Six Medieval Arrow Types - What are they for?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- Tod of todsworkshop.com discusses six medieval arrow head forms. How and why they were used with the English Longbow in Medieval Britain.
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Arrow heads discussed:
Plate Cutter
Needle Bodkin
Barbed type 16
Leaf shape
Swallow Tail
Crescent
Shot on location at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk, UK. The most extraordinary place and the reason I started making historical replicas. Thank You. www.kentwell.co...
"You've now absolutely committed yourself to perhaps a devastating arterial injury that you simply didn't have before." is the best line I've ever heard on TH-cam.
He got a devastating strike
Ciuy R nat 20
you should visit medical videos more often :*
Such a British way to phrase it. Fuckin love it.
Metal as fuck
Pulling a barbed arrow out is described in the manuscript Jan Ypermans Surgie from 1303-1304. He describes using a goose feather to put around the barbs.
Jan Yperman is a surgeon from the town Ypres in Belgium he wrote a manuscript about surgery around the year 1303-1304. The manuscript is written in old dutch. In this manuscript he describes how to pull out a barbed arrow.
This is the old dutch text about pulling a barbed arrow out.
Of es die mensce gescoten met ingels gescutte die men maect met baerden end
.2. ane elke zide. of met ere hasescichte des gelike. so doet aldus. Men sal
sloeven over die baerdekine ene ganspipe of ene swanenpipe. ende dan doet
dyser ute. Ende doedijt andersins die baerden selen gaen int vleesch. ende dan
sout den gewonden swerlike gaen 1). entie wonde vele argere siin dan si was tevoren
ende oec en gecregedijt nemmermeer uut sonder sniden de wonde bat widere.
Ende men saelt trecken [met eener tanghen die subtijlic ghemaect es alsoe in deser
manieren (eenvoudige schets van een getande tang) C] rechtevort opwert sonder
wankelen.
I tried to translate the old dutch to English.
If a man is shot with an arrow that is made with barbs on each side. or a bolt? that is made the same. Then slip a goosetube or a swanstube over the barbs. And pull the arrow out. If you don't do this then the barbs will go in the flesh. And the wound will be worse than before. And you can't pull it out without cutting the wound wider. Then you subtly pull the arrow out with pliers straight up without wobbling.
Nice reference
@@Maxmetalmetallica it just dawned on me that the English word "wank", of uncertain etymology, might (*might*) be derived from the verb "wankelen". Probably not, though.
@@Rhynome wank kind of sounds like yank (given that they didn't use modern english I'm just assuming the work was simmilar) maybe Wanker described that one idiot that tries to pull barbed arrowheads out of other people's wounds without doing anything for it.
@@Maxmetalmetallica Cool info! The town he is from is actually called Ieper (pronounced sort of like Eye-ayper). Ypres is the French form of the name and the name given to that section of the front line in WW1. The town was totally destroyed during WW1 and then re-built after the armistice almost exactly as it originally was before the war. I visited there for 3 days with my dad a few years ago. Well worth a visit if you get the chance. They do a last post ceremony every night at the Menin Gate (and have done every night since 1919, apart from 1940-1944 when they were occupied by the Germans) to commemorate those killed in WW1
"I can't say it's an actual fact, but *someone* probably thought of it"
Finally, someone speaks the truth about like, 95% of medieval military history
look for the comment of Max Albertz, he found an early 14th century source:
Max Albertz 1 week ago
Pulling a barbed arrow out is described in the manuscript Jan Ypermans Surgie from 1303-1304. He describes using a goose feather to put around the barbs.
I'm around history battles for some time now and I can tell you that it is amazing how many things those people in battlefieds were able to do. Using feathers to remove those arrows? Sure, why not. Maybe even common reed might be used. In Asia they would use bambus (I don't know if they had this type of arrowheads there but it is so easy to invent that it would surprise me if they didn't).
Isn't the general rule, or inside joke, between archaeologists, "if we don't know what it does, it is for ritualistic use"
@@TheDragovianLord thanks for the laugh. It's so ridiculously reductive but time and again they trot that same thing out. As though everyone's got all this spare time and excess resources that they can just expend them endlessly.
@@NikBlackwell I don't know. When you think about the pyramids or the 9 mile long patterns in Chile, ancient people sometimes had a lot of time and resources to waste.
The last arrow: a history teacher told me that it would be perfect for shooting a horse without causing too much damage, since the shape prevents great penetration and the horse perceives it as a predator bite (2 teeth) and only penetrates just enough to make him move violently and throw the rider, in order to kill the knight and keep his horse almost intact since they were of great value.
There are other possible and feasible uses, such as bird hunting, target practice (not losing the arrow), or even fishing.
for me: all possible and not mutually exclusive.
ONE YEAR LATER...:
I kept investigating...there is one more practical and to me possible use.
...One that would explain its massive use in the high middle ages even against infantry...in that period rounded armor began to be used...mainly to give an opportunity against gunpowder weapons and longbows or crossbows with massive penetrating power.
since the convex armor favors the ricochet of the projectile occasionally:
Against convex armor, the double point reduces the risk of rebound... it would be decisive if good old Todd did the test.
