In the middle ages how did soldiers with metal armor or helmets and pointy spears fare duing an electrical?

Question

storm if they had to stand outside?

Answer 1

There are no reports that I've read indicating lightning strikes on knights / armored warriors, and medieval warfare is a major interest of mine. Iron tipped lances and spears had wooden shafts. Wood is not a conductor unless (perhaps) it is soaking wet. Leather boots would have separated an iron armored soldier from the ground, so he would not have been well grounded for electrical conduction - unless ,again, his foot wear was soaking wet. Horses may have been decent conductors under armored knights, so you have a good point.
Interesting question.
Many things that happened in the medieval - "Dark Ages" - were never recorded - or the records were lost.
We might consider that the knights did not walk around all day every day in full armor, so you would have to envision a battle in a thunderstorm. Battles between knights during storms did occur. There was one in the Wars of the Roses in England during the latter 1400s fought in a snowstorm.
(That I will have to look up.) But I suspect that armored knights sat back and waited for storms to clear before attacking - as some reports indicate the French did at Agincourt in 1415.

Added note - It was the Battle of Towton in late March 1461
that was fought in the snow. An interesting battle if you like very large numbers of armored men fighting with no quarter
in horrendous conditions.
A good account of the battle of Towton is cited below.

Answer 2

Oddly enough armies rarely fought during bad weather. If the battle had begun before the bad weather set in they wouldn't stop but if it was bad to start with they often waited. The reason for this was simple. It's hard to charge across an open field if your ankle deep in mud. It's not good if your exhausted before you get to the enemy. Calvary didn't fare any better in the mud. I'm sure a lightening storm would have been seen as a sign that god didn't want the battle to take place there and the armies would have moved to a new location. Odd isn't it This practice continued all the way up until the middle of the 1800's. Once the cartridge shot was developed armies fought in all kinds of weather.

Answer 3

You do comprehend that an inch of steel plate armor protecting the comprehensive physique would weigh around one thousand lbs good? infantrymen decide for much less armor not extra. We have already got too plenty. Agility and velocity are each little thing. using fact of this in Afghanistan attempt against troops dropped the kevlar vests and in simple terms positioned on a ballistic plate provider. Went from 40lbs on the torso to approximately 17.

Answer 4

lol id like to think they knew it wasnt a good day for battle. I've read in some fantasy books about how soldiers would get struck by lighting. it would kind of flow through the men, just hopping from one guy to the next. Or sometimes when it would hit the ground it would flow up into their armor and kill them. other times it would just strike the ground and send them all flying. all depending on how they where stationed for battle and where. its an interesting topic i must say. ^_^

Answer 5

They had some shocking experiences.

Answer 6

not well I'm sure