Most terrifying weapon of the pre-modern era?

[Tahar Joblis]

"Greek Fire"?

Niter, pitch, and soap-- probably, the exact recipe is lost. Balls of it burned and stuck to anything it splattered on, impossible to stop the flames.

During the siege of Syracuse by the Romans, Archimedes created a couple weapons. One was grappling hooks launched by catapult, for tearing ships apart at long-range. The other, less practical but more frightening, consisted of polished parabolic lenses for focusing sunlight on ship's sails and setting them afire, creating the appearance of a kind of death-ray gun millenia ahead of its time. The Roman commander gave strict orders that Archimedes was to be taken alive, but a soldier came across him on the beach doing his mathematical work by drawing diagrams in the sand. Archimedes sprang up enraged when the soldier stepped on one of his figures, and the soldier cut him down-- he was of course tortured to death for this error; never mess with a mathematician.

Greek fire gets my vote, too. When you're on a small leaky wooden boat wearing metal armor and never learned how to swim, fire that clings and won't go out, well, that's pretty far up the oh shit scale.

[Blazedtown]

Andrew Jackson. One of the most badass men in American history, only surpassed by Teddy Roosevelt and Chesty Puller. I consider him to be a human weapon.

[Tyrants]

The Plague.

IIRC archers would stick the arrowheads in the ground simply because grabbing an arrow stuck in the ground took less time than trying to draw one from the quiver.

Which is why I said in my first post on this particular matter:

It is said to be one of the reasons why archers put their arrows in the ground, although I don't know how true that is. Maybe I'm underestimating the level of understanding people within the Medieval period had about infection and wounds.

That is what I would have thought it was done for, giving them easier access to the arrows, but it has been suggested that it was done to infect wounds.

Which would have done a whole shitload of nothing in the actual battle.

But, it would have made it harder to recruit new soldiers if the old soldiers lose both their arms to gangrene.

[Genivaria]

The Plague.

IIRC archers would stick the arrowheads in the ground simply because grabbing an arrow stuck in the ground took less time than trying to draw one from the quiver.

Which is why I said in my first post on this particular matter:

It is said to be one of the reasons why archers put their arrows in the ground, although I don't know how true that is. Maybe I'm underestimating the level of understanding people within the Medieval period had about infection and wounds.

That is what I would have thought it was done for, giving them easier access to the arrows, but it has been suggested that it was done to infect wounds.

Which would have done a whole shitload of nothing in the actual battle.

I imagine its for those who take an arrow and don't die from it.

[Nazis in Space]

Which is why I said in my first post on this particular matter:

That is what I would have thought it was done for, giving them easier access to the arrows, but it has been suggested that it was done to infect wounds.

Which would have done a whole shitload of nothing in the actual battle.

I imagine its for those who take an arrow and don't die from it.

Disease arrow or no, their adventuring days are over.

[Blazedtown]

4 pages and not one weaboo has come along to talk about katanas. I'm impressed.

[Genivaria]

I imagine its for those who take an arrow and don't die from it.

Disease arrow or no, their adventuring days are over.

I used to be an Adventurer like you, then I took a piss covered arrow to the knee....and thats why I only have one leg now.

[Tahar Joblis]

Historically speaking, more soldiers died from disease and infection than during actual battles.

Some military historians rave on about the Mongolians wearing heavy silk undershirts that would pierce into the wound with the arrowhead, wrapping around it, meaning the wound was cleaner and the arrow easier to extract afterwards. Part and parcel of their success.

[Genivaria]

Historically speaking, more soldiers died from disease and infection than during actual battles.

Some military historians rave on about the Mongolians wearing heavy silk undershirts that would pierce into the wound with the arrowhead, wrapping around it, meaning the wound was cleaner and the arrow easier to extract afterwards. Part and parcel of their success.

The Mongols were clever like that.

[Tyrants]

4 pages and not one weaboo has come along to talk about katanas. I'm impressed.

No-dachis were better.

[Tahar Joblis]

Disease arrow or no, their adventuring days are over.

I used to be an Adventurer like you, then I took a piss covered arrow to the knee....and thats why I only have one leg now.

Urine can be used as a disinfectant in an emergency. Has been used as an emergency battlefield disinfectant, in fact.

I'd rather take an arrow someone just pissed on than one that's been sticking in the dirt.

That said, if the arrow's been stuck in the dirt head first, and then pissed on, it's not really helping it any. So...

[The Genoese Cromanatum]

I'd say the Ballista Quadrirotos would be absolutely terrifying.

Imagine yourself, fighting against the Roman Legions, and then having these suddenly appear.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

Historically speaking, more soldiers died from disease and infection than during actual battles.

