I was a competition archer for 20+ years here in the UK, and to be honest most Hollywood type Archery is just so divorced from reality but Hey it's Entertainment (Well it used to be anyway) we experimented with burning arrows a few times as some of our members were into re-enactment.getting them to stay alight was very difficult and the arrows flew very slowly and erratically and obviously the arrows were destroyed. To be honest our Longbows were only around 60lb draw weight as compared to some medieval examples being well in excess of 100lb but any accuracy and distance is severely limited in any case, getting them over a castle wall would be achievable but the defenders would out range any such attack and something like crossbowmen's Pavice would be needed. I must point out No Villages Were Burnt during our experiments.🎯🏹🇬🇧
Thanks for sharing your experience. I always try to add some weight for realism in my D&D sessions and fire arrows have come up a few times. The issues you mentioned are the ones I thought would present the biggest challenges.
@@kithranen1542 Flaming arrows have to be used in movies. Not many in a modern audience could stand to watch how besieging armies used to really set cities on fire: They'd capture birds that nested in those cities, then set them on fire so they'd fly back to their nests in a panic. Hundreds of flaming arrows is easier for a modern audience to watchon film that hundreds of birds on fire and shrieking in pain.
@@johnpauljones9310Filmmakers just need to do a bit more research. There were other interesting ways of burning down cities. I know that one such way was to dig tunnels underneath a city wall and set fire inside the tunnels, although I'm unaware of the frequency with which this happened. But a subterranean war between medieval tunnel diggers of opposing factions might be cool, maybe something like a medieval version of the WW1 film Beneath Hill 60
The flaming arrows in Robin Hood PoT were real,the director wanted the movie to be accurate with showing casting arrowheads with a stick,and how flaming arrows work.
The film _Troy_ (2004) not only had fire arrows filmed practically like _Gladiator_ (2000), but they were used in two specific scenes in an attempt to set ships on fire, and set in the path of flammable bundles to cause chaos during the night.
My D&D group has used fire arrows in previous sessions and continues to ask about using them. I have shared this video as it perfectly encapsulates my issues with their use. One thing that you touched on, but didn't highlight, is that you need an open source of flame to ignite your arrows before their immediate use. This requires preparation, which you did cover, but it also requires the archer to stand still and in a well-lit position to be effective.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq I love the idea of fire arrows as specialized tools rather than just an arrow that has fire damage. One way for a stealthy infiltrator to light their fire arrow without exposing themself to light would be carrying embers in a jar by using a tinder polypore and fire arrows based on the pinewood+sulfur matches described. As well in a fantasy setting it wouldn't be entirely impossible to have arrows with two glass vials of compounds that combust when in contact with each other. Or an even simpler solution is available if you're sneaking around with a team mate who's capable of casting heat metal who can just make your arrow tip red hot and then just shoot it somewhere you wanna cause a fire.
The best thing to do if you have time as a DM is go look through some historical manuals on the construction and use of fire arrows if you want to add an air of realism to your campaign. Basically real fire arrows are expensive specialty weapons used for siege or naval warfare not just some arrow that magically adds fire damage to whatever gets hit. They were also surprisingly sophisticated employing fuses, waterproof coatings, oxidizers to burn intensely and arsenic to produce toxic fumes. They have more in common with modern world war 1 era incendiary devices than they do with the silly oil soaked rag arrows we see in the movies. You do not need an open source of fire to light them, but you do at least need a punk or slow match. I do a bit of DMing. If I were running the game I would make them an expensive specialty item you had to make with alchemy or buy from and alchemist and give them serious firing rate and range penalties making them worse for regular combat than normal arrows but providing a chance to light flammable materials on fire and maybe do a bit of fire damage to susceptible targets. You could even make them take a round to get the punk lit etc.
Completely unrelated, but what happened in the early 2000's that made all movies start to suck? Was it just CGI? Movies of the previous era using practical effects were great for obvious reasons, but even the writing took a huge downward turn during that time frame.
A cool story of using fire to destroy a village was by Olga of Kiev. She was able to convince a village that she would leave them alone if they gave her their messenger birds. She then had sulphur and cloth attached to the birds, lit them on fire at night and sent them back to original owners burning people alive in their sleep.
