Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
These war flails started life as agricultural tools that were converted to crude but effective weapons. They then started to be adopted by higher levels of society and started to be made better, nastier and even more brutal.
Matt Easton (Schola Gladiatoria) and I get together for another Weird Weapons film where we delve into the back catalogue of medieval martial oddities and find something too have a look at and a play with.
For commissions and custom work todsworkshop.com
For amazing budget historical weapons todcutler.com
Second Tod Cutler channel youtube.com/@Tod_Cutler
We have a Patreon page and if you liked this and wish to support the channel please consider having a look at that patreon.com/c/TodsWorkshop
Schola Gladiatoria (Matt Easton) can be found here / @scholagladiatoria
These war flails started life as agricultural tools that were converted to crude but effective weapons. They then started to be adopted by higher levels of society and started to be made better, nastier and even more brutal.
Matt Easton (Schola Gladiatoria) and I get together for another Weird Weapons film where we delve into the back catalogue of medieval martial oddities and find something too have a look at and a play with.
For commissions and custom work todsworkshop.com
For amazing budget historical weapons todcutler.com
Second Tod Cutler channel youtube.com/@Tod_Cutler
We have a Patreon page and if you liked this and wish to support the channel please consider having a look at that patreon.com/c/TodsWorkshop
Schola Gladiatoria (Matt Easton) can be found here / @scholagladiatoria




![Flaming Trebuchet darts!!!
Incendiary trebuchet darts were real!!!!! (or at least I believe they were).
Trebuchets were the pinnacle of siege weapons in the 13thC and 14thC but we usually think of them as shooting rocks, baskets of rocks, rotting sheep etc, but the Islamic nations also shot darts. I have tried it before but with mixed success. But I have been sent a translation of a Mameluke text where they say where the hook should be placed and that they threw inflammable mixtures attached to the darts.
Time to revisit - with very mixed and somewhat dangerous results...........
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For those who enjoyed Arrows vs Armour https://todtodeschini.com
We have a Patreon page and if you liked this and wish to support the channel please consider having a look https://www.patreon.com/c/TodsWorkshop
PAUL E. CHEVEDDEN
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF SHARJAH
Black Camels and Blazing Bolts: The Bolt-Projecting Trebuchet
in the Mamluk Army pp235-7
If you want to shoot bolts (nushsha_b)—some of which are filled with inflammable material (al-na_r) and sticky gums (or resins) (liza_qa_t) and others are not—from a trebuchet (manjan|q) [do as follows]. If you want that [i.e., to shoot bolts], put a hook (kulla_b)14 at the center of gravity (‘idl) of the bolt (al-nushsha_b). Flaming Trebuchet darts!!!](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ohq3a5bShR0/mqdefault.jpg)





