Policies of War
The Weapons
Introduction
On this page , you will find the most common types of weaponry and weapon accessories found on Gor, as well as information on training in various sorts of weaponry. For more information on the use of weapons in battles and weapons strategies, please also refer to the Military Tactics page.
Weapons such as guns and rifles have been produced and introduced on Gor. However, life for such inventors was short-lived. The Priest-Kings, in their great wisdom, saw firearms as the start of human destruction, and therefore, imposed the Flame Death quickly to these individuals who sought to create and use that which was forbidden technology. The inventions, as well, were destroyed.
"There is at least one area, however," said my father, "in which the Priest-Kings do take a most active interest in this world, and that is the area of technology. They limit, selectively, the technology available to us, the Men Below the Mountains. For example, incredibly enough, weapon technology is controlled to the point where the most powerful devices of war are the crossbow and lance. Further, there is no mechanized transportation or communication equipment or detection devices such as the radar and sonar equipment so much in evidence in the military establishments of your world.
"On the other hand," he said, "you will learn that in lighting, shelter, agricultural techniques, and medicine, for example, the Mortals, or Men Below the Mountains, are relatively advanced." He looked at me - amused, I think. "You wonder," he said, "why the numerous, rather obvious deficits in our technology have not been repaired - in spite of the Priest-Kings. It crosses your mind that there must exist minds on this world capable of designing such things as, say, rifles and armored vehicles."
"Surely such things must be produced," I urged.
"And you are right," he said grimly. "From time to time they are, but their owners are then destroyed, bursting into flame."
"Like the envelope of blue metal?"
"Yes," he said. "It is Flame Death merely to possess a weapon of the interdicted sort. Sometimes bold individuals create or acquire such war materials and sometimes for as long as a year escape the Flame Death, but sooner or later they are struck down." His eyes were hard. "I once saw it happen," he said. — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 31-32."Some of the goods, however, were surely of Earth. Among them was a high-powered rifle with telescopic sights. To possess such a weapon, of course, on Gor was a capital offense, it being a violation of the weapon laws of Priest-Kings." — Assassin of Gor, page 98.
Armor Classes
• Archer Blinds
Large, mobile wooden screens used in battles to shield archers and light missile equipment.
"For breaching fortified positions, military engineers of the classical age designed assault towers that remain a wonder to modern engineers. So large was one siege tower used by Macedonians in an attack on Rhodes that 3,400 men were required to move it up to the city walls. Another 1,000 men were needed to wield a battering ram 180 feet (55 metres) long. The Romans constructed huge siege towers, one of which Caesar mentions as being 150 feet high. The lower stories housed the battering ram, which had either a pointed head for breaching or a ramlike head for battering. Archers in the upper stories shot arrows to drive the defenders from their ramparts. From the top of the tower, a hinged bridge might be lowered to serve a storming party. To guard the attackers against enemy missiles, the Romans used great wicker or wooden shields, called mantelets, which were sometimes mounted on wheels. In some cases the attackers might approach the fortress under the protection of wooden galleries." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2006.
"Within the city the Initiates, who had seized control shortly after the flight of Marlenus, would have already tapped the siege reservoirs and begun to ration the stores of the huge grain cylinders. A city such as Ar, properly commanded, might withstand a siege for a generation. Beyond the walls were Pa-Kur's lines of investment, set forth with all the skill of Gor's most experienced siege engineers. Some hundreds of yards from the wall, just beyond crossbow range, a gigantic ditch was being dug by thousands of siege slaves and prisoners. When completed, it would be fifty or sixty feet wide, and seventy or eighty feet deep. In back of the ditch slaves were piling up the earth which had been removed from the ditch, packing and hardening it into a rampart. On the summit of the rampart, where it was completed, were numerous archer blinds, movable wooden screens to shield archers and light missile equipment." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 163.
• Chain Mail
Forbidden by the Priest-Kings for use on Gor.
"Towards the end of my training I always fought with shield and helmet. I would have supposed that armor, or chain mail perhaps, would have been a desirable addition to the accoutrements of the Gorean warrior, but it had been forbidden by the Priest-Kings. A possible hypothesis to explain this is that the Priest-Kings may have wished war to be a biologically selective process in which the weaker and slower perish and fail to reproduce themselves. This might account for the relatively primitive weapons allowed to the Men Below the Mountains. On Gor it was not the case that a cavern-chested toothpick could close a switch and devastate an army. Also, the primitive weapons guaranteed that what selection went on would proceed with sufficient slowness to establish its direction, and alter it, if necessary.. It may be, of course, that the Priest-Kings controlled weapons as they did simply because they feared for their own safety. I doubted that they stood against one another, man to man, sword to sword, in their holy mountains, putting their principles of selection to the test in their own cases." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 48.
Helmets and Shields
"The helmet, though arguably the earliest focus of the armourer's craft, was one of the most demanding challenges. Forging an integral, one-piece dome of metal capable of covering the entire head was extremely difficult. The Corinthian Greek helmet, a deep, bowl-shaped helmet of carefully graduated thickness forged from a single piece of bronze, probably represented the functional as well as aesthetic apex of the bronze worker's art. Many classical Greek helmets of bronze were joined by a seam down the crown. Iron helmets followed the evolution of iron mail, itself a sophisticated and relatively late development. The legionnaire of the early Roman Republic wore a helmet of bronze, while his successor in the Empire of the 1st century AD wore one of iron." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"Shields were used for hunting long before they were used for warfare, partly for defense and partly for concealment in stalking game, and it is likely that the military shield evolved from that of the hunter and herdsman. The size and composition of shields varied greatly, depending on the tactical demands of the user. In general, the more effective the protection afforded by body armour, the smaller the shield; similarly, the longer the reach of the soldier's weapon, the smaller his shield. The Greek hoplite, a heavy infantryman who fought in closely packed formation, acquired his name from the hoplon , a convex, circular shield, approximately three feet (90 centimetres) in diameter, made of composite wood and bronze. It was carried on the left arm by means of a bronze strap that passed across the forearm and a rope looped around the inner rim with sufficient slack to be gripped in the fist. In the 4th century BC the soldier of the Roman Republic, who fought primarily with the spear, carried an oval shield, while the later imperial legionnaire, who closed in with a short sword, protected himself with the scutum, a large cylindrical shield of leather-clad wood that covered most of his body." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
• Helmets
The most commonly used helmet is the standard Gorean war helmet. 
It is described as a close-faced helmet which encloses the entire head, with a distinctive "Y" shaped opening in the faceplate to admit air and to allow breathing. This style of helmet was perfected and much in use during the heyday of the city-states of Greece. Mounted atop each example of this type of helmet is a crest plate, upon which can be displayed the symbol of a city or organization. The crests themselves adorn the top of the helmet either crosswise, from one side of the neck to the other, or lengthwise from the back of the neck to the upper forehead like half-fans. 
The helmet itself can be painted or lacquered in any color, to represent a grouping, city or caste.
"Above the shield was a suspended helmet, again reminiscent of a Greek helmet, perhaps of the Homeric period. It had a somewhat 'Y'-shaped slot for the eyes, nose, and mouth in the nearly solid metal." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 22.
The men, saving the one called Targo, wore tunics, with helmets. They looked rather frightening. The opening in the helmets reminded me vaguely of a 'Y'." — Captive of Gor, page 49.