It wasn't just a village, It was a whole city. It was part of a campaign against a tribe called the Drevlians who had murdered her husband. She laid siege to the city for a year and told them that she would lift the siege if each household would provide 3 pigeons and 3 sparrows, which seemed like such a small price so the Drevlians gladly obliged. She was very determined to wipe out the Drevlians for what they did to her husband.
Honestly sounds like BS to me. Any idea how easily feathers melt and burn? Any real heat at all and you would have a featherless bird. Try it some time.
Just to add on, Infantry units throw torches into the city as well when attacking. I can't remember if advanced units later on have any unique animations similarly.
Another thing that - well a couple of things - that annoy me about archers on television. Firstly - "Fire". The correct term is "loose" and sometimes it's used. Secondly the idea of holding your boat full draw while you're waiting for the command to "fire". Maybe if your draw weight's about 20 or 30 pounds . God, Peter Jackson has a lot to answer for.
I remember my first Archery lesson, it was drummed into us, You don't "FIre" a Bow, and it's Never a Bulls Eye it's a Gold, we were frowned upon when we said rather ireverently the arrow was in the Custard ,,, or Sauce Anglais as I think it's called outside the UK 🇬🇧
For a filming historical event we had to shoot fire arrows into a thatched roof. What happened was the arrows slid between the thatch and the fire put out. After around twenty arrows, we set fire to the thatch by hand.
It was fairly common for medieval fortifications to be made of wood, and even stone castles often contained some wooden structures. Meanwhile, siege weapons like rams and siege towers were also constructed of wood making them at lease somewhat vulnerable to fire. In fact, siege towers were often covered in wet animal hides to make them less flammable.
Wooden castles were common but build very much in the mind of being able to withstand fires. Most were plastered for example. They also took care that exposed wooden structures were flat and featureless, making them very hard to set on fire. Simple flaming arrows wouldn't do anything to them.
@@windsaw151 It's not just the castle walls though. A castle courtyard may have contained a variety of outbuildings like stables, sheds and workshops within the walls, along with the wagons, carts and tents of peasants who crowded into the castle for protection. Arrows fired over the walls could start fires within, and while this probably wouldn't bring down the castle, it could make life very unpleasant for the people inside. Also, having to repeatedly put out fires, even small ones, could draw defenders away from their other duties (like guarding the walls) and/or prevent them from getting rest.
A wood beam is not that easy to set on fire, a fire arrow won't do it. The arrow would need to hit straw, thatch, cloth, ropes, dried leaves, things like that.
That Olympic Torch lighting clip was incredible! Through your content I have seen so many epic videos I probably would never have found otherwise. Thank you!
As an archer myself I often wondered why going trough all the trouble if you can just shoot a normal arrow quicker and safer to kill your enemy. Flaming arrow would only be usefull to burn flammable rooftops or so, and even then in HUGE numbers.
GREAT episode Johnny! I remember a few years ago, Lindybeige did an episode on this subject. And yeah, most of it was Hollywood fantasy. See ya next time. (or actually, hear ya next time.) 👍
When I was a kid, I wrapped a rag around the tip of an arrow, poured gas from the lawn mower on it, lit it, and shot. To my astonishment, the flaming arrow shot 50 yards off into the woods and stuck in a tree. I was amazed that it actually worked just like in the movies. Awesome! 😁
Even in the Total Wars strategy games (Rome, Rome 2, Medievial, Medievial 2, Shogun and Shogun 2) the option for fire arrows is only use to break the moral of the enemy or let the elefants go amok because of the flames. Normal arrows to the most kills in this game series.
I was going to say, even if fire arrows were completely useless for military use, you just know someone somewhere would have tried it just because it looks so cool.
@@SnakebitSTI its definitely not useless, you can search up for the image of an american soldier during the vietnam war with a bow and a burning arrow using it to burn rice huts
Great video, here's on purpose of a flaming arrow I think wasn't mentioned. To give a signal to your troops in the rear or to the besieged castle that help is on its way.
Thanks for the cool video! After playing Total War games as a kid, I was under the impression that flaming arrows were indeed a thing in the past. BTW, we all are fire arrows in a sense. Some of us fly higher, some burn twice as bright and half as long. Most of us miss the target and just hit the ground.
