I can't believe that after thousands of years someone actually made a genuine technological improvement on the humble bow. And all too late for it to be used in modern warfare.
@Evi1M4chine Lol yeah, I kind of do, since English is not my native language. But you are right, that apostrophe was incorrectly placed by me. I hope that whatever people speak the first foreign language you are learning (if you do learn any) will be just as friendly and relaxed as you are now ;-)
"The last thing the enemy hears is Joerg’s laugh"...........as SIX arrows pierce their bodies in V quick succession...."it can hold seven but the manufacturer only recommends six". LMAO.
@Terncote you must think not just the production the transport of more arrows is not Easy as well . if the arrows hit nothing there are offen just Wasted .
I like that this content is absolutely honest in its presentation, the presenter presents no illusions about what he knows, doesn't know, and what he is not a master at. The genuine conveying of the knowledge they possess and the honest expression of the experiences felt through the video is quite refreshing. I wish this was the golden standard, it is to me.
Joerg: "Let me SHOW YOU its FEATURES!" Jason: *_"Let me explain some of the features."_* That's how you translate German Viking into English Gentleman.
German over-engineering... Customer: I want something simple they could have build in the 14th century... Joerg: Ok, no problem. BTW i have added a laser pointing device.. You don't have to use it...
Nah Joerg would not be that simple it would more along the lines of: Joerg: Okey no problem, I call her Lucy! Customer: but...... Joerg: Let me show you it features, hahahahaha
"Could this device have changed medieval European history?" *Wooden Panzer Tank powered by 6 live horses inside rolls by.* French Knight: *surprised pikachu face*
@@Imman1s Hey thanks for mentioning this! It sent me down a spiral of wikipedia pages, and it was awesome how some big names also came up during my wikipedia research on the Hussite wars. It's awesome how much influence some people had back in the day. Even cooler is that the events of Kingdom Come Deliverance make even more sense now (as in I know more about the historical background)
@@cassu6 Well, Jan Hus is explicitly mentioned during one of your dates with Theresa and again during father Godwin's sermon quest. Never underestimate KCD quest for historical authenticity and if you are interested in the background history, the codex is an excellent starting point. All relevant characters are based on actual historical figures and even relatively mundane issues discussed in the game are actually accurate. Also, I can't wait for a continuation of the story covering the Hussite wars. Defending Bohemia against the Crusaders and kicking arse against all odds is the perfect setting for a game. The knowledge that such game would be based on a true story would be simply the cherry on the top.
The real game changer of this device is that it drastically cuts down on skill, training and material requirements to reach a level of effectiveness rivaling that of elite warriors. You can change battle tactics as well knowing that you can let the enemy close in and have reliable confidence that your archers can empty their magazines before they could be engaged and actually gain accuracy and effectiveness. Also, as noted, you don't have to worry about captured arrows being shot back.
@@MaugriMGER This one is less prone to failure though (not saying that necessarily has to be a problem with Shads model, but there's less force involved here.) Both are very impressive and I do believe Joergs argument that reliability could be improved with better production quality for Shads bow.
@@irispettson MHTVs model isn't a gamechanger, because it is, simply put, a toy. A proof of concept. As mentioned he used a hunting bow, nothing that can really be used in a military function, so yeah it's less complex and less prone to failure, but it's also useless except for demonstration purposes.
Yes, remember that the roman legions weren't trained for very long before sending them into combat, but were fine because of the group tactics. And we all know how those guys ended up changing Europe's/ north african /middle Eastern map.
In regards to mounted archery; it also gives you the option of running away, reloading (with the bow fairly securely across the front of your saddle) and then returning for another volley pass with your mates. The improved hit and run potential is intense.
Very late to the party but I feel like considering the device is also not entirely part of the bow, you could probably not attach it and simply hold it. Backline supporters could easily simply bring another loaded magazine to the rider thus cutting down on reload time. Similarly to how you can simply give someone a spare magazine for a rifle when they run out.
@@libsoric6693 as this device is build you need to detach the string and reatach it to change the magazine. but it looks like it could potentially be build with an open end for a faster magazine switch.
I saw a lot of discussion about how practical is this device and they all forgot that this device is detachable. This device (and it improved version) is useful for certain formations and strategies. When a normal bow is better, you can just detach it and you're fine.
