Tags
accuracy, arrow, castle siege, drive me crazy, fantasy, history, lord of the rings, lotr, pulley system
The beauty of true fantasy is that there are about three rules. You need magic, you need a magical world, and you need a bad guy. Beyond that, there really isn’t a whole lot to restrict the story. But…(yes, the dreaded “but”)…there are three things that are the equivalent of talons on the chalkboard for me.
Okay, okay, so I admit that technically I can’t take off points if a fantasy book isn’t historically accurate, but these are things to do with the weaponry and lifestyle. So they count, right?
1. Knights being hoisted onto horse’s back via a pulley system
I haven’t seen this one in awhile (I think the last time I saw it was in The Once and Future King), but I will mention it anyway. In reality, a knight’s armor was heavy and uncomfortable, but it wasn’t so heavy that they couldn’t mount their horses. If it had been that heavy, ground combat for knights would have been a death-sentence, particularly if they were going up against lighter footsoldiers. There was the problem of knights easily expiring from heatstroke because metal, of course, doesn’t breathe, but that’s a topic for another time.
2. Boiling oil poured from castle during siege
I’m sure we’ve all seen this one, right? The bubbling-hot, pitch-black goo sent raining down on the heads of screaming invaders and then set on fire with a flaming arrow. I think this one was in Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance, though I’d have to check. Boiling oil looks really intense and scary and, let’s face it, morbidly cool. But I’ve found mixed reports on this one. Some say that it was used while others say that oil was too expensive for it to be literally thrown out the window. Boiling water was sometimes used, as well as animal fat, heated sand, resin, pitch, and they would have a similar effect. But oil was something that needed to be saved, especially if you were in a siege and didn’t know when you would be able to resupply.
3. “Fired” an arrow
This one bugs me the most and I can thank my former-Marine, Naval Academy-graduate father for ruining this term for me. A number of writers use this term. Heck, The Lord of the Rings movies used this term a number of times. But I started thinking about it one day and asked my father if it was accurate. He confirmed my suspicions that the term “fire” in reference to volleys, did not come into use until the advent of firearms. Up until that point they said “loose,” which makes more sense, right? I think they did sometimes use fiery arrows, but not enough to make the term “fire” stick.
Any writer could get away with any one or all of these things. They’re all subjective to how “accurate” the writer wants his/her fantasy story to be. But they still drive me bonkers! Now the question is: Are they going to bug you?
Primortus said:
Never even thought of the misuse of “fired” but now it’ll probably bug me. Thanks! Lol.
LikeLike
Gerri Bowen said:
I had figured out the word fire was wrong and used let loose or fly.
LikeLike
Elisabeth said:
Good for you! =)
LikeLike
mjlarter2 said:
I’ve got to say, I’m just a little fed up with the type of fantasy books that are all blood and guts – that turns me off! However, I write for children – so I guess I have a different perception. The three points you mention are points to ponder – I hadn’t thought much about them – particularly ‘firing’ an arrow!! (ebooksbymaureenlarter.com)
LikeLike
sarah elizabeth said:
yes! I thought that about the use of the word ‘fire’ as well. Never come across pulley systems before though!
LikeLike
Elisabeth said:
I’ve only seen the pulley system once–I think it was in THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING. Not a common one, but…*shrug*
LikeLike
Eli Hinze said:
Huh, never realized the “fire” bit before!
LikeLike
ewgreenlee said:
Nice job. I had to read much on the art of ancient warfare when writing my fantasy trilogy. I had to overcome firing of arrows with letting loose of arrows. It was also interesting how they created incendiary devices with pitch. You are way ahead of your time with your knowledge.
LikeLike
moontoefairy said:
Food for thought~ although I too will now have bugdom when these rules are violated. Oh well….
LikeLike
gods and goddesses said:
I have been surfing online more than 4 hours today, yet
I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be much more useful than ever before.
LikeLike
Elisabeth said:
Oh, thank you so much! =) I do try!
LikeLike
francisguenette said:
I like the bad guys to have a little tiny hint somewhere of goodness (even if it was a long time ago) and I like the good guys to make mistakes now and then. Otherwise it all starts to feel too contrived. Nice post. I enjoyed it.
LikeLike
Elisabeth said:
Thank you and yes, I strongly dislike “pure evil” villains (it makes things too simple) and “pure good” heroes (it’s too unrealistic). =)
LikeLike
Juli D. Revezzo said:
I read somewhere that flaming arrows is a Hollywood construct. The archer would never actually do such a thing because , at night, it would give away the attacking force’s position. If you think about it, that makes sense. Thanks for this interesting article, Elisabeth!
LikeLike
Elisabeth said:
That’s one I’ll have to research, I’m not sure about it. I sincerely hope they did–or else that’s something else that’s going to drive me up the walls. =)
LikeLike
tyelko said:
Actually, incendiary arrows have been known since ancient times – both Greeks and Romans used them. The positioning at night would normally not have been an issue since fighting at night was exceptionally rare – and you’d likely hear the rough position of a couple of hundred men moving anyway. In a siege situation, which is when incendiary ammunition would likely be used the most frequently, you would know where the enemy is anyway: Outside the walls. That’s one of the most frequent situations for night time combat as well: You don’t need to manoeuver as the attacker either to find the enemy – they’re sitting ducks and the town is large enough to ensure that if you send a volley over the walls, you’re likely to hit SOMETHING
LikeLike