Bodkin point Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Bodkin point arrows were invented in the Middle Ages, as an improvement of the earlier broadhead arrow. Broadhead arrows were used for hunting, as the sharp, wide cutting surface caused large wounds, that even if they did not kill the animal outright, would most likely make it quickly bleed to death.With the increasing number of armored soldiers in the battlefield, the broadhead arrow showed a fatal weakness: the large head would distribute the impact force over a (relatively) large area, and in most cases, bounce off or break against armor, causing no damage at all. Even when shot from the famous English longbow, the broadhead arrow was not effective against footmen in mail armor and Knights in plate armor.
To circumvent this, metalsmiths devised a needle-pointed square-section arrowhead, up to 4 1/2" long and 3/8" thick at its widest point. When shot from an English longbow, and mounted on a good, light, and hard shaft, with quality fletching, its range was an outstanding 275 yards. The objective was to put a hole through the armor just large enough to allow the arrow shaft to enter freely.
Concentrating all the energy of the shot in the neddle-sharp point, a bodkin arrow could punch through 1/16" hardened steel armour, pin a man to a tree or wall, slice through chain mail as though it was not there and penetrate a 5" thick oak door. Chain mail was especially vulnerable to bodkin arrows, since the thin point pushed the links out of the way, and the full force of the shot was delivered to the flesh of the soldier.
The power of the bodkin arrow was clearly demonstrated at the Battle of Agincourt, where 6,000 English Longbowmen, supporting 1,200 Men-at-Arms and footmen, all under the command of King Henry V, defeated a force made up mostly of French Knights and crossbowmen numbering between 25,000 and 30,000. The relentless volleys of bodkin arrows broke the front line of the Knights, killing men and horses, and throwing the French lines into disarray. About 6,000 French Knights were killed, another 1,000 were captured, and there was an unknown number of casualities among the support troops. Covered in their advance by the rain of bodkin arrows, the English lost only 13 Men-at-Arms and a little more than 100 footmen.
The bodkin arrow would slowly and gradually lose its place in the battlefields to the increasing popularity of early firearms, even though it was much more precise and lethal. By the middle of the 17th Century, the bow was considered obsolete in the battlefield, and the days of the bodkin point arrow became history.
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