It could be something pioneering in archaeology.
Golden comment.
I was wondering whether it was for small game but this theory is far more plausible. For whatever it's worth, I concur.
@@immortalsofar5314 Small game seems very probable, and a dual use for dismounting knights would also be valuable.
Unsharpened sure, but a proper sharped one would be like not very deep but very wide cut, trying to get as much damage as possible in a quick hit. Akin to tossing rasorblades at someone. if that is sharped to highheaven, then i could see it being armed for cutting limbs and muscle damage as well as bloodletting major artories in the limbs and throat.
It reminds me of those Indian discs they would throw that would sever hands arms etc..this arrow having a much smaller tip obviously
Tod: I used to know an old archer when I was a child in the 1960's. He fought in WW1 and was an expert on all things archery. He showed me some original arrow heads- including some found in a French belfry. The crescent shaped arrow head was (according to what he was told as a child) used to ensure a "rapid drop" by breaking bones. Normal broad heads and the like would strike bone and glance off, the crescent shape prevented this and ensured the bone if struck would break. He also explained that it made a slightly wider wound channel due to the dual points striking the flesh first and pushing the outer regions inward like a "pinch". Sadly he told me much more - however it was such a long time ago... hope this helps.
This makes perfect sense. It's obviously to stop it glancing off something; I had assumed some sort of armadillo type animal when he showed it but your explanation is 100% plausible. Thanks.
The cresecent shape could be for hunting birds. It prevents it from going in to deep and destroying the precious meat. But it would do enough damage to disable any bird. Or another idea, in a hunting scenario with a lord or king someone, the peasant damage the bigger animals with those arrows but they don't kill them only weaken them and drive them in the right direction, so the king can then kill it and claim his victory. The arrows don't get stuck and there is no "proof" that someone else shot it successfully before. I can imagine those were the strange rules back then in a hunting game.
Similar shape but maybe 2-3x larger Samurai war arrows - again no one actually knows but the guess is that they were used to cause horses to flinch with painful wounds and make them reluctant to continue charging.
How were they used against game - what size game and kill/disable how? Interesting that you say they could cut rope as one theory is that they were for hamstringing i.e cut the tendon - I don't believe that as you would have to be both super accurate and facing the animal exactly right AND the arrow would have to hit with the blade flat i.e at right angles to the tendon. Certainly a charging horse does not present tendons facing the right way.
@@mokwit The arrow head is of a semi-circular cross section, upon contact with either of the points, inertia and tortional forces will cause the cutting edge to rotate along the planar invaginated surface, thusly causing the arrow to cut tendons and bone that a regular arrow head would glance off of.
Because you so professionally handled not being able to call the feather method fact, I liked this video.
@Alex Vives One can still appreciate a person who's not above admitting that there are things he doesn't know about his subject.
@Alex Vives interesting. Although you might have got a severe blood poisoning using a feather with all its organic stuff you at least for the arrow out. Anyway: glad I did not lived back then.
@@thankyouforyourcompliance7386 infection?? whats that
Thank you for your compliance - Don't get _too_ cozy....we all gotta go _somehow_ 😜
X_XJacob - And for your elegant sentence structure, I gave your comment a thumbs up.
8:30 "I don't know"
You have a subscription sir!
Literally what I did!
Me too! I respect someone who says like Patrick Moore "We just don't know".
If only more people were like this. IT seems lying is easier
@Baconmuncher He means he is subscribing to him based on the fact that he is upfront about not knowing where he got this information, and not having any credible source, instead of just lying and saying its true.
Kind of like when I hear "Scientists speculate.." "Researchers accept the.." "The theory of..". At least he is real and honest. You are subbed my friend!
Imagine walking across a battlefield with your head down and arms all tucked in, getting peppered with arrows that are bouncing off your armour. That must have been terrifying
"The myth and legend that surrounds the English longbow obscures so much hard information."
You mean, the English longbow is the katana of projectile weapons?
@Pappy Tron Your pop-pop was Mad Jack? lol
@Pappy Tron You forgot to mention he shot several arrows at once 😉🙃
@Pappy Tron utter tripe
No, he said that the English longbow is far too mystified. The long bow (not only English) is a weapon that combines power with low price and an easy technological process at the expense of versatility.
A recurve composite bow, as the Egyptians Bow 4,000 years ago or the Scythian Bow 2000 years ago had similar powers but could be used by lesser people, could be used on the back of the horse, but such a bow would be expensive even at present. For example, the Korean Bow requires animal horns from the indochine peninsula, imported wood, and the glue was made from oceanic fish while the long English bow was only a piece of wood imported from Spain.
@@ciprianganea759 😂😅😂😂 you don't have a fuckin clue what you are talking are talking about. Longbow were dependant on regular wood imports from Spain! You know they were developed by the Welsh using yew wood as well as other locally available woods suitable, that was until the duke of Normandy set up a landing pad for drones and the the first Amazon prime account for his Longbow supplies from Spain. Until then they relied on FedEx which wasn't very efficient yet with no roads and constantly making right hand turns they were forced to go in circles.