Some military historians rave on about the Mongolians wearing heavy silk undershirts that would pierce into the wound with the arrowhead, wrapping around it, meaning the wound was cleaner and the arrow easier to extract afterwards. Part and parcel of their success.

I see this talked about a lot, but I've never seen it cited anywhere except the old Osprey Men at Arms book on the Mongols, which was written by a guy who specializes more in Japan than anything else. I mentioned this to the Chinese history professor here and the University of Oregon and she said she had never heard of such a thing.

Even if it is true, silk was expensive. Your average mongol warrior wasn't going to be wearing silk armor thick enough to stop an arrow.

[Nazis in Space]

Historically speaking, more soldiers died from disease and infection than during actual battles.

Some military historians rave on about the Mongolians wearing heavy silk undershirts that would pierce into the wound with the arrowhead, wrapping around it, meaning the wound was cleaner and the arrow easier to extract afterwards. Part and parcel of their success.

I see this talked about a lot, but I've never seen it cited anywhere except the old Osprey Men at Arms book on the Mongols, which was written by a guy who specializes more in Japan than anything else. I mentioned this to the Chinese history professor here and the University of Oregon and she said she had never heard of such a thing.

Even if it is true, silk was expensive. Your average mongol warrior wasn't going to be wearing silk armor thick enough to stop an arrow.

He did say silk undershirts, not silk armour. The armour was hard leather, assorted layers of cloth, and occasionally chainmail. Though even then, several hundred thousand silk undershirts seem somewhat unlikely.

The protective value does sound rather like a myth, though, given that arrow lethality has never been something one could rave about in the first place. The majority of people hit by arrows survived, well... Everywhere.

[The Merchant Republics]

Frankly, if it was up to me to pick, it'd be the common, ordinary, or garden halberd: the assault rifle of the 13th century.

(Image)

Cheap and easy to produce in vast numbers, easy to learn, and deadly in the hands of a master halberdier. Good for a massed army, good for a single combatant. The weapon that claimed the head of Charles the Bold and ended a war in one stroke. Equip your army with pikes and you'll be a happy man. When you absolutely, positively have to kill every last motherfucker in the field, accept no substitutes.

Except maybe a pike, I guess.

I second this, Halberds are awesome weapons.

Thirded.

Although perhaps not terrifying it gets my vote for the most versatile and dangerous of the pre-gunpowder age, and indeed the halberd is one of the few weapons that survived well into the gun-powder age.

Second, I think would be the crossbow, as mentioned it was nearly banned for being a doomsday weapon, pretty terrifying if you ask me.

[Indira]

At a guess I would say Greek Fire

[Chrome Legion]

Depending on where you are in the world i'd say it changes. For Europe my vote goes to Greek fire, but for the Asian continent i'd say the horse mounted archer ie the Monguls.

[Calenhardon]

The crossbow might have been highly effective, but for most terrifying I'm going to have to go with either a bombard, greek fire or massed arquebuses. At least crossbows and bladed weapons would have been familiar to pre-modern peoples. Fire that won't go out? Iron or bronze tubes that roar, breath fire and shoot massive stone balls at you? Read some contemporary accounts of early artillery bombardments.

Alternatively, any phenomena interpreted as a sufficiently negative portent. Superstitious bastards the pre-moderns were.

[Achren]

Yeah, going with g(r)eek fire here. Not only because it's terrifying to be on the recieving end but also because it's scary just being on a ship with this stuff! Anything that terrifies both recipient & user gets double scary points in my books.

[New Rogernomics]

Margaret Thatcher's mouth.

[Nazis in Space]

Margaret Thatcher's mouth.

I didn't know she's that old.

[New Rogernomics]

Margaret Thatcher's mouth.

I didn't know she's that old.

Apparently Reagan is immortal, having won WW2, and 'brought down the Berlin wall' when George Bush Sr was President. According to neo-liberal mythos, Thatcher won WW2 and saved the UK.

[Lindenholt]

My grandfathers grandfather and his grandfathers grandfather and his grandfathers grandfathers grandfathers grandfather

[Genivaria]

I didn't know she's that old.

Apparently Reagan is immortal, having won WW2, and 'brought down the Berlin wall' when George Bush Sr was President. According to neo-liberal mythos, Thatcher won WW2 and saved the British Empire UK.

Fixed.

[New Rogernomics]

Apparently Reagan is immortal, having won WW2, and 'brought down the Berlin wall' when George Bush Sr was President. According to neo-liberal mythos, Thatcher won WW2 and saved the British Empire UK.

Fixed.

True, also I recently visited the American history Museum in D.C. The Republican party has commenced historical revisionism, putting a picture of a random meeting between Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev next to the Berlin wall.