Flail (weapon)

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 flails, which were sometimes employed as an improvised weapon by peasant armies conscripted into military service or engaged in popular uprisings.

[5][6] Several German 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.

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', probably being adopted from either the Avars or Khazars.

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.

[12] 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,[15][16][17] though these limited and somewhat sensationlist studies have now been largely debunked.