The Trident - Mere Fantasy or Practical Weapon?

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The trident is an iconic weapon seen in the hands of gods, superheroes, and other characters in roleplaying games and other fantasy fiction. Was it just a tool and symbol in history or was it used in combat as well?
Let's take a look a the design with its practical pros & cons, as well as examples of two and three pronged spears / polearms from various time periods and parts of the world. Of course there is nothing wrong with less restrained fantasy, but those of you who like to incorporate some level of realism into your writing may find this useful.
Thanks to Ace the Super Villain for making the 3D animations for visual reference in this video. Check out his bundle of weapon models:
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If you're looking for reproductions of medieval & renaissance polearms (affiliate link):
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** Sources **
Luristani bronze trident
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Viking harpoon / fishgig
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Sasumata & Sodegarami (Japanese mancatcher designs)
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Chinese Tang Pa & Tiger Fork
kknews.cc/news...
www.mandarinma...
African tridents
ancientpoint.co...
www.oriental-ar...
Vietnamese trident
www.oriental-ar...
Brandistocks
www.clevelanda...
www.metmuseum....
Artwork:
www.deviantart...
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forgottenrealm...
** Music **
"Cavern of Wonders" by Hitctrl
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Royalty-free music by Alexander Nakarada (creative commons license)
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Outtakes:
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Outro:
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Used with artist's permission
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Опубликовано:

28 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 1,6 тыс.

@UncleRJ 3 года назад

6:22 Skall: "Sometimes a fork without the center spike" Me: "A twork"

@biohazard724 3 года назад

So does this mean spears are oneks?

@EDSKaR 3 года назад

t'werk: where norveners go to earn money.

@darkthunder301 3 года назад

Me: A good baroque

@zebfirehd9102 3 года назад

@nah doesn't sound as cool

@Pyxis10 3 года назад

@@biohazard724 Unoeks? Fourks?

@waranyaketkaew1338 3 года назад

Hi, a Thai here. The Burmese trident you mentioned was common for ancient warfare in south-east Asia. It was used in elephant duels. The reason why it was very decorative is the fact that the only people who mounted elephants to battles were the royalty. Hope this info will be useful to you guys. :)

@anooprana2346 3 года назад

Also for defence and hunting of large animals.

@bloodangel19 Год назад

I may be a year late but y'all had elephant jousts? Holy shit

@troljynx9953 Год назад

@@bloodangel19 That's based af

@VideoMask93 Год назад

@@bloodangel19 There's a particularly famous elephant duel between Naresuan, king of Ayutthaya, and Mingyi Swa, the crown prince of Burma. Allegedly they fought during a battle, Naresuan emerging the victor. Though from what I've read they more likely used glaives in combat.

@GraemeFaber-ls5wp Год назад

Elephant jousting. Elephant. Jousting. Why is this not in movies???

@Charok1 3 года назад

Mainly used for moving sea hay for their sea horses and sea unicorns.

@Psiberzerker 3 года назад

Zebrafish...

@VictorianTimeTraveler 3 года назад

hahaha

@VictorianTimeTraveler 3 года назад

@@Psiberzerker sea cows

@darthXreven 3 года назад

sea urchins...

@AndreasSweden 3 года назад

@@Psiberzerker Sea lions eat Zebrafish.

@silverhand9965 3 года назад

As someone whose last Dark Souls character was a bident user named Joe Bident, I appreciate the bident joke

@Technotoadnotafrog 3 года назад

I had a pyromancer called Burny Sanders.

@the-real-zpero 3 года назад

I had an Abbomasnow (Pokémon) named Obamasnow

@SirGarthur 3 года назад

I'm using this.

@thekingofthisworld2154 3 года назад

Donald Trumpgaryan rode his dragons and Made Westeros Great Again!

@hoxo4641 2 года назад

Danm I just thought of this but somebody already came up with it

@sizanogreen9900 3 года назад

A trident becomes usefull with "channeling", "riptide" and/or "loyalty" enchantments put onto it.

@misterluppus6727 3 года назад

You are strong and wise and I'm proud of you

@pdd5793 3 года назад

looks like there's a gamer among us

@hannah1386 3 года назад

It’s also becomes incredibly dangerous in the hands of a certain pig with a crown

@croutendo2050 3 года назад

@@hannah1386 You can put a crown on a pig but it doesn't make him king. It's those three triangles that make him king.

@polarknight5376 3 года назад

@@pdd5793 amogus? When the imposter is sus. Sorry. I literally have OCD and couldn't stop myself.

