Product description
The medieval war flail was a shorter weapon consisting of a wooden shaft connected by a chain, rope, or leather strap to one or more striking heads. It originated during the Crusades from the threshing flail. Because the steel ball was attached to a chain, it was effective against enemies carrying shields. Variants of this weapon — sometimes smooth, sometimes spiked — spread from Eastern Europe to the West from the 10th century onward. Illustrations from the 15th to 17th centuries show both large, two-handed flails and shorter, one-handed versions. Well-known depictions can be seen in the painting Battle of Orsha (1520–1534), in The Travels of Marco Polo (c. 1410), and in the military treatise Bellifortis (c. 1450).
This combat flail has a hardwood shaft and a metal chain with a spiked ball. The shaft is 14 cm long, and the chain is 40 cm long. The spiked ball has a diameter of 10 cm.
This item cannot be sold to Belgium due to Belgian weapons legislation.