Thank you for your clarifications, I cannot accurately describe how relieving it is to hear someone comfortable enough with themselves to explain in detail what they do and do not know. It lends so much to your credibility, thanks for the video, I'll be sure to explore your channel more.
Ya, when someone can say when they don't know their credibility jumps.
It’s 3 am, I’ve never shot a bow in my life, and here I am watching a video about 6 different kinds of arrows.
Blue Hell Demon same, except I love shooting bows and it’s 04:00 lol
3:10am
3:12 am here, and I am supposed to be at work in 3 hours...
Everything interesting happens at 3 am
230. figured this video would help put me to sleep. i was wrong
As a history student I cannot express how much I appreciate the note at the beginning about how others put forward information as flat fact and that the information he's putting forward is what he believes is true based on what he's learned and figured out.
The last one is for mowing very small patches of grass from a distance....
thin lines. very thin lines.
😅😂😂😂
you made me chuckle
*insert any British lawns jokes here
LMAO! Comment of the Day !! Sometime last week.
Tod, you are incredible humble. Never sell yourself short! Just because you do not have a PhD at the end of your name does not mean you aren't a scholar. Your knowledge of medieval armor and weapons is incredible. I can listen to you all day long. Thank you for posting these videos.
AMEN. Point well taken.
@@Imtahotep Pun intended? Point well taken=arrow
@@mrbluesky9891 I was considering putting it in quotes but you got it
@@Imtahotep YAY...does this mean I'm brainy?....probs not. :)
I couldn't agree more....... cfnc
4:39
It was said to me by the former curator of the Eastern Collection in the Royal Armouries of Leeds, Ian Bottomley, that the English arrows they have analyzed had exactly that feature, steel on the edges.
Great content as always!
I followed up your claim, and he was kind enough to Confirm it to me as well.
It's about time somebody mentioned case hardening! Good job!
Who would win:
- English archers with "armor-piercing" arrows
or
- Hunched-over French knights
Some hunchie-bois
French.... Is this a trick question?
French knights, with no shields or horses...
Since the french would be running away you could shoot them in the back, gonna go w the eng on this one.
Virgin French knight vs Chad British Archer
Here are the time stamps for the arrows!
Plate Cutter (Arrow Piercing Bodkin): 0:57
Needle Bodkin: 5:10
Barbed type 16: 6:18
Leaf shape: 9:25
Swallow Tail: 10:07
Crescent: 14:10
Thanks.
The intelectual correctness of this man is very refreshing, and the content is very interesting aswell. You got yourself a new subscriber!
@ROBERT J KIS typo, thanks!
intellectual
+1
Except he makes the british mistake of calling Alluminum "Alluminium" which I agree sounds better but is technically inaccurate.
@@sasquatchredbeard9385 how is him calling it "aluminium" technically incorrect?
"Eh, wrong colour." Got you the like.
Nobody ever talks about how blue steel is.
While I mostly agree with this thought, you can have aluminum that looks like steel, depending on the grade, heat treatment, and finish. You can also have steel that looks like aluminum, depending on carbon content and finish. It's usually easy to tell the difference, but there are some that would confuse you.
Iron and aluminum look very different. Steel and aluminum can look very similar. It all has to do with the finish and composition.
At work I deal with lot of aluminum. I saw a piece that I swore was aluminum until I picked it up. Way heavy. That was most likely stainless as it spent a lot of time outside and shown no sign of rust.
All I'm saying is that steel gets a blue shine to it (most of the time), while aluminum tends to get a white shine.
Tin gets a similar, though slightly chalkier shine to it as aluminum.
@@SiFiFreak exactly. I'm in aviation and I guarantee most people couldn't tell the difference between most grades of sheet metal and sheet aluminum, let alone what type they are. And that's just the basic alloys.
Now I have to go look for videos comparing the appearances of alloys. Thanks, all.
You gotta love people with a passion for what they love.
Thats what loving something is, right?
How I wish I had had a history teacher with the knowledge and passion that Tod has, I could listen to him all day.
Dear Tod,
I recently went to the Finnish National Museum in Helsinki, where they had on display an arrowhead very much similar to your crescent-head. According to the display sign, the arrowhead was "iron age" in the Finnish context, so that would be early medieval on a more central-European scale. The sign said these types of arrowheads were used when hunting waterfowl near shoreline brushes - the design making missed arrows easier to find! I got a contact e-mail for the museum staff and I'll ask them if they have a good source on this information and let you know if something turns up.
@Abu Troll al cockroachistan I cannot talk about the resulting aerodynamics, but the main advantage of a metal shaft could be that the shaft is not snapping on impact but instead "pushing" more into the hit. So on paper you have more punch to it. But there are a couple problems.
1. If you try to keep the same weight the metal shaft is going to be only around 30% in diameter compared to wood. It might be bending just as quickly as wood is snapping.
2. If you don't care about making the arrow heavier it will be slower. Any advantage will be thrown out the window.
3. Steel was much more expensive than wood.
Conclusion: There is just no point in "full steel arrows". Probably some people tried it a few times. And because its not worth it they stopped doing it a week later.
@Abu Troll al cockroachistan So what exactly were these results, you seem to know them pretty well?
