View source for Flail (weapon)

{{Short description|Weapon consisting of a striking head flexibly attached to a handle}}
{{About|the weapon||Flail (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Arte De Athletica 2b.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Spiked versions of long-handled peasant flails.  From [[Paulus Hector Mair]]'s combat manual ''Arte De Athletica'']]
A '''flail'''  is a weapon consisting of a striking head attached to a handle by a flexible rope, strap, or chain.  The chief tactical virtue of the flail is its capacity to strike around a defender's shield or parry.  Its chief liability is a lack of precision and the difficulty of using it in close combat, or closely-ranked formations.

There are two broad types of flail: a long, two-handed infantry weapon with a cylindrical head, and a shorter weapon with a round metal striking head. The longer cylindrical-headed flail is a hand weapon derived from the [[Flail (tool)|agricultural tool of the same name]], commonly used in [[threshing]]. It was primarily considered a peasant's weapon, and while not common, they were deployed in Germany and Central Europe in the later [[Late Middle Ages]].<ref name="WagnerDrobná2014">{{cite book|author1=Eduard Wagner|author2=Zoroslava Drobná|author3=Jan Durdík|title=Medieval Costume, Armour and Weapons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uACVAwAAQBAJ|date=5 May 2014|publisher=Courier Corporation|isbn=978-0-486-32025-0}}</ref>  The smaller, more spherical-headed flail appears to be even less common; it appears occasionally in artwork from the 15th century onward, but many historians have expressed doubts that it ever saw use as an actual military weapon.

== The peasant flail ==
[[File:Lützelburger Hohlbein Kämpfende Bauern.jpg|thumb|16th century peasant rebels]]
In the [[Late Middle Ages]], a particular type of flail appears in several works being used as a weapon, which consists of a very long shaft with a hinged, roughly cylindrical striking end.  In most cases, these are two-handed agricultural [[Flail (tool)|flail]]s, which were sometimes employed as an improvised weapon by peasant armies conscripted into military service or engaged in popular uprisings.  For example, in the 1420–1497 period, the [[Hussites]] fielded large numbers of peasant foot soldiers armed with this type of flail.<ref name="WagnerDrobná2014"/><ref>Stephen Turnbull: The Hussite Wars 1419-36, Osprey MAA 409,2004</ref><ref>[[media:344Wagenburg der Hussiten.jpg]] [[media:Hussites massacre.jpg]]</ref>

Some of these weapons featured anti personnel studs or spikes embedded in the striking end, or are shown being used by armored knights,<ref name="Freydal">{{Cite web | title = Colored plate depicting knights fighting with two-handed flails. | author = Maximilian I | author-link = Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor | work = Freydal | access-date = 2016-01-19 | url = http://www.h-u-m-rueegg.li/images/turnier-1.jpg| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070702085850/http://www.h-u-m-rueegg.li/images/turnier-1.jpg | archive-date = 2007-07-02 }}</ref> suggesting they were made or at least modified specifically to be used as weapons. Such modified flails were used in the [[German Peasants' War]] in the early 16th century.<ref>Douglas Miller : Armies of the German Peasant's War 1524-26,Osprey MAA 384,2003</ref><ref>[[media:German Peasants War.jpg]]</ref>  Several German [[Martial arts manual#Historical European martial arts|martial arts manuals]] or ''Fechtbücher'' from the 15th, 16th and 17th century feature illustrations and lessons on how to use the peasant flail (with or without spikes) or how to defend against it when attacked.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Talhoffer Fechtbuch (MS 78.A.15) Folio 60r | author = Hans Talhoffer | author-link = Hans Talhoffer | work = wiktenauer.com | date = c. 1450s | access-date = 2016-02-01 | url = http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/File:MS_78.A.15_60r.jpg }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title = Talhoffer Fechtbuch (MS 78.A.15) Folio 60v | author = Hans Talhoffer | author-link = Hans Talhoffer | work = wiktenauer.com | date = c. 1450s | access-date = 2016-02-01 | url = http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/File:MS_78.A.15_60v.jpg }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title = Ein new Kůnstliches Fechtbuch im Rappier - Figure 88 | author = Michael Hundt | work = wiktenauer.com | date = 1611 | access-date = 2016-02-01 | url = http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/File:Hundt_088.jpg }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title = New Kůnstliches Fechtbuch - Page 108 | author = Jakob Sutor von Baden | work = wiktenauer.com | date = 1612 | access-date = 2016-02-01 | url = http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/File:Sutor_108.jpg }}</ref>

