapon.
A much rarer type of ax was ax- a larger and heavier, up to 3 kg, and sometimes more, battle axe.
Mace also common percussion hand weapon, having a spherical or pear-shaped pommel (impact part), sometimes equipped with spikes, which was mounted on a wooden or metal handle or forged along with the handle. In the late Middle Ages, maces with sharp spikes were called "morgenstern" - morning star- one of the earliest examples of “black” humor. Some clubs had a pyramidal shape with four spikes. It is precisely these pommels that are found on the first Russian maces, made of iron (less often bronze). The mace, which had several sharp edges (4-12) in the warhead, was called in Rus' feathered. In the 11th-12th centuries, the standard weight of a Russian mace without a handle was 200-300 grams. In the 13th century, the mace was often transformed into a shestoper (pernach), when blades with sharp angles appeared in the striking part, allowing them to pierce more powerful armor. The handle of the mace reached 70 cm. A blow from such a mace, even delivered to a helmet or armor, can cause serious damage to health in the form of a concussion or, for example, injure a hand through a shield. In time immemorial, ceremonial maces appeared, and later marshal's batons, made using precious metals.
War Hammer, in fact, was the same mace, but by the 15th century it had developed into a real monster with a point, lead weighting and a long, up to one and a half meters, heavy handle. Such weapons, to the detriment of their fighting qualities, were terrifying.
Flail was a striking part attached to the handle with a strong flexible connection.
Battle Flail in fact it was a flail with a long handle.
Klevets, in fact, was the same mace with a single spike, sometimes slightly curved towards the handle.
Murder weapon with a beautiful Italian name plummeya was a combat flail with several striking parts.
Berdysh It was a wide, long ax in the shape of a crescent (with a blade length from 10 to 50 cm), usually ending in a point on the back of the handle.
Halberd(from the Italian alabarda) - a piercing-cutting type weapon, structurally close to a reed, combining a long spear and a wide ax.
There are also dozens of other weapons that were certainly used by Russian soldiers. This and fighting pitchfork, And owls, and exotic guisarms.
The complexity and subtlety of its design amazes the medieval onion, sometimes assembled from dozens of parts. Note that the tension force of a combat bow reached 80 kg, while a modern men's sports bow has a tension force of only 35-40 kg.
Protective armor most often consisted of a helmet, cuirass-breastplate, handguards, leggings and some elements of less common defensive weapons. Helmets of the 9th-12th centuries were usually riveted from several (usually 4-5, less often 2-3) sector-shaped fragments, either with parts superimposed on each other, or with the use of overlapping plates. Helmets became visually monolithic (riveted together and polished in such a way that it looks like one piece of metal) only in the 13th century. Many helmets were complemented by aventail - a chainmail mesh covering the cheeks and neck. Sometimes, elements decorating the helmet were made from non-ferrous metals with gilding or silvering. One type of helmet becomes hemispherical, sits deeper on the head, covering the temple and ear, the other is very elongated and is also crowned with a high spire. The helmet is also being modernized into a shishak - a low, hemispherical helmet with a height less than the radius.
It seems that both the helmet and the armor of a Russian, and most likely a medieval warrior, were most often made of leather, made of specially treated leather. Only this can explain such a small number of finds of elements of protective armor by archaeologists (until 1985, the following were found throughout the USSR: 37 helmets, 112 chain mail, parts of 26 plate and scale armor, 23 fragments of a shield). Leather, with appropriate processing, was almost as good in strength characteristics as low-quality steel. Her weight was almost an order of magnitude less! The hardness of the surface layer of treated leather turns out to be higher than the hardness of “soft” steels, some types of brass and copper. The main disadvantage of leather armor was its low durability. Three or four thermal cycling cycles, sometimes just prolonged rain, were enough to reduce the strength of leather armor by 2-3 times. That is, after 4-5 “exits,” the leather armor, strictly speaking, became unusable and passed on to the youngest “by rank” or condition.
Those typesetting armor that we see in medieval drawings were primarily leather. Leather pieces were riveted into rings or tied with leather braid. A helmet was also assembled from four to six pieces of leather. One may object to this remark: why are the remains of ancient edged weapons so insignificant? But edged weapons were reforged - after all, steel in the Middle Ages was expensive, and most blacksmiths could reforge a sword into a saber, but only a few could make steel, even of very low quality.
