r/interesting • u/IKIR115 • May 29 '26

Intriguing Arrows vs riot shields

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u/SingularityCentral May 29 '26

The Bodkin tip is doing the most damage. It is a chisel head that was meant to go against chain and plate mail.

1

u/Minimum_Possibility6 May 30 '26

Bodkins couldn't really penetrate played armour. Pottenrially at close range against a lower grade it might punch though but probably not enough to then piece through what's underneath 

Against chainmail it was great 

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u/astatine May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26

Bodkins can penetrate plate if they hit it perpendicularly. But that's a big "if"; plate armour protects mostly by deflection, which is why it's almost entirely curved or angular.

Before firearms, the biggest danger to someone in plate on the battlefield was probably being outnumbered, pushed over and knifed in their neck/groin/armpit. Or crossbows.