Page 51 - History of War - Issue 18-15

THE BOW THAT BUILT BRITAIN

MILITARY ARROWHEADS OF THE LONGBOWVSCROSSBOW
ThearrowheadsshownaremadebyMiloslavLaskyKrizanandHectorColeMBE

MEDIEVAL PERIOD GREATRIVALSOFTHEIRAGE,THELONGBOWAND

CROSSBOW HAD THEIR MOST FAMOUS CLASH IN
1346INAVALLEYINNORTHERNFRANCE
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT MEDIEVAL ARROWHEADS AND FIND OUT HOW EACH
WAS MADE AND USED Likethelongbow,thecrossbowwasfirstusedforhunting,
but in time it evolved into a deadly weapon of war. The
crossbow’s greatest strengths were its superior power and
relative ease of use, enabling crossbowmen to train in
days rather than the years it took for an archer to become
proficient.However,itsrateoffirewasmuchslowerandits
rangelessthanthatofthelongbow.
LOZENGE-SHAPED HEAVY BODKIN Themostfamousclashbetweenthelongbowanditsrival
Heavy, large and with four sharpened edges, this long bodkin point was developed cameinAugust1346,atCrecy,whereEdwardIII’ssmall
purely to punch holes right through steel plate armour. The arrowhead socket is force of 10,000 men won a decisive victory against Philip
formed from a fl attened spoon shape, rolled into a cone and fi tted over the wooden VI of France’s 30,000-strong army. Philip’s army included a
arrow shaft. When used with a half-inch-thick arrow weighing almost a quarter of a corpsof6,000Genoesecrossbowmenwho,atthestartof
pound and shot from a true military war bow, this would have been the equivalent of a the battle, advanced ahead of the French army.
Medieval rocket-propelled grenade. AstheGenoesemercenariesbegantofireattheEnglish
line, the crossbow’s fatal flaws became clear. Soaked
by heavy rain, the thick strings had become slack and
stretched,reducingtheGenoesecrossbow’srangeeven
further.AstheEnglisharchersbegantoreturnfire,the
crossbowmen, without their protective shields, were left
exposed in the vital minutes it took them to reload. Caught
in a hail of English arrows, they retreated. Contemporary
accounts recall that the disgusted French knights, advancing
behind the crossbowmen, cut down scores of the retreating
Genoese mercenaries.
TYPE 10
This was perhaps the most common arrowhead of the Hundred Years’ War – simple “THE CROSSBOW’S GREATEST
and fast to make, and highly effective against the armour of the period. The Type
10 was a simple bodkin – a four-sided point and a rolled socket. Forged by a master STRENGTHS WERE ITS SUPERIOR
arrowsmith, this was the evolution of the needle-bodkin. As chainmail gave way to
POWER AND RELATIVE EASE OF USE”
plate armour, the Type 10 arrowhead found its way into the Medieval arms race.

While frequently
enemies, archers
and crossbowmen
often found
TYPE 16
themselves working
This arrowhead has a very distinct difference from the bodkins. It contained together. At Falkirk,
barbs on either side, which made it incredibly diffi cult to remove from whichever English archers and
target it may have pierced. The barbs would most likely have been ‘fire welded’ crossbowmen beat
the Scots
to the head separately. The popularity of such a head is unknown, but surviving
examples of Type 16s do surface from time to time. This may have been a
military-adapted version of a hunting head.

TUDOR BODKIN
As with the Type 10, this arrowhead would also have been cheap and fast to produce.
According to master arrowsmith Mark Stretton, once the socket has been formed in
the usual way, the red-hot arrowhead is placed into a press or ‘swage’, which is then Getty
hammered shut. The corners are then cut and ground to produce the sharpened edges.
This type of head would have been mostly ineffective against plate armour, but would
pierce many types of textile armour, such as padded Gambesons or leather Jupons.

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