Karwansaray BV

Early pyrotechnical weapons

Author(s): Peter Vemming
Source: Medieval Warfare , 2011, Vol. 1, No. 4, IN THIS ISSUE: Norman adventurers in
the Mediterranean (2011), pp. 25-26
Published by: Karwansaray BV

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/48577884

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

Karwansaray BV is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Medieval
Warfare

This content downloaded from

88.240.181.39 on Sun, 09 Oct 2022 18:33:18 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 THE WEAPON

Recreating a medieval fire-arrow

Early pyrotechnical weapons

We´ve all seen the classical Hollywood films set in the Middle Ages where flaming arrows streak across
the skies, lighting up all and sundry – a fascinating sight, and a really good visual effect. But did things
really happen this way? Logically, it seems improbable that all this energy was wasted in flight when
the real purpose of the mission was to set fire to something at the end of the projectiles’ trajectory. A
study of the warbooks of the later Middle Ages reveals that, even then, engineers pondered long and
intensely about the waste of energy and, in fact, produced a number of pyrotechnical weapons that
first released their devastating effects the moment they impacted their target.

By Peter Vemming
In the Middle Ages, there were a number
of warbooks published in limited editions,
and written solely for a ruler or nobleman.
These books usually contain a wealth of
drawings and descriptions of mechani-
cal devices for war purposes, directions
for the production of gunpowder and
pyrotechnical weapons, and instructions
regarding the production and refining of
raw materials for gunpowder.
Looking over these books leaves the
modern reader in doubt about whether
anything they contain was ever actually
tried, or whether they were pure fantasy.
It’s clear enough that many of the illus-
trated devices and ideas could not pos-
sibly have been put into practice.
At the same time, there are also a
number of items that seem eminently
feasible and which, in fact, could work in
practice. The problem is that nobody in
recent times has tested these old recipes
and methods of construction. We don´t
know if they could be functional, and
because we don´t know, comprehensive
descriptions of medieval military practice
are, in many cases, inadequate.
One of these war strategists was
outweighs theory, and if both abilities can is to construct an arrow capable of car-
be combined, it should be possible to con- rying a pyrotechnical load over a long
coct something that works. distance, and then releasing the load at
If one is to work with these old recipes, the point of impact. In addition, it should
a deep and profound respect is required, not explode but instead deliver its energy
combined with the assistance of a profes- in the form of a concentrated spray of fire
sional pyrotechnician, in order to work in order to set fire to roofs and other com-
within the framework of the law and also bustible materials.
to complete the project without sustain-
ing any injuries. A description of a fire-arrow
The following quote best shows how
Fire-arrows instructions were passed on:
In his manuscript, Bengedans describes
various methods of preparing fire-arrows “I will now, as master, teach you
and how they should be utilised. These about the good fire-arrow. Go to a
descriptions are not always simple to fol- smith who shall do something I now
low. Firstly, they have been translated show you on a drawing. Look at it
from the original German and, despite a
first-class translation, there will always be
some doubt regarding the details, since
a word can have several meanings. The
given units of measurement are, to say the
least, somewhat vague. The ingredients
are sometimes difficult to identify pre-
cisely, and there is often doubt regarding
their composition and the effect they have
on the complete formula.
When sulphur, saltpetre and charcoal
appear in the formulas, it isn’t possible
to simply use their modern counterparts.
Instead, it’s neccesary to go through the
© Peter Vemming

Johannes Bengedans, a German gun- laborious process of finding the original

smith in the employ of the Danish King
Christoffer of Bayern (ruled 1440-1448).
Bengedans is perhaps not the best -known
of the war strategists, but he had the repu-
tation of a reliable and clever craftsman,
and it was these qualifications that led the
Medieval Center to select his work instead
of one of his more famous colleagues.
Good craftsmanship and experience far
products, and then processing them in
accordance with Bengedans´ formula.
Once the formula has been interpreted
and the required ingredients have been
acquired, it is a matter of trial and error –
experiment after experiment, while care-
fully noting the results, until a workable
mixture is obtained.
The goal when producing a fire-arrow
Fire-arrow from the manuscript by Johannes
Bengedans, with on the left a description
of the arrow, construction of the container,
and the formula for the pyrotechnical load.
(Bengedans, The Art of War and Cannons,
no. 37r).