What diameter did they use? What kind of material? And what were they supposed to be used for?
As a mechanical engineer I am quite experienced with steel. And I would guess that you underestimate the forces of an arrow on impact. I don't want to bore you with mechanics, but if you compare the section modulus for both, wood and metal shaft of the same weight you might find out in surprise that the wooden one, due to its bigger geometry, will not break more easily than the metal one, despite metal being a tougher material.
@Abu Troll al cockroachistan "how do you explain modern thin hollow Carbon arrows penetrating far better and being more solid then the wooden one's"
Carbonfiber in general performs better than wood. It is also not that much heavier. If the arrow is much thinner and hollow the arrow will be much lighter which results in smaller forces, less penetration and a smaller likelyhood of the arrow shattering on impact. Do you have sources for better penetration? Maybe the bow or the target is the reason, not the arrow.
"there are even Aluminum arrows made too today because Aluminum is a very light metal"
Depending on the alloy aluminium is expected to perform better than steel. This is about geometry again.
I don't have interest in wasting money in such a historically irrelevant experiment. At least not as long as relevant historical questions we could tackle instead remain unanswered.
@Abu Troll al cockroachistan Look at a later video from Todd mythbusting Armor vs Arrows.
There was one case of a war arrow with a case hardened bodkin head that didn't shatter, but instead transferred all of its momentum into the armor. Nothing.
This was already a 80g beast of an arrow shot by a 160lbs bow at low distance.
You aren't going to change the matchup with arrow redesign shenanigans.
The geometry is simply against you.
Its a ludicrous misconception to try to fix anything with a higher arrow weight to begin with. If you aren't able to make the bow more powerful, which you hardly can any further, the result is just a very underwhelming result with an awkwardly slow projectile.
You would be better off throwing if you wanted to go any heavier.
@Abu Troll al cockroachistan No. Just no. I am too bored to explain the same things over and over again, but you have a huge problem with physics.
Your example of thinking that a thrown weapon will always be subpar to a projectile of a sling or a bow is just a prime example. You talk about momentum. Why does your talking point sound as if you had no idea how momentum works?
The 80g arrow of the example is heavy as fuck. The top speed was 55m/s.
Javelin throwers are able to throw a 800g Javelin with 31m/s. A war javelin would have even higher momentum.
Do the math. Tell me which one will have more momentum. And then conclude weither its realistic, or totally bollocks to think there would be only the slightest chance to raise the momentum of an arrow or a sling projectile to the one of a thrown javelin.
Thank heavens - somebody that talks honestly about a subject.
Rrgeetm
42 to you. buy some bitcoin ticker btc and some cardano ticker ada. or you wont hve cash to buy that second head in 2024. marvin ps bitcoin will devour all cash
Would that be an African swallow, or European swallow tail for that arrow head?
And also: How far would you be able to propel a coconut (tied with perhaps a bit of twine) with said arrow?
Depends on the unladen weight of the two halfs of coconut used to simulate the horse you might be riding....
What!? I don't know that?
FWOOSH! AAAAAAGGHHHHH!!!!
Aha! So that last arrow type was obviously for cutting coconuts!
For transportation purposes.
No medieval Knight would go galloping around Wales without his trusty coconut halves. 😊
First thou should take out the holy pin, then thou shouldst count to three....
One of the best explanations of the arrowheads that I've had the pleasure to hear. Clear, concise, researched, and no fluff. Thank you sir.
It’s awesome how you say “I don’t know”. It not only makes you sound more humble, but more credible. I appreciate it!
9:00 “modern problems require modern solutions” - soldiers in the 16th century probably
Richard the Lionhearted was sent the personal doctor of Saladin(by Saladin, of course) after being injured by an arrow, who used wooden dowel rods soaked in honey to slowly dilate the channel, remove it and prevent infection.
Throw in a little lidocaine for local pain and people would buy that as a preferred treatment these days.
My source is Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings' historical background page. If I cant trust Ensemble Studios, who can I trust?
Being an avid hunter, I have an idea about the crescent-headed arrows. I think they were beater arrows. Most of the hunting (especially in the older days) consisted of driving the game toward stationary hunters (standers). In medieval times the standers would be the Lords and the beaters whatever common folk were employed to chase the game from the bulk of the forest to wherever the Lords were standing. The people who did the driving of game toward the standers were called beaters or drivers. I think they would find these points useful for several purposes: 1) Firing them into heavy cover to startle game. If the game hid in a thicket, these arrows would cause a lot of noise and startle the game into bolting as they tore through the brush with the wide head, scaring the animal in the direction opposite the sound. 2) A hit from these arrows would send large game like deer or boar running in the right direction without injuring it, and finally 3) If the Lord's gamekeeper caught one of the beaters roaming the woods with a crossbow, they could not be accused of poaching because of the non-lethal beater heads on their ammunition.
Wouldnt wooden broad (leafshaped?) achieve the same and be a lot cheaper.
If you're going to make arrows just to spook animals, why would you make them as expensive as proper arrows?
If you hit a sapling, piece of brush etc. with a leaf shaped arrow it would just glance off whereas a crescent-headed arrow would stop squarely and shake the sapling/brush violently.
