Branch thread: Tolkien's military technology

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Gwathagor

The word used is "dart," rather than "bolt." I have the impression that a dart could mean either an arrow or a small javelin of some sort.

There are two other instances I could find regarding 'darts' and 'bolts':

'Then the engines and the catapults of the king poured darts and boulders and molten metals on those ruthless beasts ...' - The Fall of Gondolin, The Book of Lost Tales II, The History of Middle-earth Volume II

'Then Gil-galad and Elendil passed into Mordor and encompassed the stronghold of Sauron; and they laid siege to it for seven years, and suffered grievous loss by fire and by the darts and bolts of the Enemy, and Sauron sent many sorties against them.' - Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, The Silmarillion

Tolkien has used the term 'darts' as synonymous with arrows in a few passages; however, I will have to reconsider a blanket statement when considering "bolts". It most likely could be that bolts were shot from an arbalist, rather than crossbows, as both quotes concern sieges or siege weaponry. In fact, the sentence 'Then the engines and the catapults of the king poured darts and boulders...' indicates he was referring directly to siege weaponry.

There is no indication that Tolkien ever mentioned hand-held crossbows, even by Orcs, but since Tolkien mentioned in The Hobbit that Orcs are keen on inventing weapons of mass destruction, it is highly likely they would have used siege weapons like the arbalist.

As far as the term 'armour', that could indicate any type of protective accoutrements, not necessarily plate. And armorial technology was certainly on the wane, even among dwarves. I recall Thorin admitting that much of their craft in smithying was gone, save for the manufacture of iron rings (or something to that effect). Long gone are the days of Telchar of Nogrod, or Eol, artificer of Galvorn.