My dad! 1:43 bends down to pick up the arrow that split in half. He was fired but it was kept in as it was more realistic great video Johnny was hoping to see that clip
Top notch, definitely no pun intended...here on the Wirral, and at Shotwick on the Welsh border ,there are whetsones used by Welsh and Cheshire Longbow men...certainly, no evidence of flaming arrows...good cinema references though...well done ,Johnny, peace and love from the wirral peninsula....ps longbows are hard work..tried it a few times...😅😅...E
For igniting thatch, a hot coal or something smouldering would probably work better than actual flame - the wind in flight would tend to fan it, and it might lie in the thatch harmlessly for quite awhile before creating a fire. In summer, thatch may well become tinder dry - a small ember quickly becomes a big problem.
Regarding setting fields on fire, that is absolutely possible with the right weather conditions. And with perfect wildfire conditions, an arrow head striking armor could produce enough of a spark to start a field burning. Wildly impractical, though. I doubt it's ever been done. It would be extremely weather dependent, and if conditions are that hot and dry the fire is quite likely to burn a lot more than a single field.
One film that had fire arrows was the 1986 feaature, The Mission, however the commentary track with director, Roland Joffe, said that it wasn't historical, he just decided to add that in the movie. Take care, and all the best.
I suggest videos on the: English Longbow Crossbow Composite bow Glock Mosin Nagant Lee Enfield Springfield Rifle models of 1873 and 1903 Winchester rifle series
Do they use beehives as weapons in medieval times? By throwing them off castle walls so the bees will attack the invaders below? An example in movies is Friar Tuck using his beehives as a weapon in Robin Hood (2010).
To be fair fire arrows at night would actually make a good opening move. Tracer rounds of the day. You can see where your shots fly to and land? Good! You know your range and that area is a little easier to see. Knock your next shots cold and aim accordingly.
Rome 2 Total war also archers that uses Fire arrows including most Javelinmen but with lower damage & only purpose is to demoralise the enemy,great to make the enemy army route quicker with reduce friendly fire damage as both clash with swords If a flaming projectile managed to kill one, a dying soldier screams attempting to put it out before laying down dead
Chinese fire arrows were anything from a flaming arrow launched from a bow to what was basically a rocket-propelled javelin. Fun stuff. Then there were the Koreans, who invented the hwacha: an artillery piece that could fire up to 100 fire arrows in seconds. Imagine being on the receiving end of a volley from 10 of those things. The rockets also made a screeching noise like fireworks when lit off, adding to the terror and disorientation they caused.
In short, only magical users and enchanted beings can use these bad boys, correct? At least that should appease gamers knowledgeable in the likes of Orcs Must Die!
Also crude oil pitch and tar are very difficult to ignite -there not like gasoline - the scene from brave heart is pure fantasy - you would have to preheat the oil to a high temperature before it could be ignited by a burning rag tied to an arrow -
I always know since a child that fire arrrows is not for some extra damage against human because of Stronghold Crusader. It being used to set oil pit on fire there.
![Eminem - Temporary (feat. Skylar Grey) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZaK9Wi5ho0o/mqdefault.jpg)
Need a light?
Zigaretten?
No need, Terran Firebat.
Only if they're Vietnam Era Newports
_Stop, drop and roll. Always makes me laugh..._
No need, I have an M2 Flamethrower.
My dad was a fire arrow. He always told me it was was hot business and he would often come home late and burned out.
Remember to thank him for his service!
He must have been a hotshot
I was a competition archer for 20+ years here in the UK, and to be honest most Hollywood type Archery is just so divorced from reality but Hey it's Entertainment (Well it used to be anyway) we experimented with burning arrows a few times as some of our members were into re-enactment.getting them to stay alight was very difficult and the arrows flew very slowly and erratically and obviously the arrows were destroyed. To be honest our Longbows were only around 60lb draw weight as compared to some medieval examples being well in excess of 100lb but any accuracy and distance is severely limited in any case, getting them over a castle wall would be achievable but the defenders would out range any such attack and something like crossbowmen's Pavice would be needed. I must point out No Villages Were Burnt during our experiments.🎯🏹🇬🇧
A lot of film makers just consider arrows to be really quiet bullets.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I always try to add some weight for realism in my D&D sessions and fire arrows have come up a few times. The issues you mentioned are the ones I thought would present the biggest challenges.
