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The Arrowheads
Arrowheads, or bodkins, came in a wide variety of shapes and sized during the period,
each type was designed to achieve different effects. While the term bodkin is widely used to
describe medieval arrowheads, the word bodkin simply means a pointed instrument much like
an awl. Below are illustrations of some of the most widely represented arrowheads from the
both the archeological record and pictorial sources.
The basic bodkin head, by far the most common head represented in the record. It was
effective against mail, leather, and linen armor.
Plate cutter bodkin: used for piercing plate armor during the 15th and early 16th century’s
Type 16: a head that can be used against by armored and unarmored foes, also used against
horses.
Needle bodkin: an earlier head mainly used against foes wearing mail, leather, or cloth armor,
not much use against good plate armor!
The Shafts
As stated earlier, there are a large number of surviving arrowheads from the medieval
and Tudor period, however very few wood shafts have survived. When the Mary Rose was
excavated and raised in 1982, 7834 complete and fragmentary arrows were discovered
(Weapons of Warre pa. 665). Of these around 600 of the complete arrows were tested to
determine the wood species. The majority were constructed of poplar (aspen) wood, with
birch wood being the second most common (Weapons of Warre pa. 674).
The overall length of the recovered arrows shows a wide variation in total length. The
shortest arrow was 26” while the longest was 34”. The majority of the arrows were around 30”
in length (Weapons of Warre pa. 677). Unlike most modern arrows the arrows recovered on
the Mary Rose have a “bobtailed” profile. This means that the thickest part of the shaft is just
behind the head, then tapering down to the nock. Modern arrows almost exclusively have a
“parallel” shaft profile, meaning that they are the same diameter the entire length of the shaft.
While the most arrows recovered had a bobtail profile, there were other profiles represented in
the recovered arrows. It is assumed that in the medieval period that arrows would have been
cut into square stock then rounded and tapered with a curved hand planer. The image below
shows the difference between a bobtail and parallel shaft.
Image
Almost all of the shafts recovered from the Mary Rose have some form or
reinforcement at the nock. When you consider that the bows these arrows were shot from had
draw weights of between 80 to 180lbs some form of reinforcement to the arrow shaft was
highly recommended! Most are reinforced with a sliver of cow horn. This was inserted into
the shaft after a cut was made running parallel with the grain. The groove for the string was
then cut opposite the grain direction. This configuration makes for a very strong nock. With
my own reproduction arrows I have had excellent results using this method, using both horn
inserts and inserts made from very dense tropical hardwoods like ipe or jaktoba. The
illustration below shows the position of the inserts and the string groove.
Fletching
While no feathers survived on the Mary Rose arrows, researchers have been able to
estimate the lengths of the lost fletching by studying the stains left on the arrow shafts from
the blue and binding thread. Most of the fletching seems to have been approximately 7 to 7.5
inches in length (Weapons of Warre pa. 678). From chemical analysis, it has been proven that
the fletching was attached to the shafts with a hide glue mixed with verdigris. The verdigris is
theorized to have been use as a means of stopping rodents and other pests from eating the
hide glue while the arrows were being stored. Looking at period artwork we can guess that the
most common way that fletching was cut was a basic triangle.
Image of St Edmund from the Wilton Diptych, painted for Richard II (c. 1395). Note the dark
pigment between the fletching, this is thought to show pitch or verdigris used on the arrows.
Building the arrows
Materials:
Hardwood dowels (1/2 inch in diameter)
Full length feather fletching
Horn or a dense hardwood for creating nock inserts
Arrow heads
High quality thread
Epoxy
Good quality pva or wood glue (I use Titebond III, which is basically waterproof)
Finish/waterproofing oil
Masking tape
Glue/tape to attach fletching
Tools:
Sand paper (80, 120, 220, 320 grits)
Hacksaw
Masonry saw
Needle file
Electric drill with ½’ chuck
Finishing planer
Tapering jig
Scissors
Step 1: Selecting the right dowel
In order to build a good quality reproduction arrow, you need to select the best
materials possible. The foundation of a good arrow starts with the shaft. I use a variety of
wood species for my medieval arrows but most arrows I make are built from poplar and birch.
Poplar dowels are readily available at most hardware stores, and are fairly inexpensive. Birch
dowels are harder to come by but can be found at specialty wood craft stores or online.
When selecting a dowel you need to be careful and try to select dowels that have no
obvious flaws or damage. Also check to see if the grain runs the entire length of the arrow. It
goes without saying but also try to get dowels that are as straight as possible, a small bend can
be easily taken out by flexing the dowel.
Step 2: Cutting the arrows and nock slots for inserts
Since these arrows are made to be shot out of a “warbow” and drawn “to the ear” they
are longer than your modern target arrows. To begin with I cut my dowels down to 34”, the
finished arrows will be about 32 ½”, but the added length is needed for the tapering process.
Once the dowel is cut to the desired length, you will need to be to cut the slot for the
horn insert. This is best achieved by clamping the arrow in a vice and very carefully cutting a 2”
deep slot into the dowel using a hack saw. The slot for the nock needs to be cut with the grain
of the arrow. The actual slot for the string will be cut opposite the grain, this give the nock
added strength. The illustration bellow shows how to place the cut for the insert.
Once you have drawn out the design for you fletching peel the tape carefully off of the
board, making sure that the feather stays stuck to the tape. Now take a good pair of scissors
and cut you fletching out, and peel the tape off. You should now have a perfect fletch!
Step 8: Attaching your fletching to the shaft
Fletching is a class unto its self, so I will not go into detail of attaching fletching. I
personally use fletching tape since it is much easier to use than glue and allows me to fletch
arrows much faster. I will tell you that double sided carpet tape is the most economical way of
fletching arrows.
Materials
2x4 board
2 pieces of 3/4x3/4 wood
Wood screws
Belt sander belts (60 or 80 girt is best)
On the 2x4 board mark out a template of the arrow taper you wish to make. Mine is ½”
at the top tapering down to 3/8” at the nock end.
Take a belt sander belt and cut it into strips. Take these strips and glue or tape them
onto the 2x4 and onto one side of the ¾” wood strips. Once the strips have been attached take
the ¾” strips and screw them down following your template to the 2x4. And that’s it, you now
just need an electric drill to use for tapering the arrows.
Bibliography
Bartlett, C., & Embleton, G. A. (1997). English longbowman: 1330-1515. London: Osprey military.
Die Marter des heiligen Sebastian. (2009, December 18). Retrieved April 11, 2016, from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Altarpiece_of_St_Sebastian.jpg
Illustration of the altarpiece of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian
Hardy, R. (1977). Longbow: A social and military history. New York: Arco Pub.
Hildred, A. (2010). Weapons of warre: The ordnance of the Mary Rose (Vol. II). Portsmouth: Mary Rose
Trust.
Roth, E. (2012). With a bended bow: Archery in medieval and Renaissance Europe. Stroud: Spellmount.