Another advantage this has over crossbows is how easy it is to unstring and restring it, which would be necessary to keep the string dry in case of rain. (Just something I read on Wikipedia's page about Genoese Crossbowmen.)
The thing that strikes me though, is this: The short bolt length and repeating fire capabilities come in handy at short ranges (compared to a longbow). Presumably, with some angry people heading your way, with the intent of doing uncharitable things to you. Assuming you just finished shooting all your arrows at those people, are you really going to have time to fasten the magazine to your longbow until they get to you? Now, you could argue that you're only supposed to use this in pre-planned situations, when you know that you're going to be deployed in short range (such as an ambush or a siege). But then the length of the longbow becomes a drawback. A shorter bow would work just as well with this length of bolts. And it'd be easier to use in confined quarters (hiding in the woods, or perched on a clifftop, or on a rampart). Not to mention, it would be easier to use a shield with a shorter bow length. But, then, it'd be practically a repeating crossbow for all practical purposes. So why not just bring one of those instead? This has practically the same problem that *all* multi-tools have. Yes, it works, but there are simpler tools that work just as well, and you can only use it for one thing at a time. As an individual weapon, for someone who could afford to commission a magazine and the bolts, it might be a fancy novelty to show off to your mates. Might even work well for hunting. As a weapon to be used en masse? I think it'd be safer and more convenient to issue every man a repeating crossbow in addition to the longbow. I suspect that a crossbow would only be marginally more expensive than this device.
Yeah but it doesn’t assist even you’ve got the bow at it’s maximum draw. In fact it helps most when the bow is at its minimum and helps less and less as you draw it
@@StoutProper Yes, nothing is for free and in the end it's just shifting energy around. But what matters is that biomechanically and biochemically, it makes it easier to use the bow of a given draw weight.
especially since most of the time archers weren't trained as individuals but as a group of 50 or more because it takes a lifetime to get enough accuracy to shoot across the battlefield at an individual while they are charging with any sort of accuracy, so they were trained to shoot as a mass so you would hear 50 to 100 bows click together
Modern Olympic archers use a device called a clicker which makes a noise once the arrow passes a certain point to help with consistency between shots.... so this adds a modern archery development accidentally
lately he's been shying down with his trademark lines, but I'm sad about that. I want to make the trademark chuckles and lines like it's a theme song!! so what if it takes practice!! it's just a better show when he has the gusto.
The Byzantines actually did have something like this half a millennium earlier in the 10th Century. It was called the solenarion, and it was an "arrow-guide" that allowed a soldier to fire a series of "mice". It's a little unclear exactly how it worked, but it seemed to allow a soldier to fire small bolt-like projectiles from a regular bow with the contraption, either all at once, or perhaps similar to as shown here. It's mentioned in the Taktika of Leo VI.
Arrow guides, solenarion, tong ah whatever you call them aren't really like this though, they look similar but it is far far weaker and can be at sraw length
It's still up for debate what the Solenarion actually *was* if I remember correctly. I've heard arguments for it referring to crossbows (Which seems to have some water, given the strange lack of historical records of Byzantine usage of Crossbows.) As far as I know, if the Solenarion is indeed an arrow-guide for a bow, it wouldn't function in a way terribly similar to Joerg's piece.
I tnink a Westphalian peasant revolution could have stopped the Hundred Years War by defeating the Hanseatic League then going on to crush the Plantagenets and the Valois, if Jörg had been there.
It's like a passive stat effect on a D&D item; "All weapons and artifacts crafted by JeorgSprave cause the user to chuckle uncontrollably whilst in use."
This guy is the happiest man on the planet. Just chilling out with his horses and MULE and experimenting with the most interesting period of British and European history!
Augerman lol so true. I believe he was originally the owner of a very successful British game development studio, but now he focuses primarily on this type of thing. Literally living the dream, and I'm glad that he shares all of this awesome stuff and information with us in the videos!
@@KakashiOkazaki Aha! I was quite shocked when I saw him in the footage of a videogame documentary video I was watching but I wasn't 100% sure that it was him. Now I know!
