Quivers
Mar 16, 2007 20:34:41 GMT
Post by rammstein on Mar 16, 2007 20:34:41 GMT
My question revolve around the use of quivers in combat. It just doesn't seem practical in any sense for them to be used, just because of how loosely they hold arrows. Next time you don your full quiver at the archery range, try jogging around a bit. You should nitice how much the arrows bounce around. Now, if they were to spill, you'd have to spend valueable time picking them up and putting them back in.
It just doesn't seem to have been something worth using. I know that arrows were sometimes pushed through the belt and then placed on the ground. But the problem with that is that you can't carry many arrows and there are almost alwys times on the battlefield where the archers have to quickly change positions - so having an entire sheaf of arrows in the dirt in front of you is a ponderance, not a help. I've also seen a picture of the arrows laying flat on the ground underneath the feet of archer so they don't roll and can be picked up in an armful. Still, you waste time picking them up, AND they may break under your weight.
According to Bernard Cornwell in his grail quest series, archers had a leather bag that was held securely by twine that could be loosened and tightened. This bag was vastly larger than quivers which, he states, were only used for hunting and could not carry many arrows. Also, when an archer recieved a new sheaf, he would dump the arrows into his arrow bag.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? It seems to me that this would have been the most feasible idea.
It just doesn't seem to have been something worth using. I know that arrows were sometimes pushed through the belt and then placed on the ground. But the problem with that is that you can't carry many arrows and there are almost alwys times on the battlefield where the archers have to quickly change positions - so having an entire sheaf of arrows in the dirt in front of you is a ponderance, not a help. I've also seen a picture of the arrows laying flat on the ground underneath the feet of archer so they don't roll and can be picked up in an armful. Still, you waste time picking them up, AND they may break under your weight.
According to Bernard Cornwell in his grail quest series, archers had a leather bag that was held securely by twine that could be loosened and tightened. This bag was vastly larger than quivers which, he states, were only used for hunting and could not carry many arrows. Also, when an archer recieved a new sheaf, he would dump the arrows into his arrow bag.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? It seems to me that this would have been the most feasible idea.