@LuxisAlukard 3 года назад

I hope I'll live long enough to see at least 10% of Skall "I-would-like-to-test-historical-reproduction-of-this-weapon" wishlist. Also, I would like to see Skall with enough money to do that.

@lechking941 2 года назад

also laws can go fuck on off so he can test every weapon in purity

@IdentityCrisis1581 3 года назад

"Did you just kill that guy?" "Yes. I killed him with a trident." "You might want to lay low for a while."

@lechking941 2 года назад

i have a feeling its a joke from someonace and i am amused i just dont know the place...

@TheGuzeinbuick 3 года назад

Skall just wanted to say, please NEVER change your outro music. It's so relaxing and pleasant. I always let it play it out.

@KonigGustavAdolph 3 года назад

"This weapon would really shine in use against a single, naked opponent." For those times you want to up the difficulty setting.

@wumpusthehunted2628 3 года назад

Wasn't a Trident (plus net) used by a popular class of gladiator? They only fought sword and shield classes (my sources are probably badly out of date), which meant a bit of armor, but the rest was probably bare in a calculated way to look dangerous and make a more impressive fight. Granted gladiators didn't choose their weapons, that went with the class. And the class's weapons were chosen to look cool, have cool fights.

@acesburned 3 года назад

@@wumpusthehunted2628 he does mention them in the video

@KonigGustavAdolph 3 года назад

@@wumpusthehunted2628 ace is correct. That would be the gladiator class "retiarius".

@robertagu5533 3 года назад

@@wumpusthehunted2628 unfortunately for standard Roman troops even at their MOST powerful they ALSO unwittingly trained a VERY elite warrior/slave class in the Gladiator i imagine Rome didn't come to realize until they got crushed most of the time they fought with Spartacus

@nelly5954 3 года назад

It was interesting hearing you talk about fishing spears and pitchforks, maybe you should do a full video on the effectiveness of certain tools as improvised weapons!

@lechking941 2 года назад

there is a lot of shit that does have some strangely good abilities in war.

@Naraku-no-Hana-WE 3 года назад

There is a Japanese spear similar to the various yari you looked at with a long central blade and two curved hooks (sometimes both curving upwards, sometimes one up one down). Its purpose besides being a fairly standard spear is to hook on the top of walls, ledges, doors or gates and help climb or pull down barriers.

@hudsongreenough4753 Год назад

Gladiators were the WWE wrestlers of Rome, they weren't meant to kill each other. Didn't happen often.

@hithere4719 Год назад

Actual gladiators got to kill jabronis, right? It would be like going to see a Ladder Match or something one weekend, but the next is The Rock & Mankind killing a dozen slaves with a fire extinguisher and barbed wire baseball bats.

@theonlineanimal6009 Год назад

Actually gladiators killing each other was very common. However the crappy weapons made the fights last longer while still injuring the gladiator. Making the show both last longer and be more interesting to watch.

@richardmonk6171 3 года назад

Nice to know. I was playing a Tortle character in DnD who used a trident. If I still was in that game, I would be a badass with a trident and a net by using this info. I basically used it because of its reach, versatility (1handed or 2 handed), and throwing properties, plus it just looks cool with an aquatic Tortle character. Great video, brother.

@Candlemancer 3 года назад

I'm pretty sure that trident don't have reach, RAW. For some reason they're just heavier, more expensive spears (which also don't have reach because a one-handed simple reach weapon would be kind of OP.)

@TheWildManEnkidu 3 года назад

'... I like tortles.'

@demomanchaos 3 года назад

@@Candlemancer Trident is literally just a more expensive spear, just like how the Scimitar is just a more expensive short sword and the Glaive is the exact same as a Halberd. 5e is rather crap when it comes to weapon variety honestly.

@cameronlancefrii7356 3 года назад

@@demomanchaos agreed, except the scimitar and shortsword. One is slashing and the other is piercing.

@megavore97 3 года назад

@@demomanchaos Pathfinder 2nd Edition has more interesting weapons for sure. The trident is pretty solid in that system.

@TheOmegawop 3 года назад

Great discussion. It seems like trident or forked spears were likely really useful against cavalry. As you mentioned, unseating rider could be a lot easier with a wider array of blades, but also stopping the horse itself seems like it would be better done with something like a fork. Tangling it into the legs or making a wall of forks to increase your chances of finding flesh. It seems like sometimes HEMA guys like yourself are too married to the idea of dueling or going mano a mano when a lot of the weapons were likely better served for other purposes.

