A Leaf-shaped Norman Arrowhead 11/12th Century

Description

Heading : Medieval Iron Arrowhead – Twelfth Century
Date : 1100 – 1200 AD
Period : Norman – Plantagenet – Angevin
Origin : unknown
Decoration : Those who engage themselves with historic arrowheads – in common with many other specificists – have their own vocabulary for describing the objects of their affections; strictly speaking. therefore. this example is of flat-bladed. deltoid oblanceolate shape with an abbreviated conical collar between the blade and the tang to stop the piece being driven back in to the shaft when it hit its intended target.
Size :  overall length 7.8 cm (tang 4.5 cm) – width 2.7 cm
Condition : solid. with good. firm edges; the tang is a little bent. and the whole is covered in rust
Restoration : None
Weight :  9 grams

Note : The origin of found arrowheads is almost impossible to state with any certainty. This is in no small way due to the fact that archery was a skilled pursuit. and armies would often engage mercenary archers. who would bring their own equipment from whence they came. The Romans recruited – or perhaps press-ganged – bowmen from the length and breadth of their empire; the French vanguard at Crecy was made up of Genoese crossbowmen and it is generally accepted that the most storied of English victories – Agincourt – was achieved in no small part due to the actions of a significant contingent of Welsh archers. If we look at conflict closer to the date attributed to our arrowhead. William’s all-conquering Norman army which landed near Hastings included Flemish. Breton and Frankish troops from across the near continent. Taking this in to account. and the fact that the martial use of archery would almost always involve one of the combatants being ‘on campaign’ away from their home territory. it’s obvious that wherever an arrow may have fallen to earth bears little relation to where it may have been made…