Shooting (?) bows

[chriske]

Of course, in the movies, anything goes...
However, I wondered, the other day : in some pic or other, a bunch of medieval archers stood poised for battle, awating the order to let go their arrows.
Sure 'nuff, the lord of the castle yelled "FIRE !"
Fire ? Where did they get THAT idea, before the invention of gunpowder ?
On the other hand, what exactly DID that particular command sound like, actually ?

 

[expvideo]

Of course, in the movies, anything goes...
However, I wondered, the other day : in some pic or other, a bunch of medieval archers stood poised for battle, awating the order to let go their arrows.
Sure 'nuff, the lord of the castle yelled "FIRE !"
Fire ? Where did they get THAT idea, before the invention of gunpowder ?
On the other hand, what exactly DID that particular command sound like, actually ?

HA! I never thought about that! I bet you're right!

 

[CoRoMo]

Release!

 

[heron]

Let fly? Just a guess . . .

 

[expvideo]

Release!

That's my guess, too.

 

[axeman_g]

Loose!

 

[misANTHrope]

Were they flaming arrows?

 

[Robert]

So there was no fire before gunpowder? Must have made for some really cold meals...

 

[expvideo]

So there was no fire before gunpowder? Must have made for some really cold meals...

Fire would have not been associated with shooting, because there was no fire involved in it. "Fire your arrows" would more likely have been interpretted as "light your arrows on fire".

 

[Lightninstrike]

Wholly together, loose !!!

 

[expvideo]

Wholly together, loose !!!

I guess that sounds a little more likely to be what they would have said.

 

[indoorsoccerfrea]

And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the arrow. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then, loose thou thy Holy Arrow of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.'

 

[Grey_Mana]

You haven't seen the movies where the arrows are on fire?

Lord of the Rings being the most recent I recall.

In Kevin Costner's Robin Hood, the arrows were incindiary - anything hit by those arrows (thatch roofs, people, horses) was immediately engulfed in flames.

 

[expvideo]

In Kevin Costner's Robin Hood, the arrows were incindiary - anything hit by those arrows (thatch roofs, people, horses) was immediately engulfed in flames.

They must have been 10mm arrows.

 

[ar10]

RUN like hell!!!!! If someone hears the word "fire" it simply means something really hot is coming after them.
The term actually comes from the Greek word "pyr" but has been around long before that. I wonder what the dinosaurs called it

 

[230RN]

It's been a while since I saw the movie "Braveheart," but didn't the British forces use the term "Loose!" as Lightninstrike and axeman_g suggested?

 

[KarenTOC]

And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the arrow. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then, loose thou thy Holy Arrow of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.'

That's the funniest thing I've read in ages!!!

Except maybe for:

They must have been 10mm arrows.