Another type of a helmet is that often worn by the desert tribesmen and warriors of such cities as Turia and Tor, as well as by the nomadic warriors of the Wagon Peoples. 
This helmet is cone-shaped steel, often fitted with a nasal guard of narrow flat construction. Such helmets may be trimmed with a ring of fur or fabric which encircles the brow, or with either a cloth covering (helmet veil) or a net of colored chains at the back of the helm, that covers the neck. These helmets are closely fitted to the wearer's head, padded with a thick cloth cap.
"I could see he carried a small, round, leather shield, glossy, black, lacquered; he wore a conical, fur-rimmed iron helmet, a net of colored chains depending from the helmet protecting his face, leaving only holes for the eyes. He wore a quilted jacket and under this a leather jerkin; the jacket was trimmed with fur and had a fur collar; his boots were made of hide and also trimmed with fur; he had a wide, five-buckled belt. I could not see his face because of the net of chain that hung before it. I also noted, about his throat, now lowered, there was a soft leather wind scarf which might, when the helmet veil was lifted be drawn over the mouth and nose, against the wind and dust of his ride." — Nomads of Gor, page 10.
A final example of helmetry is the helm worn by northern warriors. 
It is in effect, a steel or iron bowl. A single metal browband encircles the head, with two or more curved metal straps attached to it in the pattern of an "X" covering much of the wearer's skull. Curved plates are riveted in place to fill the gaps between the strapping, resulting in a layered metal cap with covers the entire head. These helmets are often fitted with cheek and neck guards, chainmail or even metal faceplates which conceal the face or portions of it like a metal mask. The horns of animals or metal spikes may be attached to the helmet as decoration though this usually makes them rather bulky and difficult to wear in combat.
"The ship of Thorgard, Black Sleen, was no more than some fifty yards away. I could see helmeted men at its gunwales, some five feet above the water line. The helmets of the north are commonly conical, with a nose-guard, that can slip up and down. At the neck and sides, attached by rings, usually hangs a mantle of linked chain. The helmet of Thorgard himself, however, covered his neck and the sides of his face. It was horned." — Marauders of Gor, page 73.
• Askari Shield
The shield of the askari of the Schendi region are oval, made of leather.
"I looked about. The oval leather shields and the stabbing spears of the askaris might have been ideal armament for invincibility in tribal warfare but they afforded little in the way of martial equity when compared to the weighty, slashing pangas of the Kurii. They were not the mighty axes and heavy shields of Torvaldsland." — Explorers of Gor, page 53.
• Buckler
I have seen this erroneously posted on many dictonaries as a weapon (well, I guess it could be considered a weapon if you bonk someone over the head with it ~chuckles~). It is actually an item of the armor category; a small, light-weight round shield; often used when fighting with a short sword, small ax, dagger or hook knife.
A buckler differs from a shield in that the latter is carried by straps and worn on the arm whereas the former is held in single-hand in a "fist" grip. 
It is difficult to trace the history of the weapon as many times any type of round shield or small targe would be called buckler, regardless of whether it was held in the fist or worn on the arm. The buckler was a small, maneuverable, hand-held shield for deflecting and punching blows. It was usually round and made of metal but occasionally of hardened leather or layers of wood. Bucklers were typically round and frequently between 8 to 16 inches in diameter, but octagonal, square, and trapezoidal versions were also known. In the Middle Ages, bucklers were common armaments among both knights and common soldiers — even more so than shields. A buckler was less cumbersome and more agile than a larger shield and easier to carry about or wear on the hip.
The primary use of the buckler in Europe was by infantry. Light infantry, made up of commoners armed with bucklers and swords or falchions lined up behind troops with pole-weapons, were used frequently in armies during the 1100s to 1300s. Early Medieval pictorial sources, from c.650 to c.1100, additionally show bucklers in use by Celtic, Frankish, and Byzantine horsemen.
Etymology: Middle English bocler, from Middle French, shield with a boss, from bocle; Date: 13th century;
"1a) a small round shield held by a handle at arm's length;
1b) a shield worn on the left arm." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006
"Incidentally, Turian warriors, in order to have the opportunity to slay a foe, as well as acquire his woman, customarily choose as the weapon of combat in these encounters, buckler and dagger, ax and buckler, dagger and whip, ax and net, or the two daggers, with the reservation that the quiva, if used, not be thrown." — Nomads of Gor, page 124.
"The crowd is fond of seeing various types of weapons used against others, and styles of fighting. Buckler and short sword are perhaps most popular, but there are few weapons on Gor which are not seen over a period of three or four days of the games." — Assassin of Gor, page 189.
• Red Savages Shield
Small round shields made of the hides of kailiauk and the assistance of various spells, are believed to be holy, gaining their power from the sun.
"One's shield might betray one," said Cuwignaka. I regarded Cuwignaka. "Yes," said Cuwignaka. "It is a well known fact. One's shield may choose not to defend one, if one is a liar."
"Shields do not behave like that outside of the Barrens," I told Cuwignaka, smiling.
"You are skeptical, I see," said Cuwignaka. "Well, be assured, my friend, I am speaking of the shields of the peoples of the Barrens and within the Barrens. These are not your ordinary shields. These are made with the aid of spells. The medicines of war are important in their construction and designs. They are not merely equipment, not merely contraptions of metal or leather. They are holy. They are precious. They are friends and allies. Surely you have seen them suspended from tripods behind the lodges, being sunned?"
"Yes," I admitted.
"That is to soak up power from the sun." — Blood Brothers of Gor, pages 175-176.
• Round Shield
The shield of the Wagon Peoples is a circular shaped shield; made of several layers of bosk's hide generally seven to nine layers thick stretched over a lightweight framework of wood or horn, generally about twenty-four to thirty-six inches in diameter. The shield is often banded with strips of iron to further strengthen it. It is worn upon the user's non-weapon bearing arm, usually the left one, and is carried slung across the back while traveling. The shield is usually painted and often carries a design or device that denotes the warriors city-state or tribe.
"And then I saw the first of the outriders, moving toward me, swiftly yet not seeming to hurry. I saw the slender line of his light lance against the sky, strapped across his back. I could see he carried a small, round, leather shield, glossy, black, lacquered…" — Nomads of Gor, pages 10-11.
"At forty feet I could strike a thrown tospit; at one hundred feet I could strike a layered boskhide disk, about four inches in width, fastened to a lance thrust in the turf." — Nomads of Gor, pages 66-67.
"The ship of Thorgard, Black Sleen, was no more than some fifty yards away. I could see helmeted men at its gunwales, some five feet above the water line. The helmets of the north are commonly conical, with a nose-guard, that can slip up and down. At the neck and sides, attached by rings, usually hangs a mantle of linked chain. The helmet of Thorgard himself, however, covered his neck and the sides of his face. It was horned. Their shields, like those of Torvaldsland, are circular, and of wood." — Marauders of Gor, page 73.
• Torvaldsland Shields
The typical shield of the men of the north was that of the round, wooden shield.
"The shields were round, and of wood, variously painted, some reinforced with iron bands, others with leather, some with small bronze plates." — Marauders of Gor, page 32.
• Turian Shields
Oval shields embossed with metal, favored by the warriors of Turia.
"On long lines of tharlarion I could see warriors of Turia approaching in procession the Plains of a Thousand Stakes. The morning sun flashed from their helmets, their long tharlarion lances, the metal embossments on their oval shields, unlike the rounded shields of most Gorean cities." — Nomads of Gor, page 113.