@@kithranen1542 Flaming arrows have to be used in movies. Not many in a modern audience could stand to watch how besieging armies used to really set cities on fire: They'd capture birds that nested in those cities, then set them on fire so they'd fly back to their nests in a panic. Hundreds of flaming arrows is easier for a modern audience to watchon film that hundreds of birds on fire and shrieking in pain.
@@johnpauljones9310Filmmakers just need to do a bit more research. There were other interesting ways of burning down cities. I know that one such way was to dig tunnels underneath a city wall and set fire inside the tunnels, although I'm unaware of the frequency with which this happened. But a subterranean war between medieval tunnel diggers of opposing factions might be cool, maybe something like a medieval version of the WW1 film Beneath Hill 60
The flaming arrows in Robin Hood PoT were real,the director wanted the movie to be accurate with showing casting arrowheads with a stick,and how flaming arrows work.
Somehow I got an ad of preventing bush fire. RUclips has a good sense of humor
As a fire arrow I'd like to thank you for this factual representation.
The film _Troy_ (2004) not only had fire arrows filmed practically like _Gladiator_ (2000), but they were used in two specific scenes in an attempt to set ships on fire, and set in the path of flammable bundles to cause chaos during the night.
My D&D group has used fire arrows in previous sessions and continues to ask about using them. I have shared this video as it perfectly encapsulates my issues with their use. One thing that you touched on, but didn't highlight, is that you need an open source of flame to ignite your arrows before their immediate use. This requires preparation, which you did cover, but it also requires the archer to stand still and in a well-lit position to be effective.
Very cool. Grew up playing D&D. And you're absolutely right about your additional point!
As a Rogue, I would prefer not to stand in one place next to an open flame so that every bad thing in the area can see me.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq I love the idea of fire arrows as specialized tools rather than just an arrow that has fire damage.
One way for a stealthy infiltrator to light their fire arrow without exposing themself to light would be carrying embers in a jar by using a tinder polypore and fire arrows based on the pinewood+sulfur matches described.
As well in a fantasy setting it wouldn't be entirely impossible to have arrows with two glass vials of compounds that combust when in contact with each other.
Or an even simpler solution is available if you're sneaking around with a team mate who's capable of casting heat metal who can just make your arrow tip red hot and then just shoot it somewhere you wanna cause a fire.
The best thing to do if you have time as a DM is go look through some historical manuals on the construction and use of fire arrows if you want to add an air of realism to your campaign. Basically real fire arrows are expensive specialty weapons used for siege or naval warfare not just some arrow that magically adds fire damage to whatever gets hit.
They were also surprisingly sophisticated employing fuses, waterproof coatings, oxidizers to burn intensely and arsenic to produce toxic fumes. They have more in common with modern world war 1 era incendiary devices than they do with the silly oil soaked rag arrows we see in the movies.
You do not need an open source of fire to light them, but you do at least need a punk or slow match. I do a bit of DMing. If I were running the game I would make them an expensive specialty item you had to make with alchemy or buy from and alchemist and give them serious firing rate and range penalties making them worse for regular combat than normal arrows but providing a chance to light flammable materials on fire and maybe do a bit of fire damage to susceptible targets. You could even make them take a round to get the punk lit etc.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves(1991)
First Knight(1995)
Timeline(2003)
BraveHeart(1995)
The Last Samurai(2003)
Completely unrelated, but what happened in the early 2000's that made all movies start to suck? Was it just CGI?
Movies of the previous era using practical effects were great for obvious reasons, but even the writing took a huge downward turn during that time frame.
A cool story of using fire to destroy a village was by Olga of Kiev. She was able to convince a village that she would leave them alone if they gave her their messenger birds. She then had sulphur and cloth attached to the birds, lit them on fire at night and sent them back to original owners burning people alive in their sleep.
Wow, I can't say whether it's brutal or pure genius. I haven't read the whole story about it tho, can't be bias.
The Americans had a similar plan in WWII but with the "Bat Bomb" where incendiary laden bats were dropped to hide in roofs and set them on fire
It wasn't just a village, It was a whole city. It was part of a campaign against a tribe called the Drevlians who had murdered her husband. She laid siege to the city for a year and told them that she would lift the siege if each household would provide 3 pigeons and 3 sparrows, which seemed like such a small price so the Drevlians gladly obliged. She was very determined to wipe out the Drevlians for what they did to her husband.
