The first of three new films in a series called Rebels has just landed on History Hit.
In this one, Michael Livingston @livingstonphd and I forge out a medieval Scottish spearhead, with forge welded socket, from iron and steel, and Mike goes on the trail of William Wallace.
All available to watch on the History Hit app!
#History #historyhit #medieval #forge #blacksmith
Another brilliant episode of Rebels has just landed on History Hit, this time covering the story of Simon de Montfort.
As Mike traces the history of the Baron who met his end at Evesham, he comes to the forge to help me make a copy of a River Thames quillon dagger.
You can watch the episode over on History Hit now!
#medieval #history #forging #dagger #military
Standard 14th - 15th Century military heads (and two crossbow quarrels)
The Type 16s are all based on various extant examples, from a 10mm 16c to a big 12mm 16b, and the brazed Type 17s are copied from one of the Tewkesbury heads.
#arrowheads #medieval #military #history #longbow
Two Corfe Castle sets complete and ready for shipping. Always love doing these, it's such a nice range of heads to come from one excavation site.
From left to right:
Type 6 bird hunting bolt
Type 1 hunting arrow
Type 11 tri-blade military bolt
Type 9 military bolt
Type 7a military bolt
Type 14 hunting arrow
Type 9 military arrow
Type 17c military arrow
All found at Corfe Castle, all dating to between 13th and 16th Centuries. The first set of these I made is still on display in the @nationaltrust Corfe Castle ticket office window.
#history #dorset #Castle #Corfe #craft
Copper-brazed Type 17 military heads, all copied from various extant examples dating to between 1460 and 1471, from the battlefields of Towton, Tewkesbury and the Tower of London.
These are scaled down versions, for 10mm socket diameters to suit the customer's needs, while the originals are all between 12 and 15mm in diameter, but still only weigh between 4 and 9g.
#arrowheads #medieval #warsoftheroses #history #longbow
A few of the arrows being shipped out to customers this week. From true replicas of arrows and heads that I've handled, measured and copied to more standard every-day arrows there's a nice mix in here.
The first four are the Signature Line Crécy, Agincourt, Wars of the Roses and Mary Rose arrows, with their respective Type 7a, 16b, brazed 17a and brazed 16c heads
#medieval #arrows #history #archery #longbow
A set of 13thC heads from Welsh castles (Dyserth, Harlech and Castell-y-Bere) and two sets of Corfe Castle sets completed this afternoon
#arrows #medieval #Wales #Corfe #history
Excellent day spent at the forge with @hectorcoleironwork running the three Master Arrowsmith Apprentices through some new research, typologies and various fun bits and pieces. They're all doing really well, and we'll no doubt be seeing a few new Master Arrowsmiths in a year or so!
#craft #skills #blacksmithing #heritage #history
Really special morning meeting Mark and Rollo, two of the very privileged mudlarkers licensed to search the Thames foreshore. They brought over the medieval arrowheads that they had found, and I forged out copies using medieval iron for them.
I was also able to have a look through a few of their other incredible iron finds from the Thames, from hammers and chisels to spurs and knives, and Mark very kindly gifted me a beautiful replica of a Roman oil lamp that he'd found.
Go and check out their Instagram pages, they find the most amazing things!
@marksowden3@sparkes_inthemud
#archaeology #mudlarking #London #history #medieval
An order of 12x 8mm (11/32") long Type 7 needle heads from everybody's favourite archer Kevin Hicks gave me a lovely opportunity to do a full set of copies of the 14thC Thames Type 7a, in its original size.
As always, no grinding or filing just straight off the anvil and given a wire wheel finish. They'll be given a final sharpen at the very tips before sending off to Kevin, and I imagine they'll feature on one of his excellent videos soon!
#arrowheads #arrows #medieval #medievalarrows #archery
Superb day back in my "happy place" at the Mary Rose, with the wonderful Alex Hildred and @archaeo_erin
Working with Alex over the last few years has uncovered some fascinating, yet-unpublished information on the arrows, and there's lots more to come as we continue digging through the internal files and samples.
Can't wait to finally publish all of this stuff!
#arrows #archery #tudor #medieval #history
