Mike (SogCity_at_aol.com) asks:
>Here's a good question that I don't have a ready answer to: during what
>period of history did pike & spear dominant solid infantry forms face shield
>& 1 handed weapon dominant infantry? The closest I can think of is Rome vs.
>late Greece.
>And we know how that went.
Swiss Pikemen vs Spanish Sword&Buckler. Went the same way.
Sandy says:
>...the Praxians have stirrups (except
>maybe the Impala Riders, who probably don't need them)...
Personally, I think Impala riders need saddles with stirrups more than anyone else on the Plains. The Impala may have a very smooth running gait, but the beasts also jump a lot.
My mental model of the Impala saddles (and Sable saddles to some degree) is of a structure primarily designed as a shock absorber to protect the rider from the vigourous bouncing action of some of the gaits of the beast.
Sandy again, about use of set spears:
>I don't think set spear was used all that often by
>well-trained troops. The Swiss didn't use it -- they held their pikes
>overhead, so that the tips were _lower_ than the butts.
I believe that the formation used by the Swiss to receive a cavalry charge did have the front rank set their pikes. The ranks following held theirs raised. Sorry, no documentation available. Can anyone else help?
Sandy,
You mentioned some studies done by a Peter Jones about the penetrating
power of arrows vs armour. Was this work published in any generally
available source? It sounds like really practical history.
Kevin Rose <vladt_at_interaccess.com>:
> On long bows in Glorantha, I though that only the dragonnewts
>used longbows, per WF14?
The artwork about dragonewts seems to show that their "longbows" are very much like Japanese bows i.e. composite bows with mismatched upper and lower limbs.
Sandy:
>I've read that all Mongols, after the conquest of China, wore
>raw silk shirts under their armor. Apparently arrows cannot penetrate
>raw silk, but instead would drive the shirt into the wound (i.e., the
>shirt didn't keep the arrow from entering the body). Then conscript
>Chinese surgeons could easily remove the arrowhead, by pulling on the
>edges of the shirt, which popped it out of the wound.
I've heard this story repeatedly, but I have a hard time believing it. I happen to like silk shirts a lot, but I wouldn't trust one to stand up to an arrow. Can anyone tell me where the primary documentation on this can be found? I'm afraid that this lovely story may be one of those cases where one scholar's speculation has been picked up and transmitted so often that it has become accepted as fact.
Sandy and Someone Else?:
>>Do the unicorn riders use stirrups? I think of them as not even
>>using saddles
> I'm willing to believe that the unicorn riders don't use
>stirrups or saddles. They don't need lances, after all (the unicorns
>supply those).
I suspect that there is a lot of variation among the URiders. With both mount
and rider being intelligent, rational beings, I suspect that they discuss the
use of equipment and come up with a solution that is agreeable to both of them.
If the unicorn doesn't mind having a saddle, then I suspect that they will use
one; but I would expect it to be designed so that the unicorn can remove it
unaided. I would doubt that they would use a bit or bridle. I'm sure a unicorn
would find those inconvenient and uncomfortable. A well-designed saddle could be
more comfortable than carrying a rider bare-back.
Sandy, I apologize if I seem to be quibbling with you excessively. Please take it as a compliment that your comments are the ones that most inspire me to contribute.
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