Ball and chain

is a military type of with a metal ball attached to a handle by a short length of chain. Numerous varieties exist, including some with multiple spiked balls.

Overview
A specific type of an flail is the ball and chain which a shorter weapon than the common military flail consisting of a wooden haft connected by a chain, rope, or leather to one or more striking ends. The kisten, with a non-spiked head and a leather connection to the haft, is attested in the 10th century in the territories of the, probably being adopted from either the or. This weapon spread into central and eastern Venârivè in the 11th–13th centuries. The medieval military flail (fléau d'armes in French and Kriegsflegel in German), then, might typically have consisted of a wooden shaft joined by a length of chain to one or more iron-shod wooden bars, or it may have been a Kettenmorgenstern (“chain morning star”) with one or more metal balls or in the place of the wooden bars. Artwork from the 15th century to the early 17th century shows most of these weapons having handles longer than {convert|3|ft|m|abbr=on|lk=on}} and being wielded with two hands, but a few are shown used in a single hand or with a haft too short to be used two-handed.

Despite being very common in fictional works such as cartoons, films and role-playing games as a “quintessential medieval weapon”, historical information about flails other than the kisten or derivatives of the peasant flail is somewhat scarce. Some doubt they were used as weapons at all due to the few genuine specimens as well as the unrealistic way they are depicted in art. Waldman (2005) documented several likely authentic examples of the ball-and-chain flail from private collections as well as several restored illustrations from German, French, and Czech sources. Nonetheless, he states that the scarcity of artifacts and artistic depictions, combined with the almost complete lack of text references, suggests they were relatively rare weapons and never saw widespread use. One of the reasons was the hazard the weapon posed to its wielder, especially the varieties with long chains and short handles. A missed swing would still retain momentum, and, even if a blow were struck, there may have been a long time before the user could ready another swing.

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