theyre too difficult to control at speed for ‘most people’ to use them in combat.
And in a battle against a field of wheat, that might be relevant.But your typical medieval peasant would have years of experience using them, though not necessarily in a martial context.
I think the exact opposite in fact. - As long as the opponent has a shield or equally large weapon and freedom to move, the footman's flail is at a disadvantage in a one-on-one situation.Do you think it might have been a duelling weapon? They did like the weird and wonderful for duelling weapons.
That'd make for some comedic duels. Five seconds of fighting followed by thirty seconds of disentangling the chains from each other.Do you think it might have been a duelling weapon? They did like the weird and wonderful for duelling weapons.
The swing of the head would mean that your front line does not obstruct your attacks
The Footman's flail has a long shaft and the flail portion is only as long as the final 3rd or so. It is quite possible to swing it over the heads of your allies to hit the front line of the people that you are facing, and it can be swung back to vertical to prepare another strike without endangering your allies behind you.Err... where does the chain go when you are swinging at an enemy when you have a line of allies directly in front of you? It can't just stop, it has to carry on swinging. Then when you pull it back for another attack the chain swings back and killies the allies standing behind you too.
About the only time this weapon would be any use is when you are on your own against a large number of enemies. See: Warhammer goblins.
You are forgetting conservation of angular momentum.The Footman's flail has a long shaft and the flail portion is only as long as the final 3rd or so. It is quite possible to swing it over the heads of your allies to hit the front line of the people that you are facing, and it can be swung back to vertical to prepare another strike without endangering your allies behind you.
Hey now! Daniel-san learned martial arts by painting fences and washing cars... so who's to say you can't learn proper fighting technique out in the garden?And in a battle against a field of wheat, that might be relevant.