Falarika

Falarika (also phalarika or fire arrow) was a larger incendiary projectile that was constructed like an arrow and could be fired from a catapult or a similar throwing machine.

The falarika first appeared among the Saguntins around 218 BC and was later used by the Romans and Byzantines . This weapon was used throughout the Middle Ages , especially as a defensive weapon during sieges against the wooden siege towers .

The material set on fire consisted of tow with pitch , sulfur or natural resin and was attached below the arrowhead. Before being thrown away, the mass was set on fire.

See also

• Pyr automaton
• catapult
• Arrowhead

literature

• Alfred Geibig: Fire arrows and fire bolts . In: The power of fire - serious fireworks of the 15th - 17th centuries in the mirror of its neuter tradition . Art collections of the Veste Coburg, Coburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-87472-089-2 , p. 11-30 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Falarika, entry in Brockhaus 1911, zeno.org (accessed on November 3, 2009)