The military flail

Despite being very common in fictional works such as cartoons, films and role-playing games as a "quintessential medieval weapon", historical information about flails other than the kisten or derivatives of the peasant flail is somewhat scarce. Some doubt they were used as weapons at all due to the few genuine specimens as well as the unrealistic way they are depicted in artDr. Paul B. Sturtevant (May 12, 2016). "The Curious Case of the Weapon that Didn't Exist". The Public Medievalist. Retrieved 2016-06-01.DeVries, Kelly (2007). Medieval weapons an illustrated history of their impact. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-85109-526-1.Nikolas Lloyd (1 December 2014). "'Morning Star' flails". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-02-24."Military Flail"(1), (2), (3). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2015-02-24.. Waldman (2005) documented several likely authentic examples of the ball-and-chain flail from private collections as well as several restored illustrations from German, French, and Czech sources. Nonetheless, he states that the scarcity of artifacts and artistic depictions, combined with the almost complete lack of text references, suggests they were relatively rare weapons and never saw widespread useWaldman, John (2005). Hafted weapons in medieval and Renaissance Europe the evolution of European staff weapons between 1200 and 1650. Boston: Brill. pp. 145–150. ISBN 90-04-14409-9.. One of the reasons was the hazard the weapon posed to its wielder, especially the varieties with long chains and short handles. A missed swing would still retain momentum, and, even if a blow were struck, there may have been a long time before the user could ready another swing.
== References ==