@AndreasSweden 3 года назад

I would not mind that "Runka" weapon. Makes for a great conversation peice.

@erikjarandson5458 3 года назад

...but not for great conversations.

@AndreasSweden 3 года назад

@@erikjarandson5458 A bit awkward i guess.

@williamjenkins4913 3 года назад

Want to see my Runka? *wink

@martinschultz3441 3 года назад

Just talk to a danish speaker and he wouldnt understand s*** :)

@AndreasSweden 3 года назад

@@martinschultz3441 EDIT: I was on another thread in another video about differances between Norway, Denmark and Sweden and there was a bit of fun poking at eachother. I confused this thread with that other one so please understand that this comment is out of context. Sorry to my Danish neighbours. No insult was intended. Here is my comment: I live to close to Denmark to make fun of them. I leave that to the Norwegians . Here's a sketch that explains it better: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s-mOy8VUEBk.html

@williamzolla6380 3 года назад

This is some great food for thought for us fantasy character designers. Love when you do these kinds of critical deep dives!

@Badpoison1 3 месяца назад

So here's the thing, Poseidon used to be depicted as a bull and was the god of husbandry before he was god of the sea. His trident is actually just a pitchfork for hay that got transformed overtime.

@Jakman01 3 года назад

Man I love this style of video because it lets me see the variation of designs, though not in any particular order, but just the different takes of what a polearm can look like

@CondemnedGuy 3 года назад

Great, informative video, and the timing was impeccable. I've been meaning to search some trident information for D&D stuff.

@josipmarinic9663 3 года назад

"or if the opponent is somehow still able to fight back" Just shake push and pull the haft,they won't be able much longer lol

@Oroberus 6 месяцев назад

Take on those outwards facing prongs: They are not intended to cause more harm/injuries but to actually stop your opponent from closing in to you, be it through falling forward and therefor pulling down your spear or be it regarding other kind of momentum like a charge, maybe even somewhat useful regarding cavalry

@mankeytamer 3 года назад

I love the bloopers at the end. Great to end the videos on a high

@HOMGC 3 года назад

As a hema practitioner /amateur Retiarii it really pumped me up that you mentioned the Retiarius haha

@parryhotter4283 3 года назад

Non sword people: Whats that? Skall: Oh, thats a pointing seax Also the pitchfork at 1:32 isnt actually a pitchfork but a digging fork. Its used to dig so you dont cut roots you dont want to cut (like with a spade)

@lockwoan01 3 года назад

Barbed fishing hook - yes, more than a few stories - one involving a jig head that my older brother put into his pants' pocket - we had to cut a hole in the pocket, cut a patch out of his underwear, and then try to push the hook to get the point to come out, so that we could cut the barb part off, so that we could pull it back out - I've never seen him cry that much before or since.

@Kamamura2 2 года назад

18:21 - those forks were intended to catch pike hafts, so that doppelsoldners could more easily cut through them with zweihanders. A lot of polearms were highly specialized.

@M.M.83-U 3 года назад

You go trident nerding and Forgotten Weapons go fish hunting on the same day. Is it a coincidence?

@cristianespinal9917 3 года назад

Very soon after I take up fishing... The world is my personal simulation.

@zarathean8758 3 года назад

gun jesus and blade jesus 🤔

@Joe___R 2 года назад

On forked pole arms as long as the inside of the tines are sharpened then they can still be quite effective when pointing outward a bit. For the military tridents the lower spikes were added to keep people from moving down the shaft after being stabbed.

@lugbzurg8987 3 года назад

Tridents are also commonly depicted as weapons for demons (mainly imps) for reasons I'm not familiar with. Du to the combat impracticality, I've just pictured them more as tools for keeping souls of the damned down, as it they do a good job of causing some harm while pushing from a relatively-safe distance.

@EliotChildress 3 года назад

Hey you talked about the sodegarami! I have an original one of those hanging in my room. I’ve always wanted to test it but don’t wanna waste money on a yukata to destroy.

@ImperialistRunningDo 3 года назад

Buy a second-hand bedsheet and have at it.

@Modighen 3 года назад

I'm sure you did a bit more research than I did, but I believe the side hooks for the spetum were both larger and sharpened for cutting while the ranseur had a lot less capacity for slashing with the secondary tines. For the brandistock, I think it's rule of cool. It may not be as effective and could be prone to malfunctions, but having half a dozen guards deploying their blades might have a real psych factor to defuse a potential combat situation.

