The
morning star is an
ancient medieval weapon with many
misconceptions. A
morning star was
not a stick with a
chain and a
spiked ball attached. That would take training and
skill to wield. The morning star is actually a
peasant weapon, something used to strike down
wheat in the field. In reality, it is closer to a
bat with nails driven through it than anything else. Some were crafted out of
metal, being nothing more than a less crude
club.
The great misconceptions spring forth from the
Dungeons and Dragons and other
role-playing aspects of
today are what shape this idea that hinged
weapons existed to any real extent. Items like the
ball and chain, a flail of any type, or any other weapon with chain or a hinge are greatly
inaccurate, as these items are works of
fantasy more than anything else. They would have taken great skill to train with, and would have been rather
difficult to produce en masse, due to their innate
intricacies.
Peasants fought in the
army as little as they had to, and would be considered quite gifted to even have a
sword. Items like
sickles,
pitchforks, and
morning stars were quite common to pick up from the farm when the king called the men of the countryside into service.