History sure can be dark
Honestly sounds like BS to me. Any idea how easily feathers melt and burn? Any real heat at all and you would have a featherless bird. Try it some time.
IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A FIRE ARROW. you always throw me off with your silly lines I love it
I like their use in civilization V. Your archers fire normal arrows at enemies, but pull out fire arrows when shooting at a city.
Just to add on, Infantry units throw torches into the city as well when attacking. I can't remember if advanced units later on have any unique animations similarly.
Another thing that - well a couple of things - that annoy me about archers on television. Firstly - "Fire". The correct term is "loose" and sometimes it's used. Secondly the idea of holding your boat full draw while you're waiting for the command to "fire". Maybe if your draw weight's about 20 or 30 pounds . God, Peter Jackson has a lot to answer for.
Pretty sure these grossly predate peter jackson. I remember seeing these things happen in movies when I was a kid and he was a nobody.
I remember my first Archery lesson, it was drummed into us, You don't "FIre" a Bow, and it's Never a Bulls Eye it's a Gold, we were frowned upon when we said rather ireverently the arrow was in the Custard ,,, or Sauce Anglais as I think it's called outside the UK 🇬🇧
And Johnny love your knowledge and enthusiasm for history! Since 1973 I have now over 4000 books about history, yeah its insane.
For a filming historical event we had to shoot fire arrows into a thatched roof. What happened was the arrows slid between the thatch and the fire put out. After around twenty arrows, we set fire to the thatch by hand.
ruclips.net/video/xNCU4WndtYk/видео.htmlsi=xKty5M84nAJIww-e
That Olympic torch opening using fire arrow was pretty cool
It was fairly common for medieval fortifications to be made of wood, and even stone castles often contained some wooden structures. Meanwhile, siege weapons like rams and siege towers were also constructed of wood making them at lease somewhat vulnerable to fire. In fact, siege towers were often covered in wet animal hides to make them less flammable.
Wooden castles were common but build very much in the mind of being able to withstand fires. Most were plastered for example. They also took care that exposed wooden structures were flat and featureless, making them very hard to set on fire. Simple flaming arrows wouldn't do anything to them.
@@windsaw151 It's not just the castle walls though. A castle courtyard may have contained a variety of outbuildings like stables, sheds and workshops within the walls, along with the wagons, carts and tents of peasants who crowded into the castle for protection. Arrows fired over the walls could start fires within, and while this probably wouldn't bring down the castle, it could make life very unpleasant for the people inside. Also, having to repeatedly put out fires, even small ones, could draw defenders away from their other duties (like guarding the walls) and/or prevent them from getting rest.
A wood beam is not that easy to set on fire, a fire arrow won't do it. The arrow would need to hit straw, thatch, cloth, ropes, dried leaves, things like that.
Making them less flammable to fire arrows didn't work that's a myth.
That Olympic Torch lighting clip was incredible! Through your content I have seen so many epic videos I probably would never have found otherwise. Thank you!
"Night arrows" in timeline is the most ridiculous line ever.
One more reason why the book's better.
"LEAVE US ALONE, MEL BROOKS!!!!"
As someone who’s shot a fire arrow , I can confidently say that they aren’t meant to hit people they are meant to set fire to their surroundings
Correct. Now the enemy has to deal with the castle walls being besieged and the castle being on fire.
Excited for this one
Just wanted to say I love these videos you make on all sorts of things ❤
Movies in 2300 depicting wars around 2000 will only use incendiary bullets I bet.
Or tracer rounds
If historical archers chose to ignore the +3 Burning damage, that's their loss.
i follow a blog that documents first-hand accounts of battles & skirmishes from antiquity and fire arrows come up surprisingly often
As an archer myself I often wondered why going trough all the trouble if you can just shoot a normal arrow quicker and safer to kill your enemy. Flaming arrow would only be usefull to burn flammable rooftops or so, and even then in HUGE numbers.
They are designed to also have a psychological effect on people.
Very nice information for using fire arrows or flaming arrows. Can you make one about the ancient sling? Very underrated range weapon.
Love this idea. Will add it to my list.
GREAT episode Johnny!
I remember a few years ago,
Lindybeige did an episode on this subject. And yeah, most of it was Hollywood fantasy.
See ya next time.
