Racial Motifs 39 : Minotaur Content . By Nonus Caprenius , Temporarily Unaffiliated Scholar of Imperial Antiquities Would you do honor to the noble and all - but - forgotten race of Minotaur s , those mighty man - beasts who symbolized the Empire of yore ? Do you believe in the legends of their greatness , as I do ? Listen , then , and I shall teach you how to craft a set of arms and armor that will pay appropriate tribute to these nigh - extinct avatars of ancient Alessia ! AXES The typical Minotaur ' s axe resembles nothing so much as a great cleaver modified for combat — and could anything be more ironic , considering the fate of most Cyrodiil ic beef cattle ? The two - handed version features a small blade mounted at the heel of the haft for backhand remise attacks , which Minotaur warriors excel at , despite their false reputation as clumsy brutes . BELTS The Minotaur ' s belt is so broad , it would be more correct to refer to it as a war - girdle , a wide triple - layered cincture with a great round buckle - placket in front , as background to a large metal boss that serves as the actual buckle . Thick tassets hang from this war - girdle all around its circumference . BOOTS The footwear of the Minotaur style , especially on heavy armor , consists of sandals made to emulate the Minotaur ' s great hooves . Though the uppers are light , the soles are thick , and scored to enhance traction . BOWS The Minotaur - style bow is made of darkest yew , stiffened , not surprisingly , by horn , and faced with spiked rivets . Morihaus the Winged Bull was said to be the finest archer of his era , and the finely - fletched arrows of the Minotaurs pay him due tribute . CHEST PIECES The Minotaur ' s chest armor seems to take its inspiration from that of arena gladiators , crisscrossed by heavy straps , and with exposed skin on all but the heavy armor variations , so the wearer can more easily bear the heavy weight of the style ' s massive helm , arm , and shoulder armor . DAGGERS The Minotaur ' s dagger is a simple spike - poniard with a triangular blade , usually wielded in the left hand to deliver the coup - de - grace following a mortal blow from the main weapon in the man - bull ' s right . Not fancy — just deadly . GLOVES Like arena gladiators , Minotaur - style warriors have the strong forearm protection of military gauntlets , but the hands are left entirely free . I would speculate the origin of this tradition lies in the difficulty of finding gloves that would actually fit a Minotaur ' s massive hands . HELMETS Insofar as a Minotaur can be simplistically described as having a humanoid body with the head of a bull , it ' s no surprise that the Minotaur - style helmet simulates a bull ' s head , in boiled leather or steel . Actual bull ' s horns are typically affixed to the helmet ' s brows . LEG GREAVES The thick greaves and cuisses of Minotaur leg armor emulate the powerful and muscular lower limbs of the Minotaurs themselves . They are usually decorated with simple repeating designs ; some take this as an indication that Minotaurs are simple - minded , but I reject this as mere racialist presumption . MACES The Minotaur ' s mace sports a heavy cylindrical head studded with sharp rivets . These heads are often lead - filled when wielded by the mighty man - bulls , but ordinary mortals find that too unwieldy , and instead settle for mere iron or steel . The two - handed version features an iron spike on the butt end . SHIELDS The shield of the Minotaurs has a diamond shape for its central boss , but one should expect such Imperial iconography on the arms of a race so deeply linked to the early history of Cyrodiil . It ' s an all - metal shield , and thus heavy — if one isn ' t a Minotaur . Ordinary mortals may make them thinner and lighter . SHOULDER ARMOR The mighty and muscular shoulders of the Minotaurs are simulated by heavy pauldrons that rise almost to the neck , and overlap the gorgets on the over - armored right arms . Here again we see the influence of the armor of arena gladiators , which begs the question : did the Minotaurs imitate the gladiators , or vice - versa ? STAVES What could be more appropriate as the finial of a Minotaur spellcaster ' s staff than a pair of broad horns ? The haft below the head is metal - wrapped so the staff can serve as a parrying implement , or a means of condign chastisement for erring lesser mortals . SWORDS Like the dagger , the Minotaur ' s sword is a simple triangular blade , sharp and double - edged , with an Imperial diamond at the curved crosstree . These blades are thick and heavy , easily lopping limbs from smaller or poorly - armored opponents . Wield them with care .