== The military flail ==
{{Redirect|Mace and chain|the secret society|Mace and Chain}}
[[File:Klassischer-Flegel.jpg|thumb|upright|Modern representation of a one-handed flail]]
{{CSS image crop|Image = Piero_della_Francesca_021.jpg|bSize = 1000|cWidth = 140|cHeight = 100|oTop = 190|oLeft = 200|Location = left|Description =Detail from [[Battle of Nineveh (627)|Battle between Heraclius and Chosroes]], painted by [[Piero della Francesca]] circa 1452, showing a short flail with three spherical striking ends}}
[[File:Battle of Orsha detail 02.jpg|thumb|Lithuanian hussar with {{ill|kisten|lt|Blokštas|pl|Kiścień|ru|Кистень}} in his belt. Detail from [[Battle of Orsha (painting)|Battle of Orsha]] painting, 1520–1534]]

The other type of European flail is a shorter weapon consisting of a wooden [[wikt:haft|haft]] connected by a chain, rope, or leather to one or more striking ends. The ''kisten'', with a spiked or non-spiked head and a leather or rope connection to the haft, is attested in the 10th century in the territories of the [[Rus' people|Rus']], probably being adopted from either the [[Avar Khanate|Avars]] or [[Khazars]]. This weapon spread into Central and Eastern Europe in the 11th–13th centuries,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kotowicz |first1=Piotr N. |year=2008 |title=Early medieval war-flails (kistens) from Polish lands|journal=Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae |volume=XXI |pages=75–86 |url=http://rcin.org.pl/Content/22894/WA308_34875_PIII348_EARLY-MEDIEVAL_I.pdf}}</ref> and then further west in Western Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries.<ref name=afh>{{Cite journal |last=Holdsworth |first=Alistair F. |date=March 2024 |title=Fantastic Flails and Where to Find Them: The Body of Evidence for the Existence of Flails in the Early and High Medieval Eras in Western, Central, and Southern Europe |journal=Histories |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=144–203 |doi=10.3390/histories4010009 |issn=2409-9252 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The medieval military flail ({{lang|fr|fléau d'armes}} in French and {{lang|de|Kriegsflegel}} in German), then, might typically have consisted of a wooden shaft joined by a length of chain to one or more iron-shod wooden bars,<ref name=cowper1906>{{cite book  | first=Henry Swainson | last=Cowper | year=1906 | title=The art of attack: Being a study in the development of weapons and appliances of offence, from the earliest times to the age of gunpowder | url=https://archive.org/details/artattack00cowpgoog | page=https://archive.org/details/artattack00cowpgoog/page/n106 80] | publisher=W. Holmes, ltd., Printers | location=Ulverston }}</ref> or it may have been a {{lang|de|Kettenmorgenstern}} ("chain morning star") with one or more metal balls or [[Morning star (weapon)|morning star]] in the place of the wooden bars.<ref name="DeVries 2012">{{cite book | last=DeVries | first=Kelly | title=Medieval military technology | publisher=University of Toronto Press | location=North York, Ont. Tonawanda, N.Y | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4426-0497-1 | page=30}}</ref> Artwork from the 15th century to the early 17th century shows most of these weapons having handles longer than 3&nbsp;ft and being wielded with two hands, but a few are shown used in a single hand or with a haft too short to be used two-handed.

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 rarer than other contemporary weapons, but a notable body of visual and textual sources for Western, Central, and Southern European depictions and descriptions of military are extant, if not particularly easy to find.<ref name=afh/> Some doubt they were used as weapons at all due to the scarcity of genuine specimens as well as the unrealistic way they are depicted in art, as well as the number of pieces in museums that turned out to be 19th century forgeries when analyzed,<ref name="Sturtevant">{{Cite web | title = The Curious Case of the Weapon that Didn't Exist | author = Dr. Paul B. Sturtevant | work = The Public Medievalist | date = May 12, 2016 | access-date = 2016-06-01 | url = http://www.publicmedievalist.com/curious-case-weapon-didnt-exist/ }}</ref><ref name="DeVries 2007">{{cite book | last=DeVries | first=Kelly | title=Medieval weapons an illustrated history of their impact | url=https://archive.org/details/medievalweaponsi00smit_048 | url-access=limited | publisher=ABC-CLIO | location=Santa Barbara, Calif | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-85109-526-1 | page=[https://archive.org/details/medievalweaponsi00smit_048/page/n147 133]}}</ref><ref name="MetFlails">"Military Flail" catalog descriptions  ([http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/33866], [http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/33867], [http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/25072]; see especially "Date" field) at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].  Accessed 2015-02-24.</ref> though these limited and somewhat sensationalist studies have now been largely debunked.<ref name=afh/> 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.<ref name="Waldman 2005">{{cite book | last=Waldman | first=John | title=Hafted weapons in medieval and Renaissance Europe the evolution of European staff weapons between 1200 and 1650 | url=https://archive.org/details/haftedweaponsmed00wald | url-access=limited | publisher=Brill | location=Boston | year=2005 | isbn=90-04-14409-9 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/haftedweaponsmed00wald/page/n186 145]–150}}</ref> Even the more-comprehensive scholarly articles collating the numerous sources for flails note that their use in warfare was likely rare at best, even if such weapons were known about as a concept.<ref name=afh/> Flails are noted as being potentially hazardous to their user in the absence of appropriate training and experience,<ref name="DeVries 2007"/> meaning that, even if a blow were struck, there may have been a long time before the user could ready another swing.<ref name="Waldman 2005"/>