@carterclarkin5466 3 года назад

Really liking the videos recently keep it up

@opaco2850 3 года назад

This video made me feel like I was in a college lecture in a class I took for fun with a goofy professor who loves his job

@Randomdudefromtheinternet 3 года назад

Proposition for DnD 5e tridents: Give them a special trait that makes them better against swarms (advantage on attack and damage perhaps?) (a gimmick trait for a gimmick weapon). And perhaps change the damage die to 3d4? It's an exotic martial weapon (although those with fishermen-related backstories could get proficiency on them), with a crit of 12 piercing damage, still in the norm.

@leahnzastrzelecki5217 3 года назад

I really like the idea you're going for, but I think there should be a distinction between war tridents and the actual fishing tool. A war trident would fall under the blanket category of "polearm" and should be treated as such mechanically. A 3d4 is in practice a more effective version of a 1d12 of similar weapons like the lance--because the maximum roll is the same, but the minimum roll is a 3 instead of the usual 1. Guaranteed damage is pretty valuable. For this to be balanced for the bonus, you need to offset it with a cost. For a fisherman trident, it's closer in practice to an improvised weapon like a farm scythe and such, so it wouldn't make that much sense for it to outclass a regular polearm so directly. I'd make the damage die a 2d4 or 1d6 reach weapon against a single opponent. But the bonus instead would be either advantage against beasts, swarms, and small (or less) sized creatures (what such a tool would be primarily designed for anyhow) or a chance to hit 2 opponents standing next to each other with the same attack, but the second creature targeted would fall under the dual weapon attack rules. Your fisherman automatic proficiency is such a cool idea! For a war trident, I'd make the damage die a 1d8 or 1d10 reach weapon, but with battle master-like flourishes such as reaction to disarm a weapon attack against oneself, or an ally if you have the sentinel feat, (probably a strength check/save) X (maybe X=proficiency bonus-1) times per long rest. A failed check/successful save would simply result in the attack being blocked. It's something that could be really useful for a smart player at both low and high levels and could be great for combat and roleplay, but would be a strong boon easily overlooked by someone who just wants to maximize damage.

@amratat4246 3 года назад

3d4 would actually make it better than a greatsword. 3d4 trident deals minimum 3 damage, average 7.5, max 12. Greatsword deals minimum 2 damage, average 7 damage, max 12. It scales worse with barbarian crits/half-orc crits, but that is itself a niche.

@childofatom95 3 года назад

This is right up my alley, needed this today, thanks 🙏

@wraithmoor5231 2 года назад

Maybe to odd designs were for planting the polearms. The upcurved fork held as downcurved could be aligned strait forward when planted. The ones with multiple, radial points could help with a charging animal that might run around one spear point, then directly into an unaligned one.

@Zurrech 3 года назад

Well with the Bollocks daggers it isnt that suprising that it is a weapon called runka...it goes Hand in hand..

@xavier84623 3 года назад

Fascinating! I wanted to put one in a fantasy world I’m writing and this will definitely help.

@MrThewalkingdead 3 года назад

To continue with an earlier comment (sorry, don't want to make comments too long and just commenting as I watch) with the outwardly curved outer blades/tines on some of the tridents, that again reminds me of the trishul of the indo-persian region. I think it would be helpful to imagine a few things: Imagine a thrust forward that is diverted and then can immediately sweep, either to catch a shield rim, shoulder, ankle or lash at person standing beside the initial target, almost the way you penetrate with a falx. That would also be a good design for ensuring you catch/control a blade without getting your own weapon trapped. And it also might very well be the intent was to severely wound and not kill. I get the impression from iconography attached to the trishul that it was perceived as an almost merciful weapon/the weapon of a guardian or peacekeeper. Just some thoughts.

@RainDance444 3 года назад

In Korea, Joseon Density used Trident for main police force weapon for some reason(and main foot man weapon till musket came around on 15th century).

@brookechang4942 3 года назад

Great explanations, Skall! I learned a ton, and I appreciate the reminder that historical weapons can look pretty fantasy. It makes me feel less bad as a fantasy writer whose mental images are all of "unrealistic" weapons. As for "runka", I'm not Scandianvian, but I did see a meme ages ago that mentioned "gatrunka" (it was Swedish and there was an accent over a vowel somewhere) as "crying while runka-ing", and someone quipping that it was a real tear-jerker.

