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ARROWS vs ARMOUR - Medieval Myth Busting

Tod's Workshop · documentary · Watch on YouTube

World historyMilitary history & warfareWoodworking, metalworking & workshop skills

What it is

Tod's Workshop fires full-weight medieval arrows from a 160lb English warbow at reproduced medieval armour. Armour curator Dr Tobias Capwell, an archer and bowyer give historical context and discuss the results.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN considers it the key experimental evidence on how effective longbows really were against armour.

  • 2 people recommended it
  • 2 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2020, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “I believe the video from Tod's Workshop with actual experimentation is a must see”

    Experimental test of arrows against armor; source of a famous clip.

    gota, 2025-05 · Strong recommendation · in “Why Archers Didn't Volley Fire”

  2. “did an interesting video with Tobias Capwell and a few others examining the effectiveness of English longbows against plate armor”

    Tests longbows against plate armor, showing real draw posture and effort.

    catalogia, 2020-07 · Recommendation · in “Discovery of oldest bow and arrow technology in Eurasia”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: longbow, medieval armour, experimental archaeology, arrows, history

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