Medieval Longbow Arrows & Some Thoughts on Type 16 Heads

Medieval Longbow Arrows & Some Thoughts on Type 16 Heads

[griffin]

The vertigris is an anti pest measurement. Since the glue they used was made from animal protein aka hide glue. Bugs that would normally eat dead and decaying animals are quite attracted to hide glue but they're instantly poisoned by the vertigris.

[-Honeybee]

Matt, we all know that was intentional, but that was funny as hell. "I love a fat shaft".

[brianknezevich]

On adhesives and wrapping, historically..
In my somewhat limited experience, mixing a glue with binding increases the effectiveness of both. I've handled several centuries old tools that were still completely functional with adhesive and fiber components. I can't say the same for either used alone.

[Maaaarz]

Matt, I love thet you've embraced the meme x) It's 10x better than ending people rightly ;)

[shenyathewelder]

A lot of things that don’t make sense come down to tradition. When I was a scout I would often cover parts of my face in charcoal sludge to reduce the pain in my eyes from sensory problems (light hurts), well I came into contact with my old troop and Aparently this had caught on with the others. None of them had a clue why they did it, but they did. It didn’t serve them the way it served me, but never the less they had black stuff around their eyes

[MedievalArrows]

Just a quick note for everyone hypothesising about glues and drying times - these arrows are not fletched with glue. The mixture contains wax, tallow and resin and sometimes copper acetate.

This mixture "dries" or more accurately cools and hardens in about 30 seconds, so "drying time" should not be a concern when discussing the use of binding the feathers as well.

[brettalizer]

a schola video on archery awesome! the green is copper oxide to stop mites eating the fletchings nice barreled arrows btw

[JK]

The binding of the fletchings has another advantage, when the tip of the flights raises up just a mm or so it can actually end up digging quite deep into the hand when shooting high poundage bows adding the binding (specifically the part closest to the tip) can save you a lot of pain (take that from someone who had to pull out a significant part of feather out of his hand :P )

[dougalemacalestyr]

I concur with your assessment of the arrow wounding.
There's been so much focused on armour penetration, because it's fun :), but the practical approach is "How do you minimize your enemies desire to fight?"

That's where the effectiveness of archery on the battlefield would be maximized. It might not kill you outright, but you're not going to be fighting with a bunch of sticks in you.
Wounded & panicked horses would do the devil's work behind enemy lines.

[rivenwyrm]

That delivery. The straight face. You have a career in comedy if poking people with swords doesn't pan out.

[MrRapidPotato]

Personally, just from a logical point of view, the glue that they used would not be strong enough to keep the fletching secure by itself.
I think you're defiantly right about arrow storage but I also think that it goes further than that. General wear and tear of taking arrows on campaign(wet and humid conditions) or as far as day to day practice would also likely tear off the fletching over a fairly short period of time; not to mention if your arrow passes through a target that would very likely tear off the fletchings. Binding the arrow would make it much more durable in all cases. realistically I think the verdigris used would be pretty strong but not over the very small area of the arrow that the goose feather is in contact with the shaft. In my opinion this would be the main detrimental effect on a secure bind.

Forgot to mention I wouldn't want to be sat there trying to bind a feather to a shaft with only hot verdigris. It must be a right pain, even with some sort of jig to keep the feathers in place whilst you are waiting for the glue to set.

[justsomeguy]

I'd been waiting for this one for awhile. Always glad to learn more about Medieval projectile weapons and their ammo. I really like crossbows (bowguns) and enjoy imagining what gear an Iron Age SWAT team would use and how they'd tactically clear a keep etc. You should do a video about melee indoors and how to clear structures at sword/bayonet point etc.

[RedDove]

On the glue: it was very likely hide glue which is heat sensitive. Violins are still made with it as it allows you to warm the edges to pull the violin apart for repairs. So having the string would stop the fletching coming off if it was accidentally exposed to heat (at a campfire or in the field during a very warm summer).

[vanuaturly]

Medieval glues had a long working time, I.e. they took forever to dry completely. The binding keeps the fletching in place while the glue sets.

[jacktanner]

1. In my book, the glue alone is strong and could in a pinch do all by itself but once it's bound on it takes a serious amount of effort to rip the fletching off. Furthermore, the beeswax/tallow and pine resin mix is somewhat susceptible to very hot weather (it can melt) I also wonder how long its strength lasts over time but this is just a personal hunch, in any case, binding seems to be the best insurance by far.

2. Contrary to what some people have said the glue sets very quickly, and the ability to reheat it is extremely helpful in fletching without a jig (no evidence to suggest they actually existed in the medieval world), Wills theory is that the same substance is used to glue the fletchings on and then coat the bindings (originally it was thought that the verdigris was a separate stage, added once the fletches were glued and bound. Without something to cover the bindings I find that they can tear or are susceptible to damp.

3. While the presence of copper verdigris might be because of its anti-pesticide ability this isn't necessarily the reason they added it. We simply do not know for certain, another theory I have heard of is that the glues were possibly kept in copper pots, I personally happen to use a copper cup to heat up the glue mix though I haven't yet seen if this has had an effect on the glue (turning it green).

[lotoreo]

So you're saying a thicker, longer shaft is necessary to handle more poundage? I thought it was for better penetration.


Context.

[Foxer]

I think you're missing a simple point - the barbs lengthen the cutting edge. With a cut-on-contact arrow you want to make the cutting edge nice and wide - makes for a nastier wound more likely to kill. But - if you just make the arrow head wider - you also make it heavier. That reduces range and can reduce the speed and cutting power of the arrow. Those barbs are close together, it wouldn't take much with a pair of thin pliers to push them together to extract the arrow but they WILL cut better and leave a more nasty wound than your 'armour piercing' arrow, and will penetrate better. These days we do something similar by making the arrowheads with cut outs in the center and such, but in the old blacksmith days i doubt that would have been as easy, much easier just to notch the edges from the back and reduce weight and increase cutting width.

[seamus]

Hide glue is plenty strong for holding the fletching but it's weakened by moisture and heat so, tieing them down is just insurance.

[matejskovran]

From what I know, verdigris and pine pitch/hide glues doesnt degrade over time as much, lot of arrow shaft from mary rose still have the glue layer intact and all the thread and feathers are gone. First you put a of glue on the shaft, let it dry, then you freehand bound the feathers on, after that you re heat the glue, it melts all over the bindings and really secures them.

[viridisxiv]

i have heard reference (cant remember where) to barbed arrows having to be cut out of bodies after a battle, so if your mate gets killed by an arrow you cant just pull it out and shoot it back. the romans did somethign similar with their pilums i believe, designing them so that the enemy could not throw them back. after all you dont want to be supplying the enemy with fresh arrows!