@MadSwedishGamer 3 года назад

I saw Mermista in the thumbnail and clicked immediately.

@space8381 3 года назад

SAME

@CultureStress 3 года назад

I love using the seax as a pointer I think it would look more natural if your monitor was located closer to your green screen, so that you had to turn 90 degrees away from the camera to look at it (like a weatherman)

@kayn9651 3 месяца назад

With all those that have a way longer central spike and then shorter ones angled outward, you could imagine trying to stab someone and barely miss, now instead of having to pull back and try again you could just push further forward and change the angle of your thrust to basically "dodge-catch" them. Also, could be that those outward flaring tridents, if they were bladed, they could be intended to attack at joints and limbs rather than the core of the body. - Like you can imagine a thrust at the neck, even if you don't stab in the middle, the outward curving blades could still slice at the jugular and carotid, or attacking a wrist or elbow it could aim to sever tendons and blood vessels. Similar philosophy to arrows then where a dead foe is litter on the battlefield but an injured foe will also keep a living ally busy tending to their wounds. Injuries take more enemies off the battlefield than an equal number of death blows would. Plus it'll affect morale when your camp is full of screaming injured allies after a skirmish.

@glennnanod3160 3 года назад

I quite enjoyed this video about Tridents. Nice power point presentation, liked the many views of different types. Mahalo and Aloha.

@Huy-G-Le 3 года назад

Russia: How many pole arms with more than 1 spikes or prong do you have? China: Oh my good Roman friend, since when have I been counting?

@Intranetusa 3 года назад

Why is the Russian being called Roman?

@Huy-G-Le 3 года назад

@@Intranetusa Cause, while both the Roman empire and the Byzantine collapse. China still think they exist, because when the British come to trade (before the opium war). The Qing dynasty talk to them...in Latin and refer to them as Roman.

@Intranetusa 3 года назад

@@Huy-G-Le I don't get it. Why does the Qing Dynasty calling the British traders "Roman" result in the Russians being called Roman? The Romans and Eastern Romans never ruled over Russia. Did the Qing confuse all Europeans as Romans?

@Huy-G-Le 3 года назад

@@Intranetusa To the Qing, there is no Russia or British, it's just Western Rome or Byzantine. So yes, not confuse, just don't care.

@barretharms1432 3 года назад

Military Forks are designed to catch weapons and actually do damage if you can get a Thrust to connect

@BunnyOfThunder 3 года назад

I like how the puns were a mix of fresh & new and trident true

@srinjoyroychoudhury7034 3 года назад

Do you sometimes feel that you should exchange notes with people who are more adept at using certain weapons which you haven't tried yourself? Like many teachers of Shastravidya consider the Trident as Superweapon and are adept at it. They might also help to get a more wholistic picture.

@germgoblin5313 Год назад

Fun fact, in North caucasus folklore one of the most powerful weapons the heroes use is a Trident (or maybe a two-pronged spear), made from the tongue of a giant serpent / hydra, which can tear clean through a tree!

@lukediehl1210 3 года назад

First, love the use of a seax as a pointer. Second, I've been impaled by an agricultural pitchfork through my leg. It wasn't fun, but certainly not lethal either. I even had a soccer game the next day. I played like shit and spent a fair bit of time on the bench, but I managed. Where a fork is most useful is as a standoff weapon. We often used them when working with bulls to maintain distance. It takes a lot of force to make 4 tines penetrate simultaneously, and forcing past the head is nearly impossible. The most practical use I could see would be in a mixed unit militia. Keep forks to the front to keep the enemy at bay, and have the 2nd row equipped with polearms, i.e. - bills, agricultural flails, long axes, anything to bring down on the enemy trying to force their way past the ocean of pointy things in their face.

@Kaiserland111 3 года назад

Thanks for covering such esoteric weapons such as the trident and not for blatantly disregarding their use as a military weapon without reason. I have been developing a tabletop RPG with a small team and our version of the trident has a low critical chance and low-moderate damage (low penetration from 3 tines) but gives bonuses to defense because it can be used effectively to parry and control enemy weapons.

@kylkim93 10 месяцев назад

Concerning the indo-persian polearm: I'd imagine an attack against soft armor would first cause the armor to depress the underlying flesh. Once the implement pierces through, the three points follow the contours of that depression, meaning each point meets flesh at a straight angle (not to be confused with the line of force), meaning the puncture holes will actually face away, similar to how the weapon is shaped. Once the weapon is pulled out, the tissue would likely try to rebound, the mechanics creating a new line to cut (might get stuck, but then I'm imagining the victim is already in excruciating pain to do anything about it).