'English longbow with 6 shot magazine and laser sighting' ''That's brand new, just got them in. That's a good bow. Just touch the trigger, the beam comes on and you put the red dot where you want the arrow to go. You can't miss'
Sir Kingsley, your interest in this new weapon was very befitting for an English knight. "It's a great misconception that knights were ultra-conservative, behind the times, unable to stay relevant... In reality they were always the first people to adopt new military tech, including personal firearms..." Dr. Tobias Capwell
There's a similarly inaccurate assumption about the samurai as well. I think the aristocratic and romantic status of these historic warriors gives them a conservative and static reputation
@@Rynewulf People forget that there were Samurai on both sides of the Satsuma Rebellion. Some of them were perfectly happy to wear western uniforms and officers' epaulets in the service of Emperor Meiji.
@@draconite1018 yes, that i know! But knights being the first ones to adopt them i doubt. Foot soldiera were the first to use them. The hand Cannon and musketa were used by foot soldiers or mercenaries. Knight didnt like firearms for they "would remove the glory of them". They didnt want an ordinary man to shoot them down easily. One knight even wrote that the gun was a devil's invention
Not a historian, and maybe I'm missing a key point. It seems to me that if you armed enough archers on one side with this, their rate of fire alone could have changed history. You might be looking at 2x or even 3x RoF increase, which causes more casualties to the other side more rapidly, which should have a profound impact on the war.
repeated bow is not new, the chinese had them for centuries, the problem with them is their range is shorter, they are design as shock weapon (think of them as SMG), in a ranged exchange you want range, which is why they design the longbow, to give their archer abit more range(think of them as rifle). if your arrow can't reach the enemy, they are not going to kill anyone. the machinery in a repeated bow can never outdraw a human since it is design to be operated with very little energy since it operator need to fire many shot, if you make the draw use as much energy, your archer would be too tired to use it.
Lars Anderson has a series of videos where he shows how to rapid fire shortbows using different cultures' techniques (Comanche is different from Saracen for example). Granted, the shortbow has a range that's about a third that of the longbow, but Lars has proven it's possible to fire 5 arrows in the air at the same time with accuracy from a shortbow.
It does not give that significant ROF increase - I am quite sure a trained archer could do it just as fast. Also, the device makes the bow less wieldy and requires rather inconvenient reloading procedure after several shots. It could have some niche application, but I doubt it could "change history".
@@dazaspc his most recent designs aren't at all similar to the chukonu, other than the fact that they're both repeating bows. I think it's fair to say that the pump action bows are an original design.
If an alchemist figured out a lead/acid battery , saphire lenses , a prism and a small bright light source, he could have made a solid state laser...just before being burned as a witch.
the Greeks were playing with steam powered toys and gadgets. imagine if they had envisioned it powering a ship or other vehicle. and the rumor that they had built a large polished mirror to use the sun's energy to light ships on fire which there have been a few recreations made and it is very plausible
@@daxconnell7661 i sense they knew the potential, but i also sense there is more to the industrial revolution than just inventing the steam engine, i assume many other inventions and many social factors had to be just right.
@@coreymerrill3257 yeah that. my brother accused me of being a witch when I was drinking tea and holding singing notes to clear my throat 🤦♂️just imagine how much we've lost. smh
Totally agree, he's clearly an expert of his own sector, and as every other expert, you automatically have to ignore other things. In this case modern firearms and modern sighting systems. 😅
You people are hilarious in thinking the difference between calling a red dot laser sight a "red dot" or a " laser", or calling "zeroing" "calibrating" is in any way shape or form any indication of expertise XD You're just anal, not experts.
I actually watched Shadiversity and Sprave's back and forth about the Instant Legolas then this got recommended for me. Looks like I have a new channel to watch! :)
I see this as like an assault river. Less powerful but more volume at a shorter range. I suspect that you could have produced easier to train archers. Good ambush weapon. In some ways a way for the French to combat the English. Lots of lower skilled archers defending village against raiders.
showed a version Joerg did with a Mongolian bow to a friend and he agrees this thing would have been a game changer no matter where in the world it was invented
@@ModernKnight Nu Sensei actually said he thought it wouldn't have been that practical, but mostly in context of skilled asiatic archers. It does seem to do a lot for longbows in the mounted archery department and it could fill the same role as a crossbow, but cheaper - aka. unskilled users would have a great advantage with it, compared to using a regular bow.
