Week 15 History Essay

             The four inventions I learned about this week are the English longbow, spurs, the blast furnace, and plate armor. First, the English longbow is basically a very large bow-and-arrow that is much more powerful than a regular one. The bow was as tall as a man, and the arrows were so powerful that they could go through armor and kill horses in battle. The origins of the English longbow are uncertain, but they became popular because of the Assize of Arms in 1181, which was a law requiring all men to have weapons. Boys would begin training when they were very young, and they would get a bigger bow as they grew. Next are spurs, which are horse riding tools attached to the riders feet. They are metal and have little spikes or arms on them to poke the horse to get it to do what the rider wants. It also helps the horse to overcome fear, which became important in battle. No one knows who invented spurs either. Next is the blast furnace. A blast furnace took over for the bloomery to make iron out of iron ore. It was invented in China in 24 AD. The blast furnace made refining iron a quicker process, and it is still used today. Lastly, I learned about plate armor. Plate armor is metal armor that would go over a knight’s chest and back to protect them. It was invented in 1420. Plate armor is not really used today except in Medieval shows. These are the four inventions I learned about this week. I thought they all were very interesting, but I liked the blast furnace the best.