Medieval Warfare I-4 25

This content downloaded from

88.240.181.39 on Sun, 09 Oct 2022 18:33:18 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

MW nr 4 final.indd 25 11-11-2011 00:26:04

 THE WEAPON
© Peter Vemming
Three pictures of an experiment with a fire-
arrow. Here you can see step one in the firing
sequence. Scholar Bob Smith is about to ignite
a fire-arrow loaded on a ‘great crossbow’.
and prepare a model for the smith. Let
ye now in accordance with this model
forge an iron-tip so that it is a half
pail long and has the shape of fishhook
for a pike, and it shall have two points
like a spur like a hook with two points.
(...) Take so fustion or linen. Make a
bag like here: a large inch wide – this
shall ye know – three knuckles long
and an inch wide. So shall ye take
five pounds good saltpetre and put
two pounds sulphur therein. A pound
of coal finely-ground and well mixed,
there shall also be two portions of cam-
pher and a portion amber in so that
it can hold together. (...) Ye shall mix
the powder thoroughly with the whole
of the distilled spirit and ye shall dry
it in the clear sun and fill all the bags
up with the powder, pressing it well in
so that the bags are stretched like a
ball. Ye shall make a hole in the front
of the bag.
Ye shall then stick the iron tip
through the bag. (...) So shall Ye take
a pound of pure sulphur, a pound of
resin, and a half pound of normal
pitch. Let them melt well together over
a fire. Ye shall steep the arrow thor-
oughly until the arrow is saturated
with sufficient resin, and Ye shall not
be discouraged if Ye need cut the front
of the arrow when Ye launch it – don´t
be dishearted, light it with a piece of
glowing coal.”
Johannes Bengedans, The Art of War
and Cannons, Chapter 15, illustration
no. 20 r.
The formula might seem straightforward
and easy to follow at first. In reality, how-
26 Medieval Warfare I-4
88.240.181.39 on Sun, 09 Oct 2022 18:33:18 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
MW nr 4 final.indd 26
The arrow, recreated based on the description
in the work of Johannes Bengedans, has hit
the target, only releasing its load on impact.
ever, it was some time before experiments
resulted in a mixture that didn’t explode
immediately, but released the required
energy in a slow concentrated ignition.
The trick here was not just an exact mix-
ture of the powder itself, but also the hard
shell that surrounded it. When a fire-arrow
functioned as intended, another serious
problem arose – how to get it to explode at
the appropriate time? Bengedans’ descrip-
tion merely states that an opening is to be
made in the front of the bag, after which
the mixture is lit with a piece of burning
charcoal. If this instruction is followed,
the arrow will ignite instantly rather than
at the point of impact. Tests revealed that
the fire-arrow burnt for between 20 and 30
seconds and, if it burns during its trajec-
tory towards the target, it loses too much
of its intended effect.
Could the charcoal itself function as
a fuse? Bengedans states that the user
should light the front of the bag with a
piece of glowing coal, which suggests that
the effect of the wind will keep the piece
of coal glowing after the arrow is launched
and that, therefore, the arrow will first
ignite on impact. When this method was
tested it didn´t work at all, and it was
decided to use a fuse instead, detailed
instructions for which were found in sev-
eral of the warbooks.
Fuses were inserted at the front of the
arrow and lit with a piece of glowing coal.
After a number of attempts, it was pos-
sible to calibrate the fuse so that it ignited
when it hit the target.
The experiment was a success. One
cannot, of course, state categorically that
the method described above was the one
used in the Middle Ages, but the arrow did
function as intended and we advanced our
understanding of the pyrotechnical weap-
ons of the Middle Ages.
Besides its positive result, the experi-
This content downloaded from
The load has been released, producing a con-
centrated spray of fire for some time. Here you
can see the area of the target which has been
blackened by the heat.
ment demonstrated that, if we are to
comprehend the actual use of such devices
more fully, there is only one way forward –
experimental investigation combined with
a comprehensive study of the medieval
sources and findings. Only in this way can
we appreciate the fabrication, use and
importance of this type of medieval weap-
onry. •
PeterVemming is an archaeologist and
director of the Medieval Center(www.
middelaldercentret.dk), located in
Nybøbing Falster, Denmark, where
he and an international group of
researchers – the so-called Ho group –
work with early guns and gunpowder,
doing experiments together with the
Danish army. Peter Vemming is also
a well known expert on medieval
mechanical weapons and has done
several well-documented studies and
reconstructions of the trebuchet and
other leverage weapons.
Further reading
- Johannes Bengedans, The Art of
War and Cannons, translated by
Rikke Agnete Olsen, et al. Aarhus
2006.
- The research report from the
experiments at the Medieval Centre
can be found online at: www.
middelaldercentret.dk/pdf/gun-
powder8.pdf. See: The Ho group,
‘Investigating incendiary devices’,
Report Number 8 (September
2008). Nykøbing Falster 2008.
- Robert Douglas Smith, Rewriting
the story of gunpowder. Nykøbing
Falster 2010.
11-11-2011 00:26:36