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.

The flail (sometimes called Morning Star Flail) is a weapon that consists of a striking head attached to a handle by a rope or chain. The main advantage of a medieval flail is its ability to strike around a defender’s shield or parry.

A chain weapon is a weapon made of one or more heavy objects attached to a chain, sometimes with a handle. The flail was one of the more common types of chain weapons associated with medieval Europe, although some flails used hinges instead of chains.

Jan 18, 2025 · The flail, with its chain and spiked ball, is an iconic image of medieval weaponry in the collective imagination. However, its actual use on medieval battlefields is highly contested.

A closer look at the flail weapon reveals a lethal design. It comprises two main parts: the handle and the striking element, often a spiked ball or a multi-edged head. These two components are connected by a chain or a hinge, giving the flail its distinct flexible quality.

Sep 21, 2023 · Today, the most popular and well-known image of the flail weapon—perpetuated by modern-era novels and films—is of fully-armored Medieval knights (literally) “flailing” away in knight-to-knight combat, bashing at each other brandishing short-hafted “morning star” flails sporting long-chain-linked, spiked balls.

A more compact variant, this flail featured a wooden shaft (1 to 4 feet long) connected to spherical striking ends via a chain, rope, or leather. The heads could be spherical, rounded, or cylindrical, and often covered in spikes. This type was sometimes called a “military flail” or “chain mace” .

The term flail refers to two different weapons: one a two-handed infantry weapon derived from an agricultural tool, and the other a one-handed weapon. The defining characteristic of both is that they involve a separate striking head attached to a handle by a flexible rope, strap, or chain.

Sep 23, 2018 · It has been argued that the short-handled long-chain one-handed flail didn't exist as a weapon in Medieval Europe. For example, see https://www.publicmedievalist.com/curious-case-weapon-didnt-exist/ (including discussion of the possible or probable fakeness of some of the Met Museum flails).

The Arms and Armor Spiked Flail is a reproduction of a 16th century German original in a private collection. In weights just over three pounds and is constructed entirely of steel. It is 21" inches in total length, and the chain makes up 6" of that.