Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A melee weapon (from French melee, mixed, referring to groups of fighters interlocked in close combat) is any weapon that does not involve a projectile — that is, both the user and target of the weapon are in contact with it simultaneously in normal use. A weapon that fires a projectile, or is a projectile itself, is a ranged weapon. As such melee weapons do not include statically emplaced weapons, like a boobytrap or burning devices, but are carried. A melee weapon is a type of "cold weapon". There are two basic divisions — edged weapons, of which examples include swords, spears, axes and knives and blunt weapons, such as clubs and maces. The basic principle of edged weapons is to increase the user's pressure by concentrating force applied onto a smaller surface area, such as an edge or point, thus more easily penetrating the opponent's body to cause wounds. Because most of the effectiveness of edged weapons depends upon breaking the skin of an opponent, they lose much of their usefulness when pitted against armour.

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