@ct7567CaptRex 3 года назад

Audaces fortuna iuvat. Gimme them toes. Who understands these references? Anyways, Skala, keep up the good work.

@Kyrian_W 3 года назад

INCREDIBILIS *Roman punch*

@randomman6436 3 года назад

@@Kyrian_W AD MORTEM INIMICUS!

@emmeaberg 3 года назад

Etiam!

@Angel0fSleep Год назад

Some of the examples that look potentially ceremonial, it could be that they were exactly that, but made in such a way that they could still be used as weapons if needed. Like for elite guards that wouldn't necessarily be front line soldiers, but could still fight if they had to.

@aaronbennack714 3 года назад

"Batsack..we don't want that." I think someone just earned a thumbs up.

@DareMurdok 2 года назад

That last one reminds me of the Pitchfork Shotgun from Simpsons and Dead Rising 2 where you thrust with the pitchfork and pick up the zombie and then fire the shotgun into them while they're stuck on the tines. You can also kind of throw it like a javelin for fun

@DSzaks 3 года назад

I think the fork weapons would probably be the most effective. The longer central spike would still let you get good penetration and accuracy before the side spikes engage, while still maintaining they utility to catch opponents weapons or limbs for control, and for unarmoured targets could still connect for additional wounds. adding back hooks would be great for dealing w/ shields too.

@gazorpazorpfield6156 3 года назад

Hello Skallagrim! Could you tell us about the ancient magnetic swords? Were they really that powerful? I would also like to hear about the mercury swords that were used by the royal kgb in ancient Russia.

@lechking941 2 года назад

thoes crazos used mercury based cinnabar as a blade? crist. they too cold.

@ZyrusSmith 3 года назад

The retiarius-type gladiator used a trident and net so they have been historically used in combat.

@ucjepkjl7fbne6shltft3mlw8 Год назад

"Runka" in most Scandinavian languages means "pump", usually in the context of extracting groundwater or oil from the land. Protip for visitors: don't bring up that 16th-century Italian polearm in conversation, Scandinavians will consider it awkward or even rude since we're very eco-conscious & passionate about groundwater conservation. Source: I'm both Swedish & Norwegian & very trustworthy

@mdelles 3 года назад

I wouldve liked some conversation on Geos, like using tridents in a place where you may want your soldiers to be able to catch fish or places where its too hot for armor, but a great video overall!

@kweassa6204 3 года назад

Just for a tidbit info, 3-pronged polearms were mostly used in Far-East Asia as "defensive weapon" within a formation -- most notably in Ming-era military formation known as the "Mandarin," devised by general Qi Jiguang to combat Japanese pirate (wako) incursions during the 16th century. You can see that "defensive" aspect within the first sample picture Skallagrim used, in how the weapon head is very obviously more focused on the width, for the purpose of deflecting and hooking enemy weapons from a distance, rather than actually attempting some sort of aggressive offense with it. Soldiers armed with these types of weapons would typically man the flanks or rear of the formation. . There are illustrations of the formation on the Wikipedia article: Jixiao Xinshu (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jixiao_Xinshu) if anyone is interested. Cheers

@greencreekranch 3 года назад

I think the reason for potential barbs on retiarius tridents may be, that he'd be fighting a single enemy. If you ram a several feet long stick, no matter how many points it has into your opponent, the fight is most likely over, even more so if it gets stuck. Even if your opponent is still trying to fight, you can now control his movements and if he tries to forcefully close in on you he'll push the tips even deeper into himself. So in the case of a fight one vs one, getting stuck is probably more of a feature than a bug

@djt08031996 15 дней назад

This is exactly what I was looking for as a writer

@johnnyguitar6639 Месяц назад

Who made the first Trident? The Corinthian Plaque of Poseidon, by an unknown artist (550-525 BC), depicts the Greek mythological figure Poseidon holding his trident, which was forged by the Elder Cyclopes during the Titanomachy (La Fond), and wearing his long, curly hair down and his robe.

@gwyndolinds-en8yt 3 года назад

I really like how you expand the historical and cultural uses of a weapon, not only on representation but also to expand the experiences of use of a particular design

@amaurystengel 3 года назад

I haven't even watched the video yet, but I wanna say something: You've been having polls to understand better your audience. About the kinds of videos we prefer, upload schedule, if we see them in our feed... So, I've just seen the thumbnail of this video and its title and immediately clicked on it! I wonder if this happened to any other viewers as well. Now, I'm gonna watch it, 'cause I can hardly wait to see what you can say about this famous kind of weapon!