@@dunwitch What about just throwing a rock? It just doesn't make sense because arrows weren't cheap.
Have you ever tried to hit a deer with a rock?
@@dunwitch ... Why the fuck would i be throwing rocks at deer?
Tod is my "go to" guy when it comes time to purchase medieval weaponry. I own 2 of his bronze mace heads. Tod's stuff is a little bit more expensive, but OMG are they nice. Well made, well balanced and just gorgeous works of craftsmanship. Thank you Tod.
When I started reenactment back in 2010, Tod's Stuff was one of the first recommendations I had
That feather barb trick is pretty sweet, I'll remember that just in case...
Let me know if you ever have to use that trick.
The kind of random knowledge that you write in you novel or something and have people making videos and theories and study about it years later.
Hopefully you don't get shot in the back.... with no friends around
@@groynin I'm definitely using this in my novel.
Just bring a cell phone & call 911.
This was wonderful to watch. Your honesty made me subscribe. You're incredibly articulate. Thank you for all the information!
@@tods_workshop : Dear sir - I have posted on this channel the answer to the crescent shaped arrow head's function - hope it helps!
I've seen that crescent head in Japan, they referred to it as a "Frog Crotch" point. You've sparked my interest here, I'm going to do some comparison of all these shapes to much older stone points that I've cataloged. Perhaps I'll learn something. Thank you for your time.
They seem relatively common in Japan, sometimes very ornate. Though it seems nobody is quite sure what they were for there either.
@@TrueFork I'm not beyond calling some of them ceremonial but others are obviously utilitarian. Confounding set of circumstances.
+q+å1q1111¹
As I recall from a long time ago the crescents were used for bird hunting in Rome and perhaps Greece and others. The crescent was sharpened on the inside as a cutting edge. It was made to cut up birds to drop them quickly (heads wings amputated). A regular arrow will pass through allowing them to fly away before dying, or flying off with your arrow (there was a stork that was flying around for a couple weeks before they managed to capture it to remove the arrow).
For fishing it's small tips with small barbs to avoid deflection in the water, if arrows were used at all (spears were common).
i looked up '"Frog Crotch" point arrow' after reading your comment and sure enough found an article that desribed its use. "The "knife prong" and "frog crotch" were intended to cut the helmet-strings and armor-lacing of the enemy". So thankyou for that clue. It was the crescent head in the thumbnail that piqued my curiosity and made me watch the video.
It’s 4:20 am and I’m here learning about medieval arrows. Thank you! Great content!
lmaooo duude 420 😂😂😂
haha weed bro
nice
Welcome to the club, we've got t-shirts
I thought you were going to review the dwarven, elven, orcish, glass, ebony and daedric arrows.
Miroslav Averchenko I think we’ve found the person responsible for all the arrows in knees
Get him!
Yes
Miroslav Averchenko I don’t need review on those arrows, they make since. I need him to review why the hell falmer and forsworn arrows are so damn weak.
Also the stand and requiem arrows.
"Steeled" arrowheads were probably case-hardened for a few hours. I experimented with this a few times when I was a blacksmith. Just because one wouldn't actually work well to cut armour doesn't mean the makers didn't sell them to someone (who had too much money) for a high price!
Tod: And here's a crescent shaped arrow head. It's somewhat of a mystery.
Me: That seems simple enough, it'll be for hunting birds.
Tod: Many people think it's for hunting birds, but it's never shown in that context so I don't think that's the case.
*Owned*
@@tods_workshop YES! Vindication!
Honest though, big fan. 🙂
@@tods_workshop they might also be good for smaller stuff, like rabbits and paultry based targets? if you miss you could easilier get it back sicne they don't peirce the ground and have a lower chance of ruining the tip as easily if it hits the ground with a pointy tip. Esecially whent eh surroundign might be more stoney than earthey. A normal srrow may even pierce and overkill the rabbit anyways.
@@tods_workshop I've never before seen such a mistery crescent shaped arrow head. For birds and small game such as rabbits cross shaped wire "baskets" are used which stun rather than penetrate. I don't want to suggest thery were used as "practice arrows" on humans paintball style as they still look dangerous and inaccurate. When you shoot small targets there is a very good chance you will miss hit a rock and ruin an arrow on which much money, materials and labour were expended. On the other hand the crescent heads are less bulky than baskets and you can fit more of them in a quiver. May have been used on raptors preying on poultry, as it would justify the expense? Up to what distance are they accurate? Great video by the way.
@@tods_workshop Could the additional point on the crescent be a means of increasing the odds of hitting small,swift prey? It seems unlikely, but it popped into my head.
I'm glad this was in my suggested videos. Looking forward to checking out more of your videos Tod. I love learning about historical crafting and tech.
Regarding the crescent shaped arrowhead, Hungarian reenactor told me (a long ago, I might not remember details correctly) that it is for hunting in the reeds, next to swamps, the point being if you miss, it gets stuck sooner in some reed and won't fly far away so it'll be easier to retrieve afterwards, since arrows were expensive.
Greetings from Hungary, with reflex bows and backwards shooting!
