In a shield wall enough arrows will find every gap and pierce whatever is unprotected. Eyes, throats, shoulders, even legs would all be fair game. An archer wouldn't even necessarily need to aim, though of course it didn't hurt. After all an archer could have three or four arrows in the air at any one time up to eight hours a minute. Though that rate would be hard to maintain for more than ten minutes or so. But with several hundred archers one could blanket a formation.
The Norse weren't expecting the Nasnor archers to show up at the battle. They had assumed their terror raids would have cowed them into submission so they would not send troops to the northern island when King Falkimir of Elgon requested them. It was only Larya's magic that got them through, but that is another story. But the archers arrived and the Norse weren't expecting them especially when retreating after a defeat . They weren't supposed to lose.
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This page marks a return to my favorite filter. I've used it on several comics going back to Mask of the Aryans It adds texture and grit to the images as well as defining the color. The original images were all over-exposed so there was a lot of work done to adjust the color. The original intention was it to be the stark light of sunset but instead it just looked like bad over-exposed flash photography.
Thanks! Very interesting...! My faith in the Spartans is restored!! Not that I lost all that much - mostly-naked, virile, sweaty men sporting 6-packs wil do that!! ;)
Those were Spartan hoplites, not Early Medieval infantry. All phalanxes of guys with swords, spears with a round shield are not equal. One is an ultra disciplined elite hoplite with specialized gear and the other is a guy with a round shield. One shield is carefully made layers of wood and leather and the other is plain wooden planks. The only advantage the Dark Ages guy had was superior steel in his sword. With everything else (especially shield discipline) he was inferior. A shield wall and a phalanx look similar but are worlds apart. There wouldn't be infantry with the staying power of a Spartan phalanx until the Swiss and Spanish of the Late Middle Ages.
jerrie at 9:28AM, Feb. 23, 2017
fantastic page Bravo
El Cid at 3:50PM, Feb. 15, 2017
That is some serious carnage. Stop dying, you cowards!
KimLuster at 1:27PM, Feb. 15, 2017
So those Spartans in 300 wouldn't've been able to withstand that hail of arrows like they did...??!! Hurrrmmmm...
KimLuster at 3:38PM, Feb. 16, 2017
Thanks! Very interesting...! My faith in the Spartans is restored!! Not that I lost all that much - mostly-naked, virile, sweaty men sporting 6-packs wil do that!! ;)
bravo1102 at 12:13AM, Feb. 16, 2017
Those were Spartan hoplites, not Early Medieval infantry. All phalanxes of guys with swords, spears with a round shield are not equal. One is an ultra disciplined elite hoplite with specialized gear and the other is a guy with a round shield. One shield is carefully made layers of wood and leather and the other is plain wooden planks. The only advantage the Dark Ages guy had was superior steel in his sword. With everything else (especially shield discipline) he was inferior. A shield wall and a phalanx look similar but are worlds apart. There wouldn't be infantry with the staying power of a Spartan phalanx until the Swiss and Spanish of the Late Middle Ages.
plymayer at 8:34AM, Feb. 15, 2017
Yikes.