A lance was a horseman's spear about 2m (6 feet 6 inches) long. The lance was usually made of ash wood with a small iron or steel head. Knights carried the lances under the arm and were used to stab enemy soldiers. Horsemen sometimes had flags (gonfanons) on their lances. By the 13th century lances were rarely less than 3m (10 feet) long.

Two knights fighting with lances, Geoffrey Luttrell Psalter (1325)