Bodkin tip
The Bodkin point (English bodkin : awl , awl ), also Ahl point, is a special form of war arrowheads . It is a narrow, pointed square (a subspecies of the so-called armor breaker points ). The point was specially designed to penetrate chain mail and was therefore relatively long. Modern firing tests have shown that an arrow with a Bodkin point can penetrate a plate armor 1.5 mm thick at an impact angle of 50 degrees . The bow used had a draw weight of 165 pounds.
The Bodkin lace appeared at the time of the Great Migration and was further developed in medieval England . It was usually forged with a nozzle to sit on. But there was also a variant with a long pointed tang (Erl) or flat tang. In both variants, the point is attached with pitch (birch bark pitch or wood pitch) and wax thread, rivets were rather unusual. Numerous arrowheads of this type are still found archaeologically in old theaters of war in various materials and workmanship, which suggests that they were made in large quantities from iron and less from steel for wartime by specialized blacksmiths and assistants.
literature
- Anne Curry (Ed.): Agincourt 1415. Henry V., Sir Thomas Erpingham and the Triumph of the English archers. Tempus, Stroud 2000, ISBN 0-7524-1780-0 .
- Hagen Seehase, Ralf Krekeler: The feathered death. The history of the English longbow in the wars of the Middle Ages. Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2001, ISBN 3-9805877-6-2 .