Weapon Classes
Axes
"The Ax:
"Limitations on the strength of bronze and difficulties in casting and hafting restricted the ax at first to a relatively broad blade mortised into a handle at three points and secured with bindings or rivets. The hafting problem became acute as improvements in armour dictated longer, narrower blades designed primarily for piercing rather than cutting. This led to the development of socketed axes, in which the handle passed through a tubular hole cast in the ax head; both hole and head were tapered from front to rear to prevent the head from flying off. This far stronger hafting technique must have been accompanied by a significant improvement in the quality of the metal itself. The pace and timing of these developments varied enormously from place to place, depending on the local level of technology. Sumerian smiths were casting socketed ax heads with narrow piercing blades by 2500 BC, while simple mortise-and-tenon hafting was still being used in Egypt 1,000 years later." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
• Battle Ax (Kurii)
A very large, double-bladed ax favored by the Kur. 
The width from blade tip to blade tip is about two feet in width, the handles fashioned of pinewood (needlewood) are about four inches in diameter; the entire ax stands about seven to eight feet in height. These axes easily sever the body of a mere human.
"Behind the Kur, to one side, stood two other Kurii. They, like the first, were fearsome creatures. Each carried a wide, round shield, of iron, some four feet in diameter. Each, too, carried a great, double-bladed iron ax, which, from blade tip to blade tip, was some two feet in width. The handle of the ax was of carved, green needle wood, round, some four inches in diameter. The axes were some seven or eight feet in height. " — Marauders of Gor, page 171.
"The Kurii axes, in their sweeps, at the edges of the throng, kept us helpless, crowded together. Few men could as much as draw their weapons." — Marauders of Gor, page 206.
"His sword was drawn, but it would prove of little efficacy against the great metal shields, the sweeping axes of the Kurii. They could cut a man down before he could approach them, even with the long blade of the North." — Marauders of Gor, page 207.
• Battle Ax (Torvaldslander)
This weapon is described as a single-bladed axe of hardened iron, with a blade of anywhere from 8 to 14 inches in width. It is mounted on a thick wooden handle and also usually has a wrist thong attached to the end the handle, which enables it to be more easily retained during combat. Used in conjunction with a round iron-bound shield of wood and hardened leather.
"I knew this man of Torvaldsland only by reputation. He was a rover, a great captain, a pirate, a trader, a warrior. It had been he, and his men, who had freed Chenbar of Tyros, the Sea Sleen, from a dungeon in Port Kar, breaking through to him, shattering his chains with the blunt hammerlike backs of their great, curved, single-bladed axes. He was said to be fearless, and mighty, swift with sword and axe, fond of jokes, a deep drinker, a master of pretty wenches, and a madman. But he had taken in fee from Chenbar Chenbar's weight in the sapphires of Shendi. I did not think him too mad." — Marauders of Gor, page 27.
"With a roar of laughter, hurling the shroud from him, to the horror of the High Initiate, and other initiates, and the congregation, Ivar Forkbeard, almost seven feet in height, leaped to his feet, in his right hand clutching a great, curved, single-bladed ax of hardened iron." — Marauders of Gor, page 39.
"Though the hall of Ivar Forkbeard was built only of turf and stone, and though he himself was outlaw, he had met me at its door, after I had been bidden wait outside, in his finest garments of scarlet and gold, and carrying a bowl of water and a towel. "Welcome to the hall of Ivar Forkbeard," he had said. I had washed my hands and face in the bowl, held by the master of the house himself, and dried myself on the towel. Then invited within I had been seated across from him in the place of honor. Then from his chests, within the hall, he had given me a long, swirling cloak of the fur of sea sleen; a bronze-headed spear; a shield of painted wood, reinforced with bosses of iron; the shield was red in color, the bosses enameled yellow; a helmet, conical, of iron, with hanging chain, and a steel nosepiece, that might be raised and lowered in its bands; and, too, a shirt and trousers of skin; and, too, a broad ax, formed in the fashion of Torvaldsland, large, curved, single-bladed; and four rings of gold, that might be worn on the arm." — Marauders of Gor, page 96.
"There are many tricks in the use of the ax; feints are often used, and short strokes; and the handle, jabbing and punching; a full swing, of course, should it miss, exposes the warrior; certain elementary stratagems might be mentioned; the following are typical: it is pretended to have taken a full swing, even to the cry of the kill, but the swing is held short and not followed through; the antagonist then, if unwary, may rush forward, and be taken, the ax turned, offguard, by the back cut, from the left to right; sometimes it is possible, too, lf the opponent carries his shield too high, to step to the left, and, with a looping stroke, cut off the shield arm; a low stroke, too, can be dangerous, for the human foot, as swift as a sapling, may be struck away; defensively, of course, if one can lure the full stroke and yet escape it, one has an instant to press the advantage; this is sometimes done by seeming to expose more of the body than one wary to the ax might, that to tempt the antagonist, he thinking he is dealing with an unskilled foe, to prematurely commit the weight of his body to a full blow. The ax of Torvaldsland is one of the most fearful of the weapons on Gor. If one can get behind the ax, of course, one can meet it; but it is not easy to get behind the ax of one who knows its use, he need only strike one blow; he is not likely to launch it until it is assured of its target." — Marauders of Gor, pages 101-102.
Oops! John Norman does it again. Now the Torvaldsland ax is double bladed!
"I looked to one side. There, lost to the bustle in the tavern, oblivious to the music, sat two men across a board of one hundred red and yellow squares, playing Kaissa, the game. One was a Player, a master who makes his living, though commonly poorly, from the game, playing for a cup of paga perhaps and the right to sleep in the taverns for the night. The other, sitting cross-legged with him, was the broad-shouldered, blond giant from Torvaldsland whom I had seen earlier. He wore a shaggy jacket. His hair was braided. His feet and legs were bound in skins and cords. The large, curved, double-bladed, long-handled ax lay beside him. On his large brown leather belt, confining the long shaggy jacket he wore, which would have fallen to his knees, were carved the luck signs of the north. Kaissa is popular in Torvaldsland as well as elsewhere on Gor. In halls, it is often played far into the night, by fires, by the northern giants. Sometimes disputes, which otherwise might be settled only by ax or sword, are willingly surrendered to a game of Kaissa, if only for the joy of engaging in the game. The big fellow was of Torvaldsland. The master might have been from as far away as Ar, or Tor, or Turia. But they had between them the game, its fascination and its beauty, reconciling whatever differences, in dialect, custom or way of light might divide them." — Hunters of Gor, page 47.
• Battle Ax (Turian)
No description is given of this ax used at times by Turian warriors.
"Incidentally, Turian warriors, in order to have the opportunity to slay a foe, as well as acquire his woman, customarily choose as the weapon of combat in these encounters, buckler and dagger, ax and buckler, dagger and whip, ax and net, or the two daggers, with the reservation that the quiva, if used, not be thrown." — Nomads of Gor, page 124.
• Francisca (Alar)
The Alar war axe, single-bladed and heavy. The francisca of Earth is actually a throwing ax that was used by the Merovingian and Carolingian Franks between the 5th and 8th centuries. 
Archaeological evidence indicates that the francisca was a common weapon among the Franks. It is believed by many that their name was actually derived from the francisca's name, (France as it is known later). Troops would throw it from a distance of approximately forty feet (40'). The edge of the axe was heavy so it would have a larger impact on the target, but because the axe wasn't balanced like a javelin, the francisca didn't fly as straight through the air, reducing range and accuracy.