@@GamelessOne i get the point of the trained asian archers not seeing it as practical, but its just as you also said it would reduce the incredibly difficult task of spending years training archers down to a few months at best; the possibilities are incredible in terms of producing more troops and more likely they would of spent the extra time in hand to hand training. allowing soldiers to be more versatile. i.e. you wouldn't have a regiment of melee and another for archers you could have your entire army doing both which would skyrocket your forces lethality
Considering the consistency of this I believe you could actually mount iron sights on this bow and zero it in. I imagine if this device really did exist back in the 100 year war it'd likely evolve into using sights.
The issue would be retaining the zero, as bows while flexible do change as they are used, but it'd be a killer invention that would have made armies much less a hassle to train, now imagine Genghis Khan or his descendants gained this technology as they were moving westward. I doubt it would change much as the Europeans would have the technology, but it might change how the middle east was conquered.
I still find it a little insulting to our ancestors that these "historians" believe our ancestors were incapable of carving stones into spheres. I'm not upset or anything but they act like the humans before us were stupid. You don't survive ice ages by being an idiot. I think they need to get out of their musty offices and try some historical stuff like the man in this video. It may give them at least a little perspective.
We need a new history channel. Just like in history, to create a dynasty you need to murder and plunder the old leadership. Honestly who wouldn’t want a history channel cue, and a historically appropriate violent one at that.
I've been watching a little bit of "Found" on the History Channel, where archaeologists travel America looking at historic artifacts random people have found and determining if the artifacts are interesting or not. It's kind of comical in a way, as they lead the people into saying all kinds of things. Archaeologist: "So, where do you think this artifact came from?" Owner: "Well, there were Native Americans in the area, so I figure this was a piece of ceremonial jewelry or something." A: "In our research, we found that Chinese explorers may have reached this area. And at the depth you said you found it, it would place them here before Columbus." O: "Wow! Really?" A: "If this belonged to Chinese explorers, it would be the first proof of Chinese explorers reaching the Americas before Columbus. What do you think?" O: "That seems pretty crazy if you ask me. But it'd be neat" A: "So we took the artifact back to the lab to see if the owner was right about this artifact being from ancient China!" In the show's defense, at least in the first season, you can tell the Archaeologists don't buy the crazy they're trying to push either (a few times you can see them half-smirk at some of the nonsense). But somebody higher up seems to have to told them they have to make things more exciting to keep people watching.
At the beginning of this video I thought "This sounds like a Joerg Sprave collaboration" ...and when it turned out to actually be one, all I could hear for the rest of the video was Joerg Sprave loudly laughing in my head...
I can imagine this device receiving resistance similar to that of repeating rifles during the American Civil War. There was a fear that repeating rifles and single shot breach loading rifles would encourage men to waste ammunition. In any case, I'm sure fletchers would love this weapon system.
repeating rifles and breach loaders were given to cavalry as a force multiplier. The traditionally fought dismounted and quickly engage and break off. I imagine this bow used the same way.
A legitimate concern. Couldn't exactly overnight some more ammo back then. I imagine a similar issue had such a device been used. A quiver (24 arrows) could be shot at an alarming rate. A quiver might last a medieval archer up to 2 minutes through normal fire (and if he was particularly fresh). This device would make a quiver last barely 30 seconds. Not so bad if there's a load of quivers nearby but over a long campaign it would be unsustainable.
robin hood, having no clue of package sent to him without any letters, startled by a sudden roaring, thundering laugh. A bald, massive man silhouette cometh to him, saying: "LET ME SHOW THOU IT'S FEATURE"
Many moons ago I did a demonstration at the re-enactment of the Battle of Bosworth of shooting the longbow from horseback. Like you said, it is not easy, but it can be done. Re-nocking in a gallop is the biggest challence. Shooting from horseback, although limited in angle's, like you showed, was easier than I thought.
The Cumans definitely used bows from horseback, but the Magyars were using mounted archery for hundreds of years before the Cumans ever considered migrating into Hungary.
The Japanese ended up inventing an asymmetrical longbow specifically for horseback use. You hold it about 1/3 of the way up so that you're not poking the horse with the bottom of it as you draw.