(or actually, hear ya next time.) 👍
I've actually shot one at my archery club, it singed my bow
So basically movies use it as a form of medieval tracer round for film
Educational and good content as always .
When I was a kid, I wrapped a rag around the tip of an arrow, poured gas from the lawn mower on it, lit it, and shot. To my astonishment, the flaming arrow shot 50 yards off into the woods and stuck in a tree. I was amazed that it actually worked just like in the movies. Awesome! 😁
You rock Johnny.
"LEAVE US ALONE MEL BROOKS!"
You're videos are fire!
One other use for fire arrows was for signalling, akin to how flares and signal rockets have been used since the invention of gun powder.
Even in the Total Wars strategy games (Rome, Rome 2, Medievial, Medievial 2, Shogun and Shogun 2) the option for fire arrows is only use to break the moral of the enemy or let the elefants go amok because of the flames. Normal arrows to the most kills in this game series.
yea and they inaccurate miss most time ....but you could use them to lit enemy rams in siege
I'm a fire arrow
And I'm on fire... oh God stop drop and roll!!!!!!
Been following you since the start. There is nothing like a notification from you. Thanks pimp.
Thanks, my OG. Really appreciate hearing that.
in game of Stronghold fire arrows do no extra damage, but people still use them because they are fun to use
Total war decreases the damage but also effects morale, in shogun, they're outright useless against samurais wearing their armor
"FIRE ARROWS!"
- Lindybeige
He's dumb.
This video really does highlight how badass fire arrows can look in film, and why they have been the gold standard.
I was going to say, even if fire arrows were completely useless for military use, you just know someone somewhere would have tried it just because it looks so cool.
@@SnakebitSTI its definitely not useless, you can search up for the image of an american soldier during the vietnam war with a bow and a burning arrow using it to burn rice huts
I'm so happy you included the men in thights bit ^^
Bonus morale effect in Rome Total War!! ☺️
Robin Hood 1991 was fun. He could shoot fire arrows and also extinguish them by just blowing at them. :D
That's a little hard when dozens are flying at him.
Great video, here's on purpose of a flaming arrow I think wasn't mentioned.
To give a signal to your troops in the rear or to the besieged castle that help is on its way.
Thanks for the cool video! After playing Total War games as a kid, I was under the impression that flaming arrows were indeed a thing in the past.
BTW, we all are fire arrows in a sense. Some of us fly higher, some burn twice as bright and half as long. Most of us miss the target and just hit the ground.
...and some of us fail to light entirely.
Derivative bullshit
Wow
That olympic shot was pretty cool
Imagine if it was combined with thermite that would be 🔥
My dad! 1:43 bends down to pick up the arrow that split in half. He was fired but it was kept in as it was more realistic great video Johnny was hoping to see that clip
Robin Hood, the old one with Errol Flynn, has a Rotten Tomatoes of 100%. I don’t know if it includes flaming arrows thou’.
2:04 GIANT DAD
Another good one. You're on fire Johnny!
Great info, thanks for the vid!
Top notch, definitely no pun intended...here on the Wirral, and at Shotwick on the Welsh border ,there are whetsones used by Welsh and Cheshire Longbow men...certainly, no evidence of flaming arrows...good cinema references though...well done ,Johnny, peace and love from the wirral peninsula....ps longbows are hard work..tried it a few times...😅😅...E
Telly used a crossbow in "Escape from Athena" (1979).
Excellent video, as always, Johnny! Cheers!
PS: suddenly, I feel an incredible urge to play AoE4.
I do happen to be a fire arrow, thanks for this video!
For igniting thatch, a hot coal or something smouldering would probably work better than actual flame - the wind in flight would tend to fan it, and it might lie in the thatch harmlessly for quite awhile before creating a fire. In summer, thatch may well become tinder dry - a small ember quickly becomes a big problem.
I tried shooting a flaming arrow when I was a kid. I was met with disappointment when it became smoking arrow when it made flight.
I like the idea of the old arrowheads with levers that strike flint towards the cage when they land
Regarding setting fields on fire, that is absolutely possible with the right weather conditions. And with perfect wildfire conditions, an arrow head striking armor could produce enough of a spark to start a field burning.
Wildly impractical, though. I doubt it's ever been done. It would be extremely weather dependent, and if conditions are that hot and dry the fire is quite likely to burn a lot more than a single field.
