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Product description
The medieval war flail was a shorter weapon consisting of a wooden handle connected by a chain, rope, or leather strap to one or more striking heads. Variants such as the kisten—sometimes smooth, sometimes spiked—spread from Eastern Europe to the West from the 10th century onward. Illustrations from the 15th to 17th centuries show both large two-handed flails and shorter, one-handed versions. Well-known examples appear in the painting Battle of Orsha (1520–1534), in The Travels of Marco Polo (c. 1410), and in the military treatise Bellifortis (c. 1450).
This war flail is a replica of several medieval originals. The flail evolved from the threshing flail, a universal agricultural tool used throughout the Middle Ages. It features a heavy ball on chains and a long handle, keeping the ball well clear of the wielder's own hands.