The francisca has a characteristic S-shaped curve along the top of the head, the lower edge of the blade curving inward and then forming an elbow with the haft. The center of the axe head forms an angle of approximately 90–115° to the haft. The francisca will slice into the target at the toe of the blade and along the blade itself, and will also stick into the taget upside-down at the heel. Most franciscas have a rounded or teardrop-shaped eye for a tapered wooden haft, similar to Viking axes. Most franciscas were between eleven and twenty-three centimetres in length, and weighed between 200 and 1,300 grams or one-half to three pounds.
Among them was the heavy, single-bladed Alar war ax. In the dialect of the Alars, if it is of interest, this particular type of ax is called the francisca. Among those, too, who have learned to fear it, it is also often referred to by that name. — Mercenaries of Gor, page 71.
• Trade Ax
A heavy, long-handled, single-bladed ax, which serves as both weapon and tool. The back of the blade is blunted for driving in pegs, stakes and wedges.
"The expression, for most practical purposes, signifies a certain type of gap, such as, for example, might occur in the edge of a trade ax, or hatchet, for use in drawing nails, an occupation for which red savages, of course, have little use." — Blood Brothers of Gor, page 9.
"A long-handled, single-bladed ax was pressed into her hands. It was a trade ax. Its back was blunted, for the driving of pegs, stakes and wedges. It was heavy for her." — Blood Brothers of Gor, page 35.
Clubs and Hammers
Club: A primitive weapon, a heavy stick, sometimes with a stone or metal head, used as a hand or throwing weapon and usually shaped or selected with an outer end wider and heavier than its handle. Among primitive groups, special designs often characterize particular tribes. Medieval European bishops denied the use of the sword were allowed to enter battle with a mace, an iron or steel club designed for splitting armour. Police continue to employ narrow clubs known as truncheons, nightsticks, or billies in controlling prisoners and crowds. These are sometimes made with lead cores. — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
• Canhpi
See also: Tomahawk
By descriptions from the books, the canhpi is a heavy club, the head of which is a ball-like knob. The length of the club is never stated in the books, though its safe to assume it's about at most, two feet (2') in length. A once "official" site added in that the head of the canhpi is made with metal or obsidian glass. This too, is never stated in teh books. It is stated, however, that it's stone-bladed. Often carved with ceremonial inscriptions, it is a common war-arm, or war club used by the red savages of the Barrens region. The club can be used as a hand weapon or thrown as a missile weapon.
Though Norman uses specifically the word tomahawk in his description of the canhpi, and the description matches that of the tomahawk of Native American tribes, it also bears resemblance, in name, to a weapon of South America, the cb'anpi Note, there are actually two versions: the kunkakuchuna cb'anpi, or battle axe, and the cb'anpi, or club. Let's explore both the tomahawk and the cb'anpi
"El hacha de combate o kunkakuchuna cb'anpi,
era utilizada especialmente para cortar la cabeza de los enemigos muertos en combate (kunkaqta kuruni), que se recogía como trofeo. El mango era de madera dura y la hoja podía ser de piedra o metal (cobre o bronce). Las mismas hachas, u otras semejantes, se usaban habitualmente como herramientas agrícolas, de carpintería, y en otras actividades."
Translation:
The battle axe or kunkakuchuna cb'anpi, was used specially to cut the head of the enemies killed in a combat (kunkaqta kuruni), it was a trophy. The handle was made of hard wood and the leaf could be made of stone or metal (cooper or bronze). The same axes, or other resemblance, were used habitually like agricultural tools, carpentry, and in other activities. Pictured: the kunkakuchuna cb'anpi."La porra, maza o cb'anpi, era un arma de guerra;
se empleaba para golpear al enemigo en la lucha cuerpo a cuerpo. Constaba de un grueso astil de madera que en un extremo llevaba encajado un disco grueso de piedra pulida o metal; la parte exterior del disco podía ser circular o estrellada. A veces se combinaban varios discos juntos en una misma maza."
Translation:
The club, churns or cb'anpi, was a weapon military; one was used to strike to the enemy in the hand-to-hand combat. It consisted of a heavy wood handle that in an end took fitted a heavy disc of polished stone or metal; the outer part of the disc could circular or be starred. Sometimes several together discs in a same mace were combined. Pictured: the maza cb'anpi. — from the Ecuador Ministry of National Defense History Reference Guide
Etymology: Virginia Algonquian tomahack; Date: circa 1612;
"A light ax used as a missile and as a hand weapon especially by North American Indians." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006Tomahawk:
(from Algonkian otomahuk: "to knock down")
"The war hatchet of the North American Indians. Early versions were made by tying a stone head to a handle with animal sinew or by passing a double-pointed chipped stone through a hole bored in a handle. After the arrival of Europeans, tomahawk heads often were made of iron obtained in trade. Globe-headed clubs, often ornately incised and decorated with feathers, and used for ceremonies as well as war, have also been called tomahawks." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
Perhaps the most consistent symbol associated with Native Americans is the tomahawk. However, few people are aware of the multiformity of its history as well as its true physical characteristics.
The term "tomahawk" is a derivation of the Algonquian words "tamahak" or "tamahakan". 
The earliest definitions of these words (early 1600's) applied to stone-headed implements used as tools and weapons. Subsequent references involved all manner of striking weapons; wood clubs, stone-headed axes, metal trade hatchets, et al. As the years passed a tomahawk was thought of as any Indian-owned hatchet-type instrument. That association changed somewhat as white frontiersmen (traders, trappers, explorers) came to rely on the tomahawk as standard equipment.
Tomahawk was a small ax that the Indians of North America used as a tool and a weapon. Most tomahawks measured less than 18 inches (45 centimeters) long and were light enough to be used with one hand. Early tomahawks consisted of a head (top part) made of stone or bone mounted on a wooden handle. Some tomahawks ended in a ball or knob instead of a flat blade. After Europeans arrived in America, the Indians traded with them for iron tomahawk heads. The Indians used tomahawks to chop wood, to drive stakes into the ground, and for many other purposes. In battle, warriors used their tomahawks as clubs or threw them at their enemies. Tomahawks also served as hunting weapons. The Indians used a pipe tomahawk in religious ceremonies. This kind of tomahawk had a pipe bowl on the head and a hollow handle, and it could be smoked as a ceremonial pipe. The Indians decorated these tomahawks with feathers or dyed porcupine quills.
The popular perception of a tomahawk has become that of a lightweight (less than or equal to one pound) metal head on a wood handle. With the exception of a relative few made by Indian blacksmiths, tomahawks were manufactured on a large scale in Europe or created by individual makers in America. Some were crafted in a most elaborate manner, with fancy engraving and pewter or silver inlaid blades and handles, for presentation to important chiefs in order to commemorate treaties and seal friendships. The majority of them, though, were personalized by their owners. 
Vastly different methods or adornment abounded, according to materials available and the customs and styles of the time and region. Hafts were polished smooth, carved, scalloped, inlaid, branded with hot files, tacked, wrapped with copper or brass wire, covered with rawhide, leather or cloth, stained, painted and hung with every type of ornament imaginable.