@DarkVeghetta 2 года назад

While I get Skall's point about not wanting to have your weapon get stuck in someone's chest, it could also be a valid strategy, as long as you have a secondary weapon at your side - say, a sword - or allies to help you. You could either drop the trident and finish off your enemy that's now severely restrained in their movements due to the trident that's stuck in them (even if it's just in their clothing and not in their chest). Or, you could use the stuck trident to manipulate the enemy into the reach of your own allies, if you have some handy, while keeping your distance from their weapon thanks to your trident's presumably long shaft (unless they also has a long-shafted weapon).

@MrYago-xd7um 3 года назад

Love that this awesome fork showcase ended on a crazy steameval skewer gun. Great content overall.

@poom323 3 года назад

14:54 I think they are used in the real fight or war, but it's used as weapon for fight against noble or king on elephant or horse, which doesn't need that much lethality, for capturing noble as ransom instead of killing.

@syriuszb8611 3 года назад

16:40 maybe bending outward is what happen to some of those tridents, and that's why some of them are more outward that they should? Of course, it would be weird if they just bent so clean and symmetric, but maybe they were repaired afterwards?

@Ossi100000 Год назад

I'm a little late to the party, but as someone regularly fighting with and against tridents in gladiatorial combat, I can tell you that the trident is a nasty opponent. It's big advantage over the spear in a one on one fight is that you can hook your opponents shield and pull it open. That works against almost any shield and makes the fight very exhausting for the opponent.

@eddiemaiden4192 2 года назад

I got a theory on some of the angled pitchfork weapons. They might have been made for peasant armies and the like (of course if anyone knows otherwise do enlighten me). Just give it a thought. Peasants work the fields all day and one of those jobs included would be pitching hay. It’d be second nature to pretty much all of them. They’d have built up muscle memory and the muscles required to do it effectively, so why not give them a weapon that they could make the most of, and could be used as a tool if need be. Now in hindsight the spear would be the simpler option but I’ll still stand by my theory on it

@bryantclayton31 3 года назад

I think that tiger forks could function very similarly to boar spears. By baiting the tiger into lunging at you and making it impale itself on the spear and the extra tines are to make sure it doesn’t get to you once it’s impaled. I don’t know just a thought

@theaureliasys6362 3 года назад

Pros of fork/fishing trident: - high availability - cheap -> can raise a militia in a farming village in no time Cons: - Limited viability So... the medieval equivalent of 3d printed gun parts. Sure. It won't get you far, but if it can get you into weapon storage, that's all you need.

@bthsr7113 2 года назад

Well when you're throwing it into a sea monster, possibly using it to hang on, those barbs are an excellent choice.

@bizarro20daves 2 года назад

Most other channels wouldn't have the same relaxed feel when the host is pointing with a knife. Lol.

@evensgrey 3 года назад

The Romans considered the Retiarius and Secutor to be very well balanced, despite the fact that the Secutor was heavily armored and had generally more effective weapons because if he made pretty much any mistakes, he was easy meat because any mistake would make him easily netted and immobilized. The fact that a Secutor was unlikely to be seriously injured by a Retiarius unless he was defeated and his death was called for was a handy feature. It's a bit surprising that Europeans never developed a trident-form boar spear. Some of these seemingly low-utility weapons I have to wonder if the reason we have them is because they didn't work very well, while few of them got made they tended to get left in the back of the armory so they survived when the more numerous but also more useful were taken out and used a lot and got worn and broken in battle.

@CookedAF2 3 года назад

Is no one gonna mention that dagger in his hand shits dope.

@armoredangel01 2 года назад

I believe the 'iron Korean trident' is called a 'dangpa'. It was a widely used weapon during the Joseon Dynasty and the Imjin War

@RobKinneySouthpaw 3 года назад

For single combat as opposed to mass battle, maybe the hooked trident would be a good initial weapon if you *intend* to get it stuck and leave it stuck, switching to a sword/shield while they flop around stuck to a stick

@jamesgordley5000 2 года назад

23:32 - The gun/halberd/fork seems nifty for when you want shoot, carve, and eat dinner.

@Valdyr_Hrafn 3 года назад

Gotta love the shera character in the thumbnail! :P

@jxmai7687 3 года назад

I like that laser pointer you were using..

