AWA185 - What made slings so suited to Ancient Warfare?
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- Adam asks 'Slings are an iconic weapon of the ancient period, but don't seem to have been used much in later periods. What made them so suited to ancient warfare?' Murray is on his own and tackles this one.
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Great question and Great answers.
Sling's didn't necessarily cease to be used in medieval battlefields, though it is true that they were no longer being fielded in as great numbers as they were in the ancient period. I feel that there was a big recruitment bias in the High/Late medieval periods where burghers and freemen were typically the main classes that were recruited from... and this largely precludes shepherds from service. (Shepherds being the primary users of slings outside of waterfowl/small game hunting etcetera). For the Early medieval period, they seem to have been used more often. It is very true that there are not many dedicated specific 'slinging' units like there were in the ancient period.
Spain is perhaps one of the notable exceptions when it comes to slings during the Medieval period. Slingers were fielded in sometimes large numbers throughout much of the Medieval era in Spain though they aren't mentioned much, there are a few artistic depictions and stone engravings that show up. The battle of Najera is perhaps one of the more remembered use of slings in the period... perhaps because it was a battle where English longbowmen faced off against Spanish slingers.
There is one humorous account of slinging regarding Spain (Though it is unfortunately not medieval). Bernal Diaz recounts in his 'Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España' about using a sling against some Aztecs during a night engagement (The Aztecs were trying to cross a large moat/river during the night on canoes). Cortez was riding on his horse trying to investigate what was going on when Bernal diaz threw a stone towards him and scared him, who then proceeded to shout towards Bernal. I think Cortez was understandably a bit pissed off at that point (If Bernal Diaz's account is truthful)
There were several mentions of Irish slingers working for the English. There was a payroll which suggested that Henry II had at one point hired Irish slingers. Edward I also had Irish slingers which they used against the schiltrons at Falkirk alongside archers and crossbowmen. Supposedly slingers were also fielded at the battle of Bannockburn, if so this meant that Edward II also likely had some Irish slingers on his payroll as well.
Slings were used fairly prominently in the Hussite war by the Hussites.
Slings were also used in urban riots and fights. While not a Medieval source, Benvenuto Cellini
describes in his autobiography how one of his friends had a stone slung at his head during a duel. This makes me think that slings were perhaps more common than a lot of people think about in the period in urban settings. I can understand why this might be the case, given that slings can be so easily carried about in everyday life and are easily concealed (Hell, I usually have one in my pocket when I go out for walks). In De expugnatione Lyxbonensi, there is possibly a mention of slings being used in an urban setting, likely being used from rooftops.
The Portuguese used slings in the Medieval period as well.
The Spanish in South America found the American Indian slingers quite deadly.
(Did I miss it?) When did they fall out of use, and why?
Sometime in the middle ages. Why is Gunpowder.
@@jpavlvs You don't hear about slings very much in later periods, so i doubt "Gunpowder" is the answer. It's more likely crossbows.
The when is a damn good question... however the why is not explicitly due to either Crossbows or Firearms, they often worked together in conjunction with one another rather than outright opposed each other. While there is a notable lack of sources in the Late Medieval period for slings, There is a fair amount of sources from the Early Modern Period that mention slings, proving that slings did not 'Die out' in the medieval period as many presume. A few of the sources are Autobiographical accounts and offer great insight on them that other sources usually don't give you.
For instance, Luis del Mármol recounted this during the 2nd Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568-1571), against a 'Morisco' force.
"Although there were few escopeteros and crossbowers among them, they had many slingers, and they threw so much stone, that a cloud of hail seemed to be over our people; and the crack of the slings was so great that it resembled a beautiful arquebus volley."
Slings were also prominently used in protests throughout the Early Modern Period, to the extent that a series of Civil wars emerged called 'La Fronde' in France.
It seems likely, based on period sources, that slings died out in a battlefield context at about the end of the 16th Century (In Europe), but they were still frequently used in other contexts. Staff slings were likely present aboard naval vessels for the purpose of throwing grenades and incendiaries and presumably died out around the beginning of the 18th Century.
@@thejackinati2759 Nicely researched and put together answer!
Just a few additional pieces of information: one of the main reasons why the bow and arrow became more promeninet is the ease of use. It is easier to become a bowman than it is to be a slinger - most of the ancient world's famous slinging groups have practiced since childhood, whereas you can just pick out peasants and train them to use a bow within a few weeks - of course it's a bit of exageration, but if we are talking about groups of archers they would just need to shoot volleys, then the individial accuracy isn't that big of a deal. (Of course the opposite driving factor against the bow&arrow was the price, but with scaled up manufacture to suit big battles that could be mitigated)
The other important aspect if we're already at groups or formations is that you can pack archers more tightly as there is no swinging motion.
And yes, slings were still in use later in civil wars and other occasion - in fact they still are in the middle east, you can find some contemporary pictures about slingers there. To be fair I have no clue about staff slings in naval uses, but 'classic' slings were used on ships for quite a while, simply because the rotating motion of the sling acted as a gyroscope thus stabilising it on a constantly moving board on a war vessel.
Hope you all are having a nice day, cheers! ✌
I wonder how far a guy could sling a hand grenade ? Personal artillery.
The Persians probably had better bows 'n the Greeks did.