Metals used were solid iron, iron with a welded steel bit (cutting edge), brass with steel bit and lastly, solid brass (which diminished its usefulness as a wood-chopping tool). The end of the head opposite the cutting edge provided a place for a spike, hammer poll, or most ingeniously, a pipe bowl. With a smoking pipe bowl and a drilled or hollowed handle, the pipe tomahawk became the most popular "hawk" of them all. It developed as a trade good by Euro-Americans for trade with native peoples. Iroquois men traded furs for these sought-after tomahawks. Ornate examples were presented at treaty signings as diplomatic gifts to Indian leaders, who carried them as a sign of their prestige. It was at once a weapon and symbol of peace for over 200 years and was carried, scepter-like, in the majority of photographic portraits of prominent Indian chiefs.
"I lay down in the wagon, and hid," she said. "They found me later, in the afternoon, after the battle. Two men pulled me forth from the wagon bed. They thrust back my veils and hood. I was thrown to my knees on the grass and one of the men held my wrists, crossed, before my body. The other drew back a heavy club, the termination of which contained a heavy, wooden, ball-like knob. They were preparing, apparently, to dash out my brains. A word was spoken. The men stepped back. I looked up to see a tall savage, mounted astride a kaiila. It was he who had spoken. He motioned for me to rise and, unsteadily, terrified, I did so. These men were all hideous, and fearful, in their paint and feathers." — Savages of Gor, page 288.
"At the left side of Hci's face, at the chin, there was an irregular, jagged scar, some two inches in length. This dated from several years ago, when he had been seventeen, from the second time he had set the paws of his kaiila on the warpath. It had been given to him by a Yellow Knife, in mounted combat, the result of a stroke by a long-handled, stone-bladed tomahawk, or canhpi. … Hci reined in his kaiila, squealing, kicking dust, before us.The disfigurement was indeed prominent. The blow of the canhpi had slashed through to the jawbone." — Blood Brothers of Gor, page 9.
"I saw Alfred struck down from behind with the heavy, balled knob of a carved wooden canhpi." — Blood Brothers of Gor, page 447.
"For a slave, or a prisoner, to wear a breechcloth, might be regarded as pretentious or offensive," said Grunt, "an oversight or indiscretion calling for torture or, say, for being set upon by boys on kaiila, with war clubs." — Savages of Gor, page 166.
"Grunt carried similar articles but he, as well, as I had not, carried such items as long nails, rivets, hatchets, metal arrowheads, metal lance points, knife blades and butcher knives. The knife blades and long nails are sometimes mounted in clubs. The blades, of course, may also be fitted into carved handles, of wood and bone. The rivets are useful in fastening blades in handles and lance shafts." — Savages of Gor, page 145.
"The eighty of us, then, the lancers and Hci's group, held our ground. This was not difficult to do given the narrowness of the trail. War clubs, shields and knives met." — Blood Brothers of Gor, page 430.
• Club (Unspecified)
A weapon made of wood, used in conjunction with a knife; used by Slavers.
"Then, as we milled and ran, here and there among us were men of Port Kar, warriors, some with helmet and shield, sword and spear, others with club and knife, others with whips, some with capture loops, some with capture nets, all with binding fiber. Among them ran slaves, carrying torches, that they might see to their work." — Raiders of Gor, page 51.
• War Hammer
Norman offers us no description of this weapon. Being that the Torvaldslanders are descendants of the Vikings of Earth, we can safely assume it is the war hammer of their Earth counterparts. 
Let's have a look at that particular war hammer.
The war hammer, a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat, like the tool it resembles, consists of a handle and a head. The handle may be of different lengths, the longest being roughly equivalent to the halberd, and the shortest about the same as a mace. Long war hammers were pole weapons (polearms) meant for use against riders, whereas short ones were used in closer quarters and from horseback. Later war hammers often had a spike on one side of the head, thus making it a more versatile weapon. War hammers were developed as a consequence of the ever more prevalent metal armors of the medieval battlefields during the 14th and 15th centuries. Swords were of little use against these armours. The war hammer could deal blows of tremendous force to the target, especially when mounted on a pole, and by impact alone do damage without penetrating the armour. The spike end could be used for grappling the target's armour, reins, or shield, or could be turned in the direction of the blow to pierce even heavy armour. Against mounted opponents, the weapon could also be directed at the legs of the horse, toppling the armored foe to the ground where he could be more easily attacked. A famous war hammer is Mjolnir, the weapon of the Norse god, Thor.
"I had learned that the Kur shield could be as devastating a weapon as the war hammer of Hunjer." — Marauders of Gor, page 15.
Bows, Arrows, and Quarrels
• Quarrel
Quarrels are the bolts of a crossbow, or the arrows of a long bow or short bow.
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, square-headed arrow, building stone, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin quadrellum, diminutive of Latin quadrum square; Date: 13th century:
"A square-headed bolt or arrow especially for a crossbow." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006.
"I mounted my tarn, that fierce, black magnificent bird. My shield and spear were secured by saddle straps; my sword was slung over my shoulder. On each side of the saddle hung a missile weapon, a crossbow with a quiver of a dozen quarrels, or bolts, on the left, a longbow with a quiver of thirty arrows on the right." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 64.
"My weapon," he said, simply extending his hand. A crossbow was immediately placed in his grip. It was a large steel bow, wound and set, the iron quarrel placed in the guide. — Tarnsman of Gor, page 137.
• Quiver
The leather case in which arrows and bolts are carried; can also refer to the arrows inside a quiver.
Etymology:Middle English, from Anglo-French quiveir, from Old French quivre, cuevre, of Germanic origin; akin to the root of English cocker;
"A case for carrying arrows; also: the arrows in a quiver." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006
"I mounted my tarn, that fierce, black magnificent bird. My shield and spear were secured by saddle straps; my sword was slung over my shoulder. On each side of the saddle hung a missile weapon, a crossbow with a quiver of a dozen quarrels, or bolts, on the left, a longbow with a quiver of thirty arrows on the right." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 64.
"He was very erect in the saddle. His lance remained on his back, but he carried in his right hand the small, powerful horn bow of the Wagon Peoples and attached to his saddle was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows." — Nomads of Gor, page 11.
Arrows
Arrows:
"Arrow design was probably the first area of military technology in which production considerations assumed overriding importance. As a semi-expendable munition that was used in quantity, arrows could not be evaluated solely by their technological effectiveness; production costs had to be considered as well. As a consequence, the materials used for arrowheads tended to be a step behind those used for other offensive technologies. Arrowheads of flint and obsidian, knapped to remarkably uniform standards, survived well into the Bronze Age, and bronze arrowheads were used long after the adoption of iron for virtually every other military cutting or piercing implement.
Arrow shafts were made of relatively inexpensive wood and reed throughout history, though considerable labour was involved in shaping them. Remarkably refined techniques for fastening arrowheads of flint and obsidian to shafts were well in hand long before recorded history. (The importance of arrow manufacturing techniques is reflected in the survival in modern English of the given name Fletcher, the title of a specialist in attaching feathers to the arrow shaft.)" — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
The shaft of the arrow is generally made from tem-wood, because of its sturdiness, but can also be made from the wood of the Ka-la-na tree. I have seen in various online rooms where someone has made arrow shafts from the Ka-la-na tree. Ka-la-na wood is used for making bows, due to its softness and bendability. Such wood would not make a good and proper arrow shaft. The following quote further indicates that Ka-la-na wood was not arrow wood.
