There's a Saracen account of a Frankish knight with dozens of arrows sticking out of his armor, yet riding away unharmed. Apparently he was amazed at how effective the foreign knight's armor was and that the man was not harmed.
Could I not conclude that mail was indeed pierced by arrows, as it would have to defeat the rings to become lodged in the gambeson/underarmor. The Muslims were not Longbowmen firing at men 30 feet away. I understand that a projectile much faster, therefor you can't "glance/absorb" the impact as you could a slower, yet more forceful impact. Still... not all armor was fit for Kings.
I always envisioned a (pre-modern) battlefield looking more like a bunch of ragtag insurgents, i.e. all manner of completely random weapons and gear, yet with the discipline and training of a modern army. When everybody was wearing very high grade gear they didn't think they'd die in, you probably wind up with say the impetuousness of the French at Agincourt. Then again, better equipped, even trained, armies have been underestimating their opponents since the dawn of time with very dire results...
Same line of thinking still exists. I know several people, friends, other forums who think the United States would roll over Iran, North Korea, and even Russia to the point that war doesn't even worry them. That's such a dangerous train of thought, even if they were were right. To think the Chinese couldn't sink a significant portion of our Navy? Who knows, but never think the impossible. (Sorry for going off topic, this forum probably has the most educated people of any that I've visited)
Could I not conclude that mail was indeed pierced by arrows, as it would have to defeat the rings to become lodged in the gambeson/underarmor. The Muslims were not Longbowmen firing at men 30 feet away. I understand that a projectile much faster, therefor you can't "glance/absorb" the impact as you could a slower, yet more forceful impact. Still... not all armor was fit for Kings.
I always envisioned a (pre-modern) battlefield looking more like a bunch of ragtag insurgents, i.e. all manner of completely random weapons and gear, yet with the discipline and training of a modern army. When everybody was wearing very high grade gear they didn't think they'd die in, you probably wind up with say the impetuousness of the French at Agincourt. Then again, better equipped, even trained, armies have been underestimating their opponents since the dawn of time with very dire results...
Same line of thinking still exists. I know several people, friends, other forums who think the United States would roll over Iran, North Korea, and even Russia to the point that war doesn't even worry them. That's such a dangerous train of thought, even if they were were right. To think the Chinese couldn't sink a significant portion of our Navy? Who knows, but never think the impossible. (Sorry for going off topic, this forum probably has the most educated people of any that I've visited)
Christopher Vidrine, 30