Having hunted quite a bit with a bow, this makes a lot of sense. Missing or shooting through deer in tall grass (golden rods in particular) an arrow with a normal hunting head disappears like magic.
I was thinking the same thing. Either your shot hits, by missing all obstacles, or it falls short enough you can retrieve it, perhaps even in sight. I could also see it being used for hunts. The hunt was an event, and taking down a kill was always an honor. If a guardsmen were to shoot at say, a large boar, he would not want to kill it or he might feel the ire of his lord, but he may wound it for him!
i don't know why i found myself watching a video on medieval arrowheads at 1am but i'm glad i did.
Wonderful. A gritted teeth thank you to TH-cam for getting the suggestion VERY right this time.
I've spent so many years grinding my teeth at bad history 'tubes. It's so good to see a person who approaches history so well.
Maybe you should sit Lindy Beige down and explain how to do this? :)
Only now do i realise how true that actually is
Thank you, Tod. Another great video. I support your view on case hardening. So simple a process for any blacksmith or metalworker, and cost free, that I have believed it inconceivable that it would not have been done. As you say people back then we're not stupid. I recall as a child a comic with a hero series of picture stories of Saladin, I think (it was a long time ago). But I clearly recall the English archer putting a pea-sized ball of beeswax on the tip of his arrow to assist it to penetrate armour (a lubricant?). I can't see that in the heat of battle. But it has stuck with me through these many years. Fascinating stuff. I look forward to your next.
Completely agree on the carburising. It's an obvious choice and known at the time.
In my opinion as an archer, the crescent model could be use for small game animals as rabbits, squirrels or partridges. Since they are very low on the ground, when you miss (it happens fairly often since they are little targets and moving fast), as described in the video, the arrow will not burry itself inyo the ground cover so it can be retreived and reused. The modern arrows points of Judo type are doing that with springs for field pratices. They still can be use for hunting, killing by shock. Another element is the width of the point is smaller than the regular hunting ones, making ideal for small game use.
Dear Tod, for the crescent arrow type, you might want to look into the traditional Japanese Samurai Karimata type of arrows. It's one of many subtypes of arrows fairly similarly shaped arrows that were supposedly used to cut especially large wounds on limbs. Maybe they are similar in use, I'm not an expert on the subject though. I'm enjoying your vids, thanks and keep up the good work.
Your comments are very intriguing. I love learning any historical information I can. The older the better.
There's a theory about those crescent shaped points found in Poland that basically they were wrapped in a wool or hay dipped in a tar or some other sort of flammable liquid, ignited and shot to begin an arson. The shape of the tip ensures the flaming material not to slide right of the arrow when it gets accelerated by the bow
The Japanese had the same shape arrow head but I don't know what's there used for.
His respect for sources of knowledge is so important and I love it
At last I can find a person talking honestly about this topic. You have earned my subscription, sir. Thanks for sharing this video.
Interesting video, thanks Tod. I am inclined to agree that the crescent head is for small game and birds - to injure without too much visible damage, and also to increase the effective target area without glancing off, or going clean through a wing as a single point arrow might do. Being able to retrieve them easily is a bonus too!
...and the crescent arrow is for reenactment of Night Elves!
I subscribed immediately when he admitted that he doesnt know when he doesnt know something.... wise man ... also i could listen to him reading a book on tape anytime.. such a soothing voice
Great video, charismatic presenter, sounds like you really know your thing.
You earned a sub, kind sir.
you wouldn't fight him would you? I wouldn't
Same he looks like he could have it
Thanks for a very informative video with no waffle or B.S. Cheers from Down Under in Australia
Todd, I urge you to do more chill talking in the woods about your practical findings on medieval ''mysteries''
I really appreciate that you admit when you don’t have all the information. It shows that you really know what you’re talking about.
You make quality content I clicked that bell hard. So many people on here talk with more authority than they ought to. You are a refreshing change of pace.
This is information we needed. This is the stuff they should interpret into video games no matter how complicated.
If there is a game with arrows such as these, do inform me.
That last arrow with the crescent head would be ideal for hunting small ground animals like rabbit. It would cause blood damage, and you could quickly recover spent, missed arrows.
Jon Sones totally makes sense (but he did mention it’s depicted being used on “beasts”.
Makes sense, guess on some small animal thats not particularly tough that probably cause quite the damage. Also it's kinda absolutely useless against any sort of armor or bigger animals, so in medieval times that might've been a factor on peasants or what being allowed to have these.
Works on animals but not on soldiers. Maybe when weapons were outlawed (such as after a major defeat) this arrowhead would still be allowed. Not sure peasants and the lower classes could afford metal arrowheads, but subjected/defeated nobility might want to continue their sporting and hunting without breaking any weapon bans.
Nihilius 84 it is common for blunt points to be used for hunting small game, and for them to go right through some animals. Crescent is basically the ideal small game broadhead.
I could listen to this dude for ages
First time viewer to your channel. I appreciate how you articulate yourself, & your honesty is refreshing. Great video!
6 different arrows types, all of which I never want to be impaled with...
But which one would you rather be impaled with is the question
@@bullpupbaggins9394 The one to avoid most is any barbed arrow. They're evil.
hopefully.