== Variations outside Europe ==

In Asia, short flails originally employed in threshing rice were adapted into weapons such as the [[nunchaku]] or [[three-section staff]]. In China, a very similar weapon to the long-handled peasant flail is known  as the [[two-section staff]], and Korea has a weapon called a [[pyeongon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kin.naver.com/open100/detail.nhn?d1id=6&dirId=60402&docId=1029328&qb=7Y646rOk&enc=utf8&section=kin&rank=3&search_sort=0&spq=0&pid=g/wsPU5Y7udssbHM7psssc--088702&sid=T-v9whfw@08AAFsPC-c |title=네이버 지식iN :: 지식과 내가 함께 커가는 곳 |publisher=Kin.naver.com |access-date=2012-12-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=181414 |title=네이버 지식백과 |publisher=100.naver.com |access-date=2012-12-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dvdprime.donga.com/bbs/view.asp?bbslist_id=1511545&master_id=40 |title=VOTE! |publisher=Dvdprime.donga.com |date=2009-05-08 |access-date=2012-12-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118014853/http://dvdprime.donga.com/bbs/view.asp?bbslist_id=1511545&master_id=40 |archive-date=2014-01-18 }}</ref> In Japan, there is also a version of the smaller ball-on-a-chain flail called a [[chigiriki]].

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the long-handled flail is found in use in India. An example held in the [[Pitt Rivers Museum]] has a wooden ball-shaped head studded with iron spikes. Another in the [[Royal Armouries]] collection has two spiked iron balls attached by separate chains.

The [[knout]], a whip or scourge formerly used in Russia for the punishment of criminals, was the descendant of the flail. It was manufactured in many forms, and its effect was so severe that few of those who were subjected to its full force survived the punishment. The [[Nicholas I of Russia|Emperor Nicholas I]] substituted a milder whip for the knout.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Sargeaunt|first=Bertram Edward|title=Weapons, a brief discourse on hand-weapons other than fire-arms|publisher=London, H. Rees|year=1908|isbn=|location=|pages=11}}</ref>

==Gallery==
{{gallery
|File:Topuz,savaş topuzu.jpg|A representative [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] flail (replica)
|File:Friezen_vallen_de_toren_van_Damiate_aan.jpg|Hayo van Wolvega attacks the tower of Damietta with a flail during the 5th crusade.
|File:Cep bojowy 0211.jpg|A two-handed flail with metal studs
|File:DisasterOfMari1266.JPG|Detail from [[The Travels of Marco Polo]], {{circa|1410}}, showing an armored "Mamluk" with a short, spiked flail tucked into his belt
|File:FR_2810_Folio_253r_{{Not a typo|mini|ture}}.jpg|Detail from [[The Travels of Marco Polo]], c. 1410, showing a horseman using a spiked flail with both hands to strike an adversary
|File:MS.1360 Bellifortis of Konrad Kyeser Folio 025v.jpg|Illustration from [[Bellifortis]] showing a mounted knight with a short flail, circa 1450
|Image:Jan Žižka v čele vojsk.gif|Hussite troops with flails on the march
}}

== See also ==
* [[Flail (tool)]]
* [[Two-section staff]]
* [[Three-section staff]]
* [[Mace (bludgeon)]]
* [[Morning star (weapon)|Morning star]]
* [[Nunchaku]]
* [[Pyeongon]]
* [[Chigiriki]]
* [[Threshal]]
* [[Meteor hammer]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Flails (warfare)|Flail weapons}}
{{EB1911 poster|Flail}}
* [https://vertexmover.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/no-fence-against-a-flail/ Observations on flail use in European history]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flail (Weapon)}}
[[Category:Formal insignia]]
[[Category:Flail weapons| ]]
[[Category:Medieval weapons]]
[[Category:Wands]]
[[Category:Ritual weapons]]
[[Category:Ceremonial weapons]]