Most medieval drawings present us with warriors in scaly armor made of leather. Thus, on the famous “Carpet from Bahia” there is not a single warrior in chain mail stockings; Angus McBride, the main artist of the Osprey series, “dressed” almost half of the warriors he drew in the book “The Normans” in such stockings. Out of one and a half hundred medieval drawings, I found only seven, where warriors were depicted presumably in chain mail stockings, the majority - in leather braids and boots. Of course, chain mail stockings, and forged plate armor, and steel helmets with a visor or with a “mask” had their place. But only the highest nobility could order and dress them - kings and princes, wealthy knights and boyars. Even a militant, rich city dweller, who gladly and proudly joined the militia, could not always afford full metal armor - it was so expensive and slow to complete. Steel plate armor became more and more widespread, but more often as tournament armor, from the second quarter of the 14th century.
An amazing, actually composite design in terms of material was a medieval shield. Between the layers of thick, specially processed leather that made it up, there were placed strong thin woven shape-forming branches, and flat slates, and layers of horn, and the same flat, thin metal flash. Such a shield was extremely strong and light and, alas, completely short-lived.
Artels of gunsmiths were respected and popular in the Middle Ages, but the lack of special literature that would consolidate the successes achieved for posterity made this delicate production unstable, when the final products, be it a shield or a sword, made by a crafty artisan, were inferior the best examples many times. Hard-to-achieve, expensively purchased strength increasingly gave way to decorative decoration, which in Western Europe in part turned into a whole artificial science - heraldry.
Needless to say, the warriors dressed in metal armor made an exceptional impression on their contemporaries. Artists tried to capture the sparkle of graceful metal forms that amazed them on the elegant figures of the nobility. Armor, as an element of pictorial enhancement of the image, was used by almost all the great painters of the late Middle Ages: Durer, Raphael, Botticelli, Bruegel, Titian, Leonardo, and Velazquez. Surprisingly, nowhere, except for the muscular cuirass on the Medici tomb, did the great Michelangelo depict armor. Restrained by severe religious restrictions, Russian artists also depicted armor very carefully in icons and illustrations.
The elements of plate protective weapons, which once and forever found their place and went along with hoplites and centurions, knights and knights, cuirassiers and today's special forces, were and remain the helmet and cuirass. Although there is a “huge distance” between the “muscular” cuirass of the 4th century BC and today’s “composite” body armor.
Considering the weapons of a Russian warrior, we can assume a possible sequence of his actions in an offensive battle. On the side of the warrior hung a sword or saber in a leather or fabric sheath. A glancing blow from a saber with the center of gravity shifted to the tip, delivered forward and downward by a skillful hand, was more terrible than a blow from a sword.
The warrior kept up to two dozen arrows at his belt in a quiver made of birch bark covered with leather, and a bow behind his back. The bow string was tightened immediately before use to avoid loss of the elastic properties of the bow. Onions required special careful preparation and care. They were often soaked in special brines and rubbed with compounds, the essence of which was kept secret.
The weapons of the Russian archer include a special bracer (protecting against a blow from a released bowstring), worn by a right-handed person on his left hand, as well as half-rings and ingenious mechanical devices that made it possible to tighten the bowstring.
Often Russian soldiers used crossbow, today better known as a crossbow.
Sometimes heavy, and sometimes light, long spears served at the very beginning of the battle. If in the first clash it was not possible to hit the enemy with an arrow from afar, the warrior took up the sulitsa - a short throwing spear, a melee weapon.
As the mounted warrior approached the enemy, one weapon could replace another: from afar he showered the enemy with arrows, when he got closer, he tried to hit him with a thrown arrow, then he used a spear and, finally, a saber or sword. Although, rather, specialization came first, when archers showered the enemy with arrows, spearmen “took spears,” and “swordsmen” worked tirelessly with a sword or saber.
The armament of Russian soldiers was not inferior to the best Western European and Asian models, and was distinguished by its versatility, reliability and the highest combat qualities.
Unfortunately, the constant modernization of the best models, carried out sometimes by not the best craftsmen, did not bring them to us, the distant descendants of the warriors who were once armed with them. On the other hand, the low preservation of the ancient book wealth of Rus' and the policies pursued by some influential layers of the Russian medieval state did not even bring to us any mention of the production of high-quality steels in Rus', the art of blacksmiths and shield makers, the design of throwing weapons...