"Thurnock, though in Port Kar, had found a piece of Ka-la-na stock, and had been carving a great bow, the long bow. I knew he had also found some bits of bosk horn, and some leather, and some hemp and silk. In two or three days, I expected, he, too, would have a bow. Piles he had already commissioned from a smith; and Thura, on his command, this afternoon, with a bit of stick, had struck down a Vosk gull, that the shafts he fashioned, whether from Ka-la-na or tem-wood, would be well fletched." — Raiders of Gor, page 112.
The piles of the arrows are fashioned by the metalsmiths of the cities. The shaft of the arrow is generally made from tem-wood, because of its sturdiness, although there is evidence of usage of Ka-la-na wood. Ka-la-na wood is used for making bows, due to its softness and bendability. Therefore, it's not the preferred wood for making arrow shafts. The following quote further indicates that Ka-la-na wood was not the preferred arrow wood.
"Besides," said another man, "we do not have metal for the heads of arrows, nor arrowwood, and Ka-la-na does not grow in the marsh. And we do not have cords of strength enough to draw such bows."
"And we do not have leather," added another.
"We could kill tharlarion," said Ho-Hak, "and obtain leather. And perhaps the teeth of the marsh shark might be fashioned in such a way as to tip arrows."
"There is no Ka-la-na, no cord, no arrowwood," said another. — Raiders of Gor, page 21."Thurnock, though in Port Kar, had found a piece of Ka-la-na stock, and had been carving a great bow, the long bow. I knew he had also found some bits of bosk horn, and some leather, and some hemp and silk. In two or three days, I expected, he, too, would have a bow. Piles he had already commissioned from a smith; and Thura, on his command, this afternoon, with a bit of stick, had struck down a Vosk gull, that the shafts he fashioned, whether from Ka-la-na or tem-wood, would be well fletched." — Raiders of Gor, page 112.
• Barbed Tuchuk War Arrow
These broad-headed arrows are made with a barb at the tips — all the better to cause serious damage to the victim. Removing these arrows from the victim so as not to lose the point of the arrow requires pushing the arrow completely through the wound.
"The wall of a building off the main avenue collapsed flaming to the street. I could hear in three or four places the clash of arms, the hiss of the bolts of crossbows, the answering featherswift flight of the barbed Tuchuk war arrows." — Nomads of Gor, page 247.
"Bring me," I said, "the small horn bow of the Tuchuks, the barbed war arrows of the Wagon Peoples." — Assassin of Gor, page 365.
"Had I used a broad-headed arrow, or the Tuchuk barbed arrow, one would, in removing it, commonly thrust the arrow completely through the wound, drawing it out feathers last. One is, accordingly, in such cases, less likely to lose the point in the body." — Raiders of Gor, page 79.
• Broad Headed Arrow
Tuchuk war arrow; also called a barbed arrow. See also: "Flight Arrow," "Hunting Arrow", "Sheaf Arrow", "Simple-Pile Arrow," "Tuchuk Barbed Arrow" and "War Arrow."
"Had I used a broad-headed arrow, or the Tuchuk barbed arrow, one would, in removing it, commonly thrust the arrow completely through the wound, drawing it out feathers last. One is, accordingly, in such cases, less likely to lose the point in the body." — Raiders of Gor, page 79.
• Flight Arrow
A specialized arrow used with the long bow for long distance shooting. Drag on the shaft is overall a benefit as it increases the vertical component of the total drag on the arrow (which a flight arrow is designed to maximize). A good hunting arrow. The flight arrow are generally made of tem-wood, metal piled and fletched with the feathers of such birds as the Vosk gull, with a length of about forty inches (40"). See also: "Hunting Arrow," "Sheaf Arrow", "Simple-Pile Arrow," "Tuchuk Barbed-Arrow", and "War Arrow."
An arrow used in flight shooting; usually very light and very stiff and fitted with very small fletching to reduce wind drag. — Australian English Dictionary
"I had the Gorean short sword in its scabbard, my shield and helmet, and, wrapped in leather, a Gorean long bow of supple Ka-la-na wood, from the yellow wine trees of Gor, tipped with notched bosk horn at each end, loose strung with help and whipped with silk, and a roll of sheaf and flight arrows." — Raiders of Gor, pages 2-3.
"Ho-Hak reached down and unwrapped the leather from the yellow bow of supple Ka-la-na. The roll of sheaf and flight arrows spilled out to the woven mat that was the surface of the rence island." — Raiders of Gor, page 19.
"The Gorean sheaf arrow is slightly over a yard long, the flight arrow is about forty inches in length. Both are metal piled and fletched with three half-feathers, from the wings of the Vosk gulls." — Raiders of Gor, page 68.
• Hunting Arrow
A simple-pile arrow favored for hunting, as it is designed to pull the arrowhead free of the victim. The shafts are either sheaf (short bow) or flight (long bow). See also: "Flight Arrow," "Sheaf Arrow", "Simple-Pile Arrow," "Tuchuk Barbed-Arrow", and "War Arrow."
"The hunting arrow, incidentally, has a long, tapering point, and this point is firmly fastened to the shaft. This makes it easier to withdraw the arrow from its target. The war arrow, on the other hand, uses an arrowhead whose base is either angled backwards, forming barbs, or cut straight across, the result in both cases being to make the arrow difficult to extract from a wound. The head of the war arrow, too, is fastened less securely to the shaft than is that of the hunting arrow. The point thus, by intent, if the shaft is pulled out, is likely to linger in the wound. Sometimes it is possible to thrust the arrow through the body, break off the point and then withdraw the shaft backwards. At other times, if the point becomes dislodged in the body, it is common to seek it with a bone or greenwood probe, and then, when one has found it, attempt to work it free with a knife. There are cases where men have survived this. Much depends, of course, on the location of the point.
"The heads of certain war arrows and hunting arrows differ, too, at least in the case of certain warriors, in an interesting way, with respect to the orientation of the plane of the point to the plane of the nock. In these war arrows, the plane of the point is perpendicular to the plane of the nock. In level shooting, then, the plane of the point is roughly parallel to the ground. In these hunting arrows, on the other hand, the plane of the point is parallel to the plane of the nock. In level shooting, then, the plane of the point is roughly perpendicular to the ground. The reason for these different orientations is particularly telling at close range, before the arrow begins to turn in the air. The ribs of the kailiauk are vertical to the ground; the ribs of the human are horizontal to the ground." — Savages of Gor, pages 40-41.
• Sheaf Arrow
A heavy arrow, used in battle, which provides greater penetration. Sheaf arrows of medieval times were designed to pierce armor. An example of this in the Gorean world is the sheaf arrow used in conjunction with the barbed arrowhead favored by the Tuchuks. When used by longbowmen, the sheaf arrows are used only when close range combat is called for. The sheaf arrows are generally made of tem-wood, metal piled, and fletched with the feathers of such birds as the Vosk gull, with a length of slightly over three feet (3'). See also: "Flight Arrow", "Hunting Arrow," "Simple-Pile Arrow," "Tuchuk Barbed-Arrow", and "War Arrow."
"I had the Gorean short sword in its scabbard, my shield and helmet, and, wrapped in leather, a Gorean long bow of supple Ka-la-na wood, from the yellow wine trees of Gor, tipped with notched bosk horn at each end, loose strung with help and whipped with silk, and a roll of sheaf and flight arrows." — Raiders of Gor, pages 2-3.
"Ho-Hak reached down and unwrapped the leather from the yellow bow of supple Ka-la-na. The roll of sheaf and flight arrows spilled out to the woven mat that was the surface of the rence island." — Raiders of Gor, page 19.
