Joan of Arc vs Saladin Weapon Preview

Joan of Arc
French Arming Sword: In all physical appearances, this one-handed weapon mostly appears like a English longsword. From the base of the blade, it was wide, until it got to the halfway point, when it became about as thin as it's English counterpart. It was used a bit differently than it's competition. Because of the wide base, it allowed Joan and her men to use a technique called "Half-Swording", where in the warrior wound grib the wide portion of the blade, and drive it into an opponent's armor. Because of this, most users thrusted with it, but it could also be used to slash & cut.

http://deadliestwarrior.wikia.com/wiki/French_Arming_Sword

Halberd: A multitasker in the air of killing. The half was usually at least 5 feet long, and the 1 foot left over was composed of an axe blade, a spear tip, and a hook (some halberd models would have hammerheads instead of a hook). This weapon was a knight's worst nightmare: the hook (or hammerhead) would knock them off their horse, the spear tip would go right through their breastplate, and the axe blade would cut right through (or at least damage) the armor around their arms or legs.

http://deadliestwarrior.wikia.com/wiki/Halberd

Steel Crossbow: By the time steel came around during medieval times, it had taken the place of wood in most crossbows. The steel allowed for greater range, and greater armor penetration. Even if you were out of bolts, you could swing the thing like a club, and probably take somebody out. The only problem was the steel itself: because of the strength of the material, you had to put a small wench system on it, and crank the string back up. This wasted time, and occassionally got knights killed.

http://deadliestwarrior.wikia.com/wiki/Steel_Crossbow

Full Plate: Despite being only 17 years old, Joan of Arc put on her suit of Full Plate Mail, the heaviest & most protective of all medieval armors ever developed. Composed of leather armor for padding, chainmail for linking the arms and legs, and steel plates for protection. The armor could protect the wearer from just about all forms of attack, save for piercing attacks (like those from a warhammer's claw, or a lance rider).

http://deadliestwarrior.wikia.com/wiki/Plate_Armor


Saladin
Sabre: Saladin himself was very fond of using this sword. Similar to the Scimitar or Kilij, the sabre was different from it's other relatives in that the blade was nowhere near as curved, and the weighted tip wasn't as great as that of the Kilij (although it was still heavy enough to cleave through targets with a single blow). It cleaved through the air with ease, and was a light weight weapon that just about anybody could use.

http://www.outfit4events.com/arabian-sabre-saladin-p-2125.html

Lance: Although more common among European armies, Saladin's men also carried this weapon. Much heavy than a javelin or normal-sized spear, the Lance was used on horseback as part of a charge. Holding the weapon behind the vamplate (which kept the user's hand from sliding up), the rider would charge towards a specific target (often another horse rider), holding his lance outward. The ensuing impact would knock the rider off his horse, and the lance would have punctured the armor, leaving a nasty would in the chest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance

Recurve Bow: Very common in Saladin's army, the Recurve Bow was a elongated D-style bow. Composed of a solid piece of wood, it's length allowed archers to shoot arrows up to incredible distances (how far the arrow went depended on the bowstring's draw length, as some archers preferred tighter or looser strings), and said arrows would pierce through just about most forms of armor (including Joan's armor if the arrow hits the right spot).

http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/Medieval_Recurve_Bow_MRB.html

Riveted Chainmail: Compared to Full Plate, Chainmail might seem like an inferior piece of armor, but don't be fooled. Chainmail is much lighter than plate, and allows the wearer to move around the battlefield quickly. On top of that, it was relatively cheap for the time, and could deflect most slashing attacks.

http://www.medieval-chain-mail-armor.com/images/CM100_J2Coif.JPG