Dark Ages
The Dark Ages are usually considered to extend from the end of the Western
Roman Empire to the Norman invasion of England. While Western Europe was in
turmoil, the neighboring areas were in far better shape. The Eastern Roman Empire, or
Byzantium, survived and grew strong, retaining control of modern-day Turkey
and Greece. Islam spread throughout the Levant and northern Africa, bringing
enlightenment and civilization.
This grouping of equipment represents a barbarian or backwater kingdom in a
fantasy campaign. Since no armor heavier than chain mail exists, many of the
weapons that evolved to pierce or defeat armor have not been invented yet. It’s
good for Viking-like cultures and humanoid hordes.
The Dark Ages saw one very important innovation in Western Europe: the
introduction of the stirrup. This allowed a mounted man to wield heavier weapons and
deliver a stronger blow without fear of falling off his horse. This innovation
signaled the beginning of the horseman’s ascendancy on the battlefield. By the
year a.d. 900, the most devastating weapon on the battlefield was the charge of
heavy cavalry. No infantry formation could hope to withstand it, and lighter
cavalry had to move aside or be crushed.
In the West, armor was generally light until late in this period. Chain mail
was too expensive for anyone except chieftains and picked bodyguards. By the end
of the Dark Ages, chain mail had become far more prevalent. Metal lamellar and
scale were widely used in Byzantine and Muslim armies, although light infantry
usually did without any armor at all.
The Dark Ages
| Battle axe
| 5 gp
|
| Bow
|
|
| Arrow, flight
| 3 sp/12
|
| Arrow, sheaf
| 3 sp/6
|
| Composite short bow
| 75 gp
|
| Long
| 75 gp
|
| Short
| 30 gp
|
| Caltrop
| 2 gp/12
|
| Crossbow
|
|
| Light crossbow
| 60 gp
|
| Light quarrel
| 1 sp
|
| Pellet bow
| 25 gp
|
| Pellet
| 5 cp
|
| Dagger
| 2 gp
|
| Dart
| 5 sp
|
| Hand/throwing axe
| 1 gp
|
| Javelin
| 5 sp
|
| Lance
|
|
| Light
| 6 gp
|
| Medium
| 10 gp
|
| Mace, footman’s
| 8 gp
|
| Mace, horseman’s
| 5 gp
|
| Quarterstaff
| —
|
| Spear
| 8 sp
|
| Spear, long
| 5 gp
|
| Staff sling
| 2 sp
|
| Stinkpot
| 1 sp
|
| Stone
| —
|
| Sword
|
|
| Broadsword
| 20 gp
|
| Long sword
| 45 gp
|
| Sabre
| 30 gp
|
| Short sword
| 15 gp
|
| Two-handed axe
| 15 gp
|
| Warhammer
| 2 gp
|
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