The Arms and Armor German Flail is based on a famous piece in the Metropolitan Museum. It is a one handed weapon for combat on foot or horse. This high gothic styled example has a intriguing design with large spikes on a solid ball head, sculpted chain links with rows of spikes on their outer edge. The links are twisted at a right angle. Twisted links allow a chain to avoid kinking or knotting when in motion. The haft is hollow with a stepped grip for larger grip diameter. The haft ends in a turned finial with a bead.
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Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985.