@@bullpupbaggins9394 the straight ones will go extremely deep inside u
But maybe you will want to be pierced by a golden arrow that gives you supernatural power.
Excellent from beginning to end. What an absolutely absorbing, interesting, superbly presented film. Thank you so much.
Hi, while this is not my typical area of interest, I was very impressed by Tod and the medieval tech. Thank you for a very clear description that even I could comprehend and for making the presentation worth watching till the end. How many of our ancestors put food on the table with this tech and how many fell to them in combat. Sitting here in A/C during a heat wave watching content from half a world away, the contrast in life experience is shocking.
Hey Tod, congrats on figuring out TH-cam's algorithm. Have been seeing this video thumbnail all night. Great presentation though. Thank you for the information!
Great explanation Tod, everyone here knows you need to a vid showing a warbower shooting a dead pig and you removing the arrow with a feather. Please
I could listen to this guy all day, thoroughly interesting and wonderfully presented.
Damn, that crescent head was the one I was most curious about. Great video, though!
I heard it was used be the Roman Empire to dacapatate ostriches in shows called venatios where they would kill many animals.
perochialjoe - for hunting in heavy brush. it cuts through vegetation rather than deflecting.
Just looks like a turkey thumper to me, frankly.
@@holdernewtshesrearin5471 That would be interesting to test. A crescent head with a crossbow might be the 13th century version of a brush gun.
Dont worry about the condition of the arrows, mate! As long as we get a rough idea of what the arrow looked like, then all the information you feed us will still be the same as a pristine arrow. Great video!
His practical knowledge blows me away.
I love hearing about strange trajectories on projectiles. I once had an S-shaped flight pattern from an angular rock.
That quill method is extremely cool
I have seem a similar technique done on fishhooks. When he whipped the quill out I suddenly knew where he was going. ;-)
Tod what a brilliant video... loved the content, nicely filmed, location is fab and the outfit perfect.
That feather solution was simply beautiful.
The last arrow you showed i think would be good for range contests. Seeing how far someone could shoot an arrow and because of the design when they land they would stand up making it easier to determine a winner, im just speculating tho.
What an awesome presentation, especially with practical qualifiers! I learned a great deal. Thanks
My family name is Arrowsmith. I often wondered as a child why such a profession was its own thing. At 37 I have finally come to understand the intricacies of the craft.
Thank you for that.
Thats great! I have often wondered about people called Fletcher & Stringfellow. Dates back to medieval times. Peter stringfellows ancestors may have made bow strings!! Er.....they didn't have nightclubs back then did they? 😅😅
@@davesheppard8797 They had the medieval version of a nightclub.
@@daexion Ah! That's cool! Did they have strobe lights and s**t, and did the women dance round their handbags in those days? 🤣🤣🤣
This is a fantastic video, really well put together, extremely informative, and you're very genuine!
I was absorbed by your presentation to the very end. Good work!
This is the kind of thing I watch YT for. I am totally, immediately transfixed, delighted by this wonderful, excellent video.
Really appreciate you taking the time to put these informative vids up. Can you do one for the Stiletto? Bought one from you a while ago and interested on your perspective on them.
My best guess at the cresent arrows would be that they were used in coursing, especially from horseback, and were designed to inflict bleeding wounds when hitting but not burrowing into the ground when missed as to make collection of the arrows easier, possibly done by the non-hunting attendants of the hunt who trailed behind the hunters to collect killed game.
But this is just speculation.
The real danger of losing an arrow is simply that it gets covered by grass. Even a simple sharp point won't go very far into the dirt, especially if it's hard.
1:58 *There's one they fear. In their tongue he's Dovahkiin - Dragonborn*
I love how you're not one to speculate. You say what you know, you openly admit to guessing what it could be, but you leave it more or less up in the open
In the movie, "Kingdom of heaven", Balian's faither has an arrow removed with a crude surgical instrument, which kind of "wraps" around the arrow's barbed head. I always wondered if that was historically true.
Found this on a website:
"Petrus de Crescentiis, a 14th century author, recommends the use of a special arrow to hunt big birds. The ‘sagitta bifurcata’ was a forked point with two blades sharpened on the inside. According to Petrus it was able to cut through a wild goose’s or other large fowl’s neck or wing."
That might be why people say it's for hunting fowl?
Wouldn't that kill the poor bird?
@@rolandfrerichs5625 No no.. They grow another head.
They're perfectly fine. They're just sleeping.
Just clicked on this because it looks a little different. Man that was interesting. Excellent stuff Tod. Thanks for all the information I never realized I needed. Brilliant stuff.
Forget the nonsense talked by the frivolous late-night accidental watchers. This man is credible in the way that most people should aspire to be. Great and informative talk. Thanks.
2 ideas on the crescent head.
1: maybe it was to get people use to shooting with the weight of a "more normal" head
2: a more probable use in my mind: maybe they were used for the same reason as a sparrows tail but were an adjusted head for use with crossbows
Yeah possible the different aerodynamics benefitted the shape for use in a crossbow, you see the same idea in forward swept jet wings. In planes its less stable but at short ranges off a crossbow that might not make a difference.
