Bodkin point

A bodkin point or bodkin tip is a type of needle-arrowhead, designed to pierce armour, which was used extensively throughout the 1st millennium and first half of the 2nd millennium. In its simplest form, it is an uncomplicated squared metal spike, but more advanced forms exist.

The typical bodkin was a square-section arrowhead, generally up to 11.5 cm (4.5 in) long and 1 cm (0.39 in) thick at its widest point, tapered down behind this initial "punch" shape. Bodkin arrows complemented traditional broadhead arrows, as bodkin point arrows were designed to defeat mail armour while broadhead point arrows caused more serious wounds and tissue damage.

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