"The Gorean sheaf arrow is slightly over a yard long, the flight arrow is about forty inches in length. Both are metal piled and fletched with three half-feathers, from the wings of the Vosk gulls." — Raiders of Gor, page 68.
• Simple-Pile Arrow
An arrow designed to be removed from the victim and allows for greater penetration. A favored arrow for hunting. The shafts are either sheaf (short bow) or flight (long bow). See also: "Hunting Arrow," "Flight Arrow", "Sheaf Arrow," "Tuchuk Barbed-Arrow", and "War Arrow."
The hunting arrow, incidentally, has a long, tapering point, and this point is firmly fastened to the shaft. This makes it easier to withdraw the arrow from its target." — Savages of Gor, page 40.
"I had used simple-pile arrows, which may be withdrawn from the wound. The simple pile gives greater penetration. Had I used a broad-headed arrow, or the Tuchuk barbed arrow, one would, in removing it, commonly thrust the arrow completely through the wound, drawing it out feathers last. One is, accordingly, in such cases, less likely to lose the point in the body." — Raiders of Gor, page 79.
• Tuchuk Barbed Arrow
Favored arrow of the Tuchuks; also called a broad-headed arrow which carries barbs; the barbs prevent it from being withdrawn from a wound and must be pushed through to exit and is therefore more difficult to recover during combat. Being that the Tuchuks use the short bow on kaiila-back, the shafts used most likely were flight arrows (see quotes following). Turkish horsemen were famous for their deadly barbed flight arrows. See also: "Flight Arrow," "Hunting Arrow", "Sheaf Arrow", "Simple-Pile Arrow," and "War Arrow."
"The bow, of course, small, for use from the saddle, lacks the range and power of the Gorean longbow or crossbow; still, at close range, with considerable force, firing rapidly, arrow after arrow, it is a fearsome weapon." — Nomads of Gor, pages 66-67.
"The cavalries of the Tuchuks, however, managed to maintain a reasonably effective blockade of land routes to Turia. Four times masses of tharlarion cavalry had charged forth from the city but each time the Hundreds withdrew before them until the charge had been enveloped in the swirling kaiila, and then its riders were brought down swiftly by the flashing arrows of the Tuchuks, riding in closely, almost to lance range and firing again and again until striking home." — Nomads of Gor, page 181.
"Then I heard the twang of the small horn bows of Tuchuks. … I could hear in three or four places the clash of arms, the hiss of the bolts of crossbows, the answering featherswift flight of the barbed Tuchuk war arrows." — Nomads of Gor, page 247.
"Had I used a broad-headed arrow, or the Tuchuk barbed arrow, one would, in removing it, commonly thrust the arrow completely through the wound, drawing it out feathers last. One is, accordingly, in such cases, less likely to lose the point in the body." — Raiders of Gor, page 79.
• War Arrow
Type of arrowhead designed for battle, using both flight and sheath type arrow shafts. The war arrow is also called a broad-headed arrow or barbed arrow which carries barbs or is cut straight across at the base, preventing it from being easily withdrawn from a wound. The head of the war arrow is less securely fastened to the shaft than the hunting arrow, which causes to leave it behind if the arrow is withdrawn.
The term "war arrow" in Torvaldsland, refers to the barbed arrow used in times of battle as well, however, symbolically, it also refers to the barbed arrow of war that is kept at the Torvald monument. This arrow bears the sign of the Torvald and is carried to every free man within a Jarl's juridiction as a means of informing his men to present themselves for war.
See also: "Broad Headed Arrow", "Flight Arrow", "Hunting Arrow," "Sheaf Arrow", "Simple-Pile Arrow," and "Tuchuk Barbed Arrow."
"The hunting arrow, incidentally, has a long, tapering point, and this point is firmly fastened to the shaft. This makes it easier to withdraw the arrow from its target. The war arrow, on the other hand, uses an arrowhead whose base is either angled backwards, forming barbs, or cut straight across, the result in both cases being to make the arrow difficult to extract from a wound. The head of the war arrow, too, is fastened less securely to the shaft than is that of the hunting arrow. The point thus, by intent, if the shaft is pulled out, is likely to linger in the wound. Sometimes it is possible to thrust the arrow through the body, break off the point and then withdraw the shaft backwards. At other times, if the point becomes dislodged in the body, it is common to seek it with a bone or greenwood probe, and then, when one has found it, attempt to work it free with a knife. There are cases where men have survived this. Much depends, of course, on the location of the point.
"The heads of certain war arrows and hunting arrows differ, too, at least in the case of certain warriors, in an interesting way, with respect to the orientation of the plane of the point to the plane of the nock. In these war arrows, the plane of the point is perpendicular to the plane of the nock. In level shooting, then, the plane of the point is roughly parallel to the ground. In these hunting arrows, on the other hand, the plane of the point is parallel to the plane of the nock. In level shooting, then, the plane of the point is roughly perpendicular to the ground. The reason for these different orientations is particularly telling at close range, before the arrow begins to turn in the air. The ribs of the kailiauk are vertical to the ground; the ribs of the human are horizontal to the ground." — Savages of Gor, pages 40-41.When the war arrow is carried, of course, all free men are to respond; in such a case the farm may suffer, and his companion and children know great hardship; in leaving his family, the farmer, weapons upon his shoulder, speaks simply to them. "The war arrow has been carried to my house," he tells them. — Marauders of Gor, page 142.
From among the weapons at the foot of the couch, from one of the cylindrical quivers, still of the sort carried in Torvaldsland, I drew forth a long, dark arrow. It was more than a yard long. Its shaft was almost an inch thick. It was plied with iron, barbed. Its feathers were five inches long, set in the shaft on three sides, feathers of the black-tipped coasting gull, a broad-winged bird, with black tips on its wings and tail feathers, similar to the Vosk gull. I lifted the arrow. "What is this?" I asked the Forkbeard.
"It is a war arrow," he said.
"And what sign is this, carved on its side?' I asked.
"The sign of Torvald," he whispered. — Marauders of Gor, pages 234-235.
• Iron Bolts
Quarrels made of iron; penetrates the thickest of leather; used with the crossbow.
"At the same moment the iron bolt of a crossbow, fired through one the narrow windows, struck the wall behind my chair-stone and ricocheted viciously about the room." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 59.
I mounted my tarn, that fierce, black magnificent bird. My shield and spear were secured by saddle straps; my sword was slung over my shoulder. On each side of the saddle hung a missile weapon, a crossbow with a quiver of a dozen quarrels, or bolts, on the left, a longbow with a quiver of thirty arrows on the right. The saddle pack contained the light gear carried by raiding tarnsmen — in particular, rations, a compass, maps, binding fiber, and extra bowstrings. — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 64-65.
Bows
The Bow:
"The bow was simple in concept, yet it represented an extremely sophisticated technology. In its most basic form, the bow consisted of a stave of wood slightly bent by the tension of a bowstring connecting its two ends.The bow stored the force of the archer's draw as potential energy, then transferred it to the bowstring as kinetic energy, imparting velocity and killing power to the arrow. The bow could store no more energy than the archer was capable of producing in a single movement of the muscles of his back and arms, but it released the stored energy at a higher velocity, thus overcoming the arm's inherent limitations.
