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Back to Weapons & Armor (Renaissance Pistol)

During the Renaissance knights would wear a full suite of armor, each plate was carefully constructed so as to overlap or interlock with the plates adjacent to it (Grendler). The articulation, or flexibility, of the plates was achieved through the use of rivets and leather straps, both internal and external. Knights always had a complete set of armor and the armor would weigh about 40 to 60 pounds of armor (Grendler).

In the Renaissance hand-held firearms on the battlefields of Europe from the late fifteenth century onward had a significant effect on tactics and on the wearing of the armor (Grendler). So when hand-held firearms were made the black smith had to make even stronger and thicker armor so the bullet wouldn't penetrate. However, early hand-held weapons were heavy and clumsy, and soldiers had to load the firearms from the muzzle (The World Book Encyclopedia). The rifle was invented about 1500 and the grooves in its barrel made it more accurate than any previous firearm (The World Book Encyclopedia).

During the Renaissance tournament armor was a big role in training. These tournament would be treated as training because for training in an actual battle and, as a consequence, were often bloody affairs only marginally separated from open warfare (Grendler). But later on this tournament became more of a sporting event, a social event, and festive concerns.

Later on in the Renaissance, armor became more of a decoration and would inlay the armor in silver and in gold. Some weapons and armor were designed primarily as luxury items, symbols of status and connoisseurship that rank among the greatest triumphs in the field of Renaissance decorative arts (Grendler). A lot of the time the armor or weapons were treated as a sculpture.

When the Medieval times were around there was a variety of weapons. There was three broad categories of weapons: edged weapons, staff weapons, and projectile weapons (Grendler). The meaning of edged weapons generally refers to swords and daggers, although many staff weapons can be placed in this category (Grendler). Staff weapons are known as pole arms or shafted weapons, refers to the many types of arms that consist of a pole or shaft fitted with a cutting, thrusting, or percussive head (Grendler). The term projectile weapons refers here only to hand-held weapons powered by human energy rather than by explosive propellant such as gunpowder (Grendler).