A piece of hot coal should be ideal. The airflow will make it super hot and when the arrow lands the coal can ignite some cloth doused in oil 🙂
People love to start their bon fires with them.
There's a YouBoob channel that specializes in medieval weaponry. They had no problem making the special arrow head and filler. It worked just fine.
imagine how much work arrows especially cage arrows must have been
the steel works alone....
Awesome dude as always. Have you ever done any videos on trench warfare?
Love the channel man great work
Thanks man. Here's an old trench video I made ruclips.net/video/cu8wzPlF_tk/видео.html
0:47 I hear it still happens to this day.
One film that had fire arrows was the 1986 feaature, The Mission, however the commentary track with director, Roland Joffe, said that it wasn't historical, he just decided to add that in the movie.
Take care, and all the best.
Steel wool is a fantastic medium for flaming arrows, but that arrow is destroyed for certain.
Could you do the US Springfield 1873?
I suggest videos on the:
English Longbow
Crossbow
Composite bow
Glock
Mosin Nagant
Lee Enfield
Springfield Rifle models of 1873 and 1903
Winchester rifle series
I recall some Hollywood Western, but can't remember the name of the film, but it were Commanche using them on the settlers.
Do they use beehives as weapons in medieval times? By throwing them off castle walls so the bees will attack the invaders below? An example in movies is Friar Tuck using his beehives as a weapon in Robin Hood (2010).
I believe there is a real account of this! And I'll be looking into it further for you.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq Thanks
Mi like was the 2023 one XD. Thanks for the informativ video!
I would add something but I might burn the house down
I am flaming camel, so i thought i'd weigh in - being on fire really hurts, so please don't set your arrows aflame if you care about them. Thanks
Considering it’s a hot topic how about Greek fire? Was it real 🤔
The garden state clip 😂
As a fire arrow I want to add that I burned down a hay roof today.
i am watching this 30 minutes after this was posted lol
To be fair fire arrows at night would actually make a good opening move. Tracer rounds of the day.
You can see where your shots fly to and land?
Good! You know your range and that area is a little easier to see.
Knock your next shots cold and aim accordingly.
Rome 2 Total war also archers that uses Fire arrows including most Javelinmen but with lower damage & only purpose is to demoralise the enemy,great to make the enemy army route quicker with reduce friendly fire damage as both clash with swords
If a flaming projectile managed to kill one, a dying soldier screams attempting to put it out before laying down dead
I prefer explodey arrows like Rambo used, although I can only get them for my D&D bow and not my deer hunting bow.
I would make a "fire arrow to the knee" reference but I don't want to inflame the comment section with a burnt out joke
Chinese fire arrows were anything from a flaming arrow launched from a bow to what was basically a rocket-propelled javelin. Fun stuff. Then there were the Koreans, who invented the hwacha: an artillery piece that could fire up to 100 fire arrows in seconds. Imagine being on the receiving end of a volley from 10 of those things. The rockets also made a screeching noise like fireworks when lit off, adding to the terror and disorientation they caused.
In short, only magical users and enchanted beings can use these bad boys, correct?
At least that should appease gamers knowledgeable in the likes of Orcs Must Die!
So what about in Ran when the armies burned down the castle with flaming arrows?
Are you gonna do night arrows as a followup? 😜
Saving that as a special surprise for the french...
Could you make a video about flaming bayonets or incendiary rounds
Interesting. I thought the same thing.
Also crude oil pitch and tar are very difficult to ignite -there not like gasoline - the scene from brave heart is pure fantasy - you would have to preheat the oil to a high temperature before it could be ignited by a burning rag tied to an arrow -
Lindybeige has a hillarious video about this topic specifically that i reccomend everyone watches!
He has no idea what he's talking about in that video.
Well, this reminds me of something... Can You use a bow like a mace? Like in 'God of War Ragnarok" Atreus uses his bow for meele attack?
Could you do a video on crossbows?
Flaming arrows are just like swords being presented as classic primary weapon instead of guns and poles
Dont forget Rambo and Dukes of Hazards exploding arrow heads
I always know since a child that fire arrrows is not for some extra damage against human because of Stronghold Crusader. It being used to set oil pit on fire there.
Can dynamite sticks with a lit fuse be attached to arrows? For a movie example see “The Professionals” (1966).
Shoutout to my fellow fire arrows