Wow, no dumbing-down, no flashing graphics, no funky music ..... just an educated man holding forth on a topic upon which he seems authoritative, thank you Sir, you are truly a diamond in the internet's 'rough.'
In passing, may I ask, is archery practice after church on Sunday still on the statute?
Normally im interested in Modern weapons but this was catching my eye because its an important part of the History of Firearms.
Very interesting Video!
Years ago I was taught (and I can't remember who taught me this) that if the nock of the arrow and the ear of the arrow head are on the same plane, it's a hunting arrow. If they are perpendicular to each other, the arrow is meant for war.
This is supposed to be because an arrowhead traveling perpendicular to the ground (as when the nock and arrowhead are on the same plane) it will pass between the ribs on an animal. While an arrowhead traveling level with the ground (as when the nock and arrowhead are perpendicular) it will pass through the ribs of a man.
Not that likely..as arrows tend to spin in flight..
@@bluebow68: In fact, arrows _must_ spin in flight, if they are to maintain a predictable trajectory. Gyroscopic stability is an important feature of all ranged weapons more advanced than a flying rock.
@@shawnhtpc2271 Part of the aerodynamic function of the feather as a fletching is to create rotation, the lower surface in situ on the bird's wing being rough and the upper surface smooth, even if there is no offset as a fletch on the shaft.
The common mechanism in reducing the loss of shafts in shooting at small game appears to be that when one tip of the head catches on some twig or other obstruction, the shaft flips over and falls to the ground, where a smooth wooden blunt has a far greater chance of just being diverted and the shaft lost.
Any small point might be used as a birding point, but two of the more specialised methods are made to catch a wing, or to entangle a bird in flight, i.e. petal-like wire loops or by towing a line from a spool through a flock. In fact I suspect the modern judo is derived from the modern wire loops birder.
Crescents also appear in other categories, symbolic or ritual, spirit-chasers which can be ornate and oversized, some also being known as "frighteners", to intimidate designed to intimidate such as the Chinese large chisel-head shown on p.237 of Selby's Chinese Archery.
Tod's account from crossbow shooting raise a smile, sine it is common enough to see crossbows shoot astray due to prod misalignment whereas arrow head misalignment and imbalance is common with shafts fitted with hand forged points.
I believe most shots were 6/7 yards. Hounds would bay/hold animals in place as the hunters would get close enough to make the correct shot. I feel the loss of a arrow from bad shooting was not affordable( pretty sure the metals for Arrowhead replacement were not easy to have). Most were hand to mouth hunters/ gathers with a few farmers I would think.
@@rodparsons6719: One side of a feather being rough and the other side being smooth will not generate torque to make the arrow spin. One side of each fletching on the arrow must face into the wind slightly to generate that torque. This most likely happened by accident at first, since feathers are naturally curved and getting them to line-up perfectly along the length of the arrow shaft is basically impossible to do by-hand.
The reason the undersides of bird feathers are rough is because there was no selective pressure to favor a smooth underside like there was to favor a smooth upper surface. The undersides face towards the bird's skin and are not exposed to significant airflow, therefore rough undersides don't generate more drag and don't make flying more calorically expensive, the way rough upper surfaces would.
Honestly I'm quite impressed by this channel and the host...👍
it's 9:30 pm, I'm very inebriated with work in the morning, have never once shot a bow, and I'm watching this video and loving every moment.
Fascinating from start to finish. Thank you.
Maybe the last one is for target practice. Because I can imagine that target practice arrows might not have been the best of made or were just lazily made so when they pulled out the arrows from a target it may cause the tip to break off so maybe the crescent shape was so that when they pull the arrows out the shape caused it so it wouldn't break off and would instead slide out.
maybe... an interesting idea.
Hi Todd, this is Levente from Hungary, co-founder of the Nap Parducai traditional archery group. We actually teamed up with the Natural History Museum of Hungary to investigate and reproduce traditional arrows for them and later these were distributed out across various museums in Europe. The last arrow head we actually know in 2 versions of: the one you show in the video, and the other is a more opened up one, where the 2 endpoints are bent back like a tulip. The inner side is sharpened in these, and legend has it you could hunt birds with it by aiming at the neck (not true)..... actually it’s one of the most devastating warheads against leather armour or flesh. As you noticed in your video, as soon as the head catches in something it turns on to the contact point (judo point), causing a massive penetration point, in extreme cases you could cut limb off with it, as the inner ‘blade’ combined with the ‘cone’ shape (mind that the arrow is rotating due to the twisted fletching, giving you a virtual cone) somewhat collects flesh and other material, instead of pushing it out of the way.
If you are interested in these in more depth, let me know.
Kind regards: Lev
www.napparducai.hu (contact)
But most medieval arrows had straight fletchings.
Excellent commentary. Balanced and informative with ‘wriggle room’ for us non experts to dare to hypothesize. Thank you.
Thanks for your excellent presentation. It is very educational.
Mr. Tod. I'm a medieval History Student and I would really like to read those historical fonts you used to determine that in 1415 iron was mostly used instead of steel. also I would like to know how you determined the thickness of those pieces of armour. Would you be so gente to handle me the sources?