@vegawinter6099 3 года назад

How to use the "Runka"; move your hand up and down the smooth shaft in a continous motion until you strike your target. ;)

@1Maklak Год назад

I expected that if you start with a farming tool, be it a trident, scythe or axe and you optimise it for combat, you'll always end up with some type of spear or halberd with weird-looking hooks, but it turns out a trident/bident has uses for restraining. Well researched, with designs from all over the world.

@mr.sandman770 2 года назад

the persian spears with the wavy blades were made during the Qajar dynasty, a period where art was a really big deal. the bifurcated fork with the reinforced tips was meant to de-horse someone iirc

@francy_pw3369 Год назад

A barbed trident might be useful for a group of acquatic fantasy people like dnd tritons to get sailors off board at the start of a raid to a boat to then switch to different weapons during the proper fight, while the sailors off board are in a disadvanteged position since they are now injured qnd in water wich is the natural territory of the tritons. Just a copule of fantasy worldbuilding thoughts if you'd like

@catu1995 3 года назад

One of the interesting ideas that’s occurred to me with regards to the tridents with tilted heads and forks with flared tines is that it may be advantageous in formation fighting based on biomechanics. I’m not a hema guy or historian, but the natural hold for a staff at rest is at a slight upward cant. So compensating with the angle of the tip may be meant to bring it parallel to the ground. I’d be interested to see if the more angled forks were held with the tips aligned parallel or perpendicular to the ground on this account

@dragonmanfirebane5078 3 года назад

3:10 I would argue that if you get stuck with the prongs that you should twist the trident out which would cause more damage.

@Nightmare-pj4fg 3 года назад

I feel like the point about barbs not being able to be pulled out of armor and people in general doesn’t apply to Aquaman though because he has super strength so any thrust, no matter what it gets caught on, is coming right out, with everything that was caught on it with it.

@archloy 5 месяцев назад

For a guard, in the city, it could be enough. Also hooks could be usefull in this situation : you want to keep the guy close, maybe not kill but wounded ;)

@kiltedcripple 3 года назад

Those thin, flexible pitchforks will kill a man straight up. They're plenty sturdy enough. An uncle of mine was getting help from my dad moving cattle several years ago, and dad got attacked by his bull. Dad was trapped in a corner of the pen, but not injured, and my uncle, in a attempt to back the bull off, stabbed the idiot in the hip with a pitchfork, the only large tool they had in the pen with them. That bull got pissed, and turned on my uncle, and dad was able to hop the fence and get out. But that pitchfork went damned near half the tine length into the bull, and when he whipped around and kicked, it was dangling and the pole jammed into the ground, pushing it in him even deeper. Long story short, that bull did not survive the day, but the pitchfork was fine. Once he was dead, they pulled it out, wiped it off, went on about their day. My mother in law still has that pitchfork, though it's just collecting dust in her garage now. The pitchfork has been in the family longer than she has. ;)

@jdinaml 3 года назад

Some of those could be historical fantasy weapons (if there is no clear evidence pointing otherwise, i.e. they were commonly used). Fictional tales of the past has been told through the history of humankind and they may be the source of inspiration for some surviving examples. As always, great video, thanks!

@RitterManni 3 года назад

the iduperson tridons that you showd locks like a metal version from a wodden fishing speer that i saw somewhere (where you split the tip of a branch and spread it with a string or strip of bark)

@azurealph6493 3 года назад

Now that ive seen the thumbnail, now i wonder what skal would look like in that aquaman costume

@xavier84623 3 года назад

Man that wooden pitch fork does look cool. It looks kinda claw like.

@tbjtbj4786 3 года назад

The ones that were showing when you said flimsy. Went through my dads leg and through the bone when he was a teen.

@gerardjagroo Год назад

The trident at 11:49 can be used as an axe if those flat outer tines are sharpened to a razor edge. In Hindu mythology, the god Shiva has a Trident like that as a weapon and there are stories of him decapitating people with it _(Ganesh)_ At first, looking at this thing, I was like _even how?!_ But if those outer tines are given a sharp edge, I can see it working like an axe Also the outer tines on the Shiva axe (I'm calling it an axe now) are often curved outwards, indicating it was not meant to be used for penetration while the central tine is often longer, pointier and was clearly meant for penetration. Thinking about it, I think the Shiva/trident/axe is a sort of primitive poleaxe that can cut stab and would be really good for grappling with enemy weapons.