If you are of a certain age you will remember a cool toy called Jarts or Lawn Darts. These were large sharp darts one threw at targets in the lawn. Today they don't sell them any more due to safety concerns for toys.
Now we realize these are not toys but our Javelins are a great way to spend some competitive time in the back yard testing your throwing skills. Much like archery one needs to follow good safety rules but these weapons can be tossed at flat targets, hay bales or archery targets with ease in the average backyard. You can also enhance your throwing with a lanyard to increase distance and accuracy.
The Javelin is almost certainly one of the oldest weapons. A light throwing hafted weapon, they are lighter than spears, but they are of the same basic form. The earliest examples are lost to history as a light fire hardened stick for throwing by the earliest humans has little chance to survive. The oldest examples have been dated to 400,000 years ago.
As a weapon used for both hunting and combat the javelin is seen in almost every human culture. From the ancient Egyptians have light throwing weapons with both the leaf shaped head and the four sided tapering bolt type head to the medieval warrior we see these weapons in action.
The Greek examples are many in art and pottery depictions. Skirmishing infantry troops of Greek armies were called Peltast and were armed with several javelins and a shield.
Arms & Armor Javelins
If you get some Javelins to throw, please treat as any projectile weapon like archery or sport javelin. Never throw when someone is down range and be ever watchful not only in front of you but all around.
Check out what we make at arms-n-armor.com our swords and weapons are made by us in Minneapolis, MN. Sword blades from 6150 steel, hardened to 50-52 Ric. They are all crafted to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which they are based.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985.