06-14-2014, 10:10 AM
Quote:Alanus post=356066 Wrote:In actual ancient combat, archers were using bows in excess of 100 pounds draw-weight, and such a bowman was incredibly formidable.Do you have any evidence of any ancient bow with a draw weight of 100 lbs or more? ............
This would be my real question to start with - for I would wish to query the actual 'threat'....
Taking the initial Roman encounters with the Parthians (so 1stC BC) what sort of basic and early compound bow are we talking? Secondly, I assume we are talking about massed bowfire from a significant, but reasonable, distance (certainly outside light javelin range) from a moving horse. Therefore that's lofted arrows en masse describing an arc and covering that significant distance.
Leaving aside actual penetration tests, simple logic would suggest that mail/hamata with its lower maintenance and greater covering per weight would out-perform plate/segmentata even if it had been available and therefore probably wasn't introduced.
If a bunch of people with simple recurved bows at 100 yards want to shoot at 'me' in a proper mail tent with leather backing - I think I'd feel relatively safe. :-) Give me a nice large shield as well and I may even come out of the tent and face the arrows in the actual mail! My understanding of Carrhae and Xenophon's earlier writings are that the majority of ancient bowfire en masse is harrassing fire and it's the exposed portions that get hit. The Parthians' enemies were worn down by not being able to move, but have to shelter, and heat - not actual death and major injury.
Hunting bows and modern archery over flat trajectory distances are not what we should be talking about. :wink:
