Bodkin point

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A bodkin point arrowhead

A bodkin point is a type of arrowhead. In its simplest form it is an uncomplicated squared metal spike, and was used extensively during the Middle Ages. The name comes from the Old English word bodkin or bodekin, a type of sharp, pointed dagger. Bodkin arrows complemented traditional broadhead arrows, which continued to be used, as the sharp, wide cutting surface of the broadhead caused more serious wounds and tissue damage than bodkin arrowhead.

The bodkin point is an uncomplicated design, probably with much in common with the era's pike heads, and the origins of both are lost in history, possibly extending back to the Roman Pilum and javelins of Antiquity^{[citation needed]}. It is more aerodynamic than a broadhead point so some call it a flight arrow. It has been mistakenly suggested that the bodkin came into its own as a means of penetrating armour, but research^[1] has shown that no hardened bodkin points were made, so it is likely that it was first designed either to extend range or as a cheaper and simpler alternative to the broadhead. The latter point is supported by the finding that bodkins were made from soft iron while broadheads were made from steel, sometimes with hardened edges.

The typical bodkin was a square-section arrowhead, generally up to 4 1/2" long and 3/8" thick at its widest point, tapered down behind this initial "punch" shape in order to concentrate mass at the head of the arrow. Bodkins were normally made from iron, which is softer than the steel usually used for broadhead arrows. The original descriptions of the bodkins point were that they were as long as a man's middle finger. Also the first six inches of the shaft of the arrow could have been made of oak instead of the lighter wood of the rest of the arrow (most often ash), a technique known as footed arrows. The ability of the bodkin to penetrate armour was nonetheless limited by the skill and strength of the archer, and armour of the Medieval eras was proof against arrows.^[2] It was more powerful than the crossbow^{[dubious – discuss]} but the crossbow was less dependent on the physical strength of the user for its effectiveness. The bodkin point eventually fell out of use during the 16th and 17th centuries^{[citation needed]}. Firearms were beginning to dominate the battlefield and would make infantry armour largely obsolete in the coming centuries, though it was still used to a limited extent as late as the First World War.