@@mckittensificationit's hard to be sympathetic to the Cumans since they had a history of pillaging their neighbors lands for hundreds of years prior to the Mongols. I'm sure that the Byzantines, Bulgars, Hungarians, Kievans and Poles probably thought the subjugation of Cumania to be Karmic irony. Also, many Cumans and Kipchaks joined the Mongols in their conquest of Eastern Europe.
A long bow for range, a dismounted platoon of archers with this for rapid fire could 'range in' sudden large quantity volleys on the particular target like command. Re-mount and reposition fast.
Joerg is up to version 2. Let me show you it's features. Sliding magazine that allows letting off without firing an arrow. Trigger release integrated handle for drawing the string.
Impressed with the grouping on the second attempt, Once you've calibrated Merlin the battlefield's your sandbox. Still can't believe the firm hasn't noticed your contribution to the medieval way of life.
Chris Dively I pondered on ‘Dave’ first, he looks a bit like my cousin - not a well favoured man; then ‘Marengo’ , realised as that was Napoleons horse it probably wouldn’t go down well (Lol) ended up suggesting Sancho Panza, then realised he was the manservant to a delusional knight so that probably wouldn’t have gone down well either (oops) but I could live with Jasper. I also need to know what he’s called his Mule, I’m well over invested Lol
We the people, demand to see the mule! please, pretty please😊 Also how did that bit work out? We need answers! I'm way overinvested in this, aren't I ?!😁 Maybe name the mule Camión the Spanish word for truck or Corcel which means steed but is also a car!
Just wanted to mention the reason as to why the right side of the bow was preferred when nocking an arrow on horseback, is because when used in conjunction with the thumb draw, the arrow can be pinched against the bow with the index finger of the draw hand. This prevents it from swaying all over and from falling off the bow, from the movements encountered on horseback.
Accuracy is vastly overrated when you are shooting at a mass of people. Speed is everything. That's why military archery has almost no resemblance to modern Olympic archery.
They actually practiced accuracy. True they probably didn't drop arrows right on top of each other. But I could totally see them getting groupings of 24in at 100 yrds
@@dominic6634 Of course they practiced accuracy. It just wasn't Olympic style precision shooting. Nobody said they didn't need accuracy, just that it was vastly overrated in the context of warfare.
A power small kingdom conquers it's neighboring state using a new invention. The king spoke unto his subjects about the new laws being established: *LET ME SHOW YOU ITS FEATURES*
not only could they not shoot your arrows, but you could still use their arrows with your bow even with that device attached. truely an ingenuous design.
@@keshlalish5586 or just make some kind of clamps to attach the device that you can release after you shoot all arrows. Or you can cut off strings with a knife. Since you only get their arrows, you won't be needing the device since your arrows are not flying back.
This is essentially what a modern assault rifle is to a breech loading musket. The later requires years of training to fire and reload competitively, but the former can be fired and reloaded by any person strong enough to carry it. This device would have dramatically reduced the skill required to operate a longbow, and yet I can only imagine what a life time of training with this device would look like.
@@sam23696 _"This device would have dramatically reduced the skill required to operate a longbow"_ Would it _really,_ though? As the host points out, despite firing bolts and being crossbow-shaped, this is not a crossbow. And that's a problem, because the main advantage of a crossbow is its ability to use mechanical force in order to dramatically increase the draw weight of a bow. A Joerg-style Longbow has no such mechnical advantage; it would still require the same amount of upper body strength to draw, and thus, would still require the same amount of time to "train" ("training" with a longbow, being predominately a function of physical conditioning). As for the "not being able to fire arrows back" thing, sure. That's true... unless the enemy happens to have crossbows, in which case you're basically sending them free ammo. And, in all likelihood, the army your longbowmen are facing will have quite a lot of crossbows. Longbows were actually fairly rare in medieval armies, and their "normal" arrows were too long to be use effectively with smaller bows and crossbows, so in actual fact, longbows-firing-bolts would be far more likely to _give your enemies more ammo_ than would longbows-firing-arrows. The only real advantage here is in how quickly an archer could notch a new arrow. But I'm not even convinced of THAT. It only takes a second or two to grab an arrow, raise it to your bowstring, and notch it. I suspect, just by looking at it, that any second or so saved by having an "auto-loading" longbow magazine would be more than negated by the time required to reload the magazine. With six bolts, you might save six seconds over a conventional bow - but after those six bolts, you'd lose at least a good twenty, thirty seconds (or more!) trying to reload the thing. It's a fun idea, but I think the only way this device would "change history" would be making the armies who adopted it lose faster.
