What is your medieval weapon of choice?

[Lord Dane]

I have to agree on that note. I do prefer to smash than cut. Hammer it is!!!

[westcoastgio]

for coolness, sword and board. for effectiveness, a halberd, halberds are crazy versatile with insane reach.

[Sir Edward]

Actually, the word "poleaxe" meant something a bit different to our historical ancestors than our modern connotation of it. "Axe" could simply mean something hafted with a head. Many poleaxes didn't have axe blades at all, but rather hammer and spike combinations. They varied a great deal.

[Jon Blair]

For me, it would be a longsword, followed by a sword and buckler in a close second.

[sambow23.sb]

I would go with a straight sword or a bow

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[AnsalonPaladin]

It depends on the time period, environment, and enemy I'm fighting. Of course conventional sword and board is the iconic and pretty imagery that I immediately think of...For sheer effectiveness I'd roll with a polearm of some type. I'm not a very large and powerful guy thus trying to smash through an enemy line with sword and board would promptly get me splattered by bigger folk. I'd rather harry enemies at the end of a pike, spear, or halberd. If I absolutely had to choose a one handed weapon from the periods of 12-1500 I'd use a flanged mace. I've always had a love for them.

[jason77]

Either the falchion (is it an ax or a sword - oh its both)...

Or a war hammer (depending on time period) as it is quite effective against an opponent with a shield.

[Sir Nate]

Actually, the word "poleaxe" meant something a bit different to our historical ancestors than our modern connotation of it. "Axe" could simply mean something hafted with a head. Many poleaxes didn't have axe blades at all, but rather hammer and spike combinations. They varied a great deal.

Why don't we just call them Pole Hammers?

[Lord Dane]

Actually, the word "poleaxe" meant something a bit different to our historical ancestors than our modern connotation of it. "Axe" could simply mean something hafted with a head. Many poleaxes didn't have axe blades at all, but rather hammer and spike combinations. They varied a great deal.

Why don't we just call them Pole Hammers?

For that matter, why don't we call pages "Knight Bitches"? 

[Sir Nate]

Actually, the word "poleaxe" meant something a bit different to our historical ancestors than our modern connotation of it. "Axe" could simply mean something hafted with a head. Many poleaxes didn't have axe blades at all, but rather hammer and spike combinations. They varied a great deal.

Why don't we just call them Pole Hammers?

For that matter, why don't we call pages "Knight Bitches"? 

Too easy to confuse with Witches, which would result in a lot of angry villagers, and a shortage of pages.

[Sir Cedric]

I personally would go with a longsword. Probably the most versatile weapon out there, as well as the most renowned.  From my experience in HEMA, its one of the fastest weapons as well. A pollaxe would be my second choice for similar reasons.
Sword and shield is slow, and axes are for peasants 
And hammers? There's just no class in that.

[Thorsteinn]

Sword and shield is slow, and axes are for peasants 
And hammers? There's just no class in that.

So is that a challenge?

[Thorsteinn]

If hammers have no class... and axes are for peasants.... then English Knights are well explained in their love of the hammer backed poleaxe.     



Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all night! 

[Bayard_Davis-Munro]

I do love the hammer backed pole axe . So versatile.

[Sir Cedric]

Well you see when you put all those weapons together, you actually have something decent 
And everyone knows the most deadly bit of the pollaxe is the que at the end.