Pincushions (was RE: ANST - Slings)

[Mark.S Harris]

Tomonaga wrote: 
> > > Agreed. In fact there was a "game" amongst Crusader knights to see
> > > who could come back with the most arrows stuck in their armor.
> > > Until the advent of the longbow the arrow was not a major factor
> > > against the  heavily armored knights.
> 
> I remember hearing some time in the past, that Richard and some other Crusade
> leaders made special efforts to make sure their knights and men at arms were
> equipped with very thick felt underclothes.  Most likely, mail by itself,
> lying close to the body, did not offer enough resistance to arrows to keep
> them from digging in deep.  But with the felt under the mail, the combination
> of that dense fiber mat, with the friction between the arrow shaft and
> adjacent links, slowed the arrow enough to keep it from pentrating flesh.

But "very thick felt underclothes" I can see working in say, France,
since it 
is such a cold, dreary country. :-) But in the Middle East and Palestine,
I would think you'd get yourself dry roasted.

Stefan li Rous
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