22:50: "Imagine this in the hands of thousands of skillful mounted archers".... Why not go to Hungary and have them test it? They do have trained/skillful mounted archers and make a video of it? I can imagine they also intrigued to try this... 🤔
It would be interesting. We have a technique to hold multiple arrows in your hand next to the bow. I can hold max 11, but rarely practice it, usually only use 3 or up to 6, but if your hand big and strong enough you can do more. I hold 3 with the bow, middle finger 3, ring finger 3, and 2 with the pinkie. Look up Lajos Kassai for pictures. A comparison could be made. This technique is slower than the Instant Legolas, but faster than normal and have more arrows ready.
Imagine him on The Walking Dead... The Whispers bring their horde forward, then all you hear is Jeorg's laugh and the cocking of the Gatling crossbow bolt thrower.
Japan did use "longbow" length bows from horseback, and they came up with an ingenious solution. Hold the bow asymmetrically. Though their bows were made from strips of wood glued and bound together, as opposed to a single piece of wood. As for why the arrow was used on the right side of the bow (for a right handed archer), in mounted archery, has to do with using the thumb release. Using a thumb release and having the arrow on the left side would torque the arrow away from the bow and make it pretty much impossible to shoot that way.
@@nicoloserri6071 I'm gonna say no to you aswell. cause explaining 'why' would take up my day, but you're wrong too aswell and I also accept your criticism for the portable part.
@@nicoloserri6071 Let me Explain~ In some Alternate way that *'If'* this Bow device was created before the crossbow was even invented? There would have been More advanced versions of this being put on Historical Evidence that Tapestries today show what Knights wore or what they used in Combat. Just like today when you look up Historic Tapestries made by England, you see many different types of crossbows in use. Also I can pretty much damn well post what I think woulda been cool if this Device came before the Crossbow.
You have such a clean and genuine love for what you are doing. Thank you so much for expressing the beauty and joy of the past to so many people. For some reason the British's special love for every nook and cranny of the world is contagious, and your smile and optimism has more than lifted my spirits recently. You are a gem of a man and your show is excellent. Never stop if you can manage it.
Archimedes? The guy who supposedly used ** death rays in ancient Greece and made contraptions capable of lifting and throwing triremes full of soldiers? The same that could scare the shit out of the Romans by showing some random garbage in top of the walls? Nah, he was in a different level of badassery to care that much about improving the efficiency of a single soldier. His baseline were ballistas and steam powered cannons. Anything that couldn't kill half a dozen people in one go was simply not worth his time :p
"Could this device have changed medieval European history?" Holy Roman Empire: Wait, this is illegal. It's way too deadly and inhumane, this is against the ways of God! Anyway we'll keep one of those... Just in case. Surrounding kingdoms: **giggles**
Oh my WORD, I know this was from 4 years ago, but still. I love JoergSprave so much, that chap is just absolutely wonderful, and getting to see a collab with him is so freaking cool. It's always freaking cool to see that. I already know this episode is going to be a 10/10. Actually, all your episodes are 10's and out of 10. But this just warms my heart so much!!!
Yeah, but once you figured out from how much you need to compensate for where the dot is, the accruacy of this thing can become quite ridiculous. My takeaway is that anyone not used to Merlin's device would obviously miss their targer while the real owner of the bow would know how to correct their aim and get right on the mark.
Right? You could even stagger it. 2 lines sending arrows out while the third takes the time to reload from a quiver. It's only six shots and wouldn't take too long to do, so by the time the first line runs out, the next is loaded and ready to go. A formation firing this in a staggered pattern could sustain a constant rate of fire
You’d rapidly run out of arrows, you’d need much bigger logistics and supply lines and manufacturing, all of which would need paying for and protecting,, so it would get complicated and expensive
