Flail with wooden ball

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 especially effective against enemies carrying shields. Variants of this weapon — sometimes smooth, sometimes spiked — spread from Eastern Europe to the West starting in the 10th century. Illustrations from the 15th to 17th centuries show both large, two-handed flails and shorter, one-handed versions. Well-known depictions may 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).

The combat flail is constructed from a hardwood shaft and a metal chain with a spiked ball. The shaft is 50 cm long, and the chain is 30 cm long. The spiked ball has a diameter of 10 cm.

This item cannot be sold to Belgium due to Belgian weapons legislation.