Though not as evident, the sophistication of arrow technology matched that of the bow. The effectiveness of the bow depended on the arrow's efficiency in retaining kinetic energy throughout its trajectory and then transforming it into killing power on impact. This was not a simple problem, as it depended on the mass, aerodynamic drag, and stability of the arrow and on the hardness and shape of the head. These factors were related to one another and to the characteristics of the bow in a complex calculus. The most important variables in this calculus were arrow weight and the length and stiffness of the bow.
Assuming the same length of draw and available force, the total amount of potential energy that an archer could store in a bow was a function of the bow's length; that is, the longer the arms of the bow, the more energy stored per unit of work expended in the draw and, therefore, the more kinetic energy imparted to the string and arrow. The disadvantage of a long bow was that the stored energy had to serve not only to drive the string and arrow but also to accelerate the mass of the bow itself. Because the longer bow's more massive arms accelerated more slowly, a longer bow imparted kinetic energy to the string and arrow at a lower velocity. A shorter bow, on the other hand, stored less energy for the same amount of work expended in the draw, but it compensated for this through its ability to transmit the energy to the arrow at a higher velocity. In sum, the shorter bow imparted less total energy to the arrow, but it did so at a higher velocity. Therefore, in practice maximum range was attained by a short, stiff bow shooting a very light arrow, and maximum killing power at medium ranges was attained by a long bow driving a relatively heavy arrow." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006
• Crossbow
This is the favored weapon of the Assassins. A heavy, flexible bow, it can use several types quarrels of spiked, smooth tipped or broad bladed bolts, striking with enough force to penetrate wooden walls, doors or human bodies with relative ease. It is favored by assassins because of its ease of use in close quarters, and it can be kept set, loaded like a firearm. Although it is slow to set, and takes much strength, a weaker man, with a winding gear, can certainly manage to do so without much difficulty. 
Slow to reload, it is commonly redrawn through use of a foot hook or a winding gear.
The Crossbow:
"The idea of mounting a bow permanently at right angles across a stock that was fitted with a trough for the arrow, or bolt, and a mechanical trigger to hold the drawn string and release it at will was very old. Crossbows were buried in Chinese graves in the 5th century BC, and the crossbow was a major factor in Chinese warfare by the 2nd century BC at the latest. The Greeks used the crossbow principle in the gastrophetes, and the Romans knew the crossbow proper as the manuballista, though they did not use it extensively. The European crossbow of the Middle Ages differed from all of these in its combination of power and portability.
In Europe, crossbows were progressively developed to penetrate armour of increasing thicknesses. In China, on the other hand, crossbow development emphasized rapidity of fire rather than power; by the 16th century, Chinese artisans were making sophisticated lever-actuated rapid-fire crossbows that carried up to 10 bolts in a self-contained magazine. These, however, were feeble weapons by contemporary European standards and had relatively little penetrating power.
Mechanical cocking aids freed the crossbow from the limitations of simple muscular strength. If the bow could be held in a drawn state by a mechanical trigger, then the bow could be drawn in progressive stages using levers, cranks, and gears or windlass-and-pulley mechanisms, thereby multiplying the user's strength. The power of such a weapon, unlike that of the bow, was thus not limited by the constraints of a single muscular spasm.
The crossbowman, unlike the archer, did not have to be particularly strong or vigorous, and his volume of fire was not as limited by fatigue. Nevertheless, the crossbow had serious tactical deficiencies. First, ordinary crossbows for field operations (as opposed to heavy siege crossbows) were outranged by the bow. This was because crossbow bolts were short and heavy, with a flat base to absorb the initial impact of the string. The flat base and relatively crude leather fins (crossbow bolts were produced in volume and were not as carefully finished as arrows) were aerodynamically inefficient, so that velocity fell off more quickly than that of an arrow. These factors, combined with the inherent lack of precision in the trigger and release mechanism, made the ordinary military crossbow considerably shorter-ranged and less accurate than a serious military bow in the hands of a skilled archer. Also, the advantage of the crossbow's greater power was offset by its elaborate winding mechanisms, which took more time to use. The combination of short range, inaccuracy, and slow rate of fire meant that crossbowmen in the open field were extremely vulnerable to cavalry.
The earliest crossbows had a simple bow of wood alone. However, such bows were not powerful enough for serious military use, and by the 11th century they gave way to composite bows of wood, horn, and sinew. The strength of crossbows increased as knightly armour became more effective, and, by the 13th century, bows were being made of mild steel. (The temper and composition of steel used for crossbows had to be precisely controlled, and the expression "crossbow steel" became an accepted term designating steel of the highest quality.) Because composite and steel crossbows were too powerful to be cocked by the strength of the arms alone, a number of mechanical cocking aids were developed. The first such aid of military significance was a hook suspended from the belt; the crossbowman could step down into a stirrup set in the front of the bow's stock, loop the bowstring over the hook, and by straightening up use the powerful muscles of his back and leg to cock the weapon. The belt hook was inadequate for cocking the steel crossbows required to penetrate plate armour, and by the 14th century military crossbows were being fitted with removable windlasses and rack-and-pinion winding mechanisms called cranequins. Though slow, these devices effectively freed the crossbow from limitations on its strength; draw forces well in excess of 1,000 pounds became common, particularly for large siege crossbows." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"At the same moment the iron bolt of a crossbow, fired through one the narrow windows, struck the wall behind my chair-stone and ricocheted viciously about the room." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 59.
"I mounted my tarn, that fierce, black magnificent bird. My shield and spear were secured by saddle straps; my sword was slung over my shoulder. On each side of the saddle hung a missile weapon, a crossbow with a quiver of a dozen quarrels, or bolts, on the left, a longbow with a quiver of thirty arrows on the right. The saddle pack contained the light gear carried by raiding tarnsmen — in particular, rations, a compass, maps, binding fiber, and extra bowstrings." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 64-65.
"My weapon," he said, simply extending his hand. A crossbow was immediately placed in his grip. It was a large steel bow, wound and set, the iron quarrel placed in the guide. — Tarnsman of Gor, page 137.
"The long bow cannot well be used except in a standing, or at least kneeling, position, thus making more of a target of the archer; the long bow is difficult to use from a saddle; it is impractical in close quarters, as in defensive warfare of in fighting from room to room; and it cannot be kept set, loaded like a firearm, as can the crossbow; the crossbow is the assassin's weapon, par excellence; further, it might be mentioned that, although it takes longer to set the crossbow, a weaker man, with, say, his belt claw or his winding gear, can certainly manage to do so; accordingly, for every man capable of drawing a warrior's long bow there will be an indefinite number who can use the crossbow; lastly, at shorter distances, the crossbow requires much less skill for accuracy than the long bow. … It is not difficult to see why, popularly, the crossbow should be regarded as a generally more efficient weapon that the long bow, in spite of being inferior to it, in the hands of an expert, in range, accuracy and rate of fire. Well used, the long bow is a far more devastating weapon than its rival, the crossbow; but few men had the strength and eye to use it well; I prided myself on my skill with the weapon. — Raiders of Gor, pages 2-3.
• Great Bow
See: "Long Bow."
• Horn Bow
The Wagon Peoples and the Innuit are skilled with a small, powerful bow. For the Wagon Peoples, it is of course, made of layers of bosk-horn, and reinforced with strips of bosk leather and leather. For the Innuit, it is built with layers of tabuk horn bound with the sinew of the tabuk. 
A type of "Small Bow."
"He was very erect in the saddle. His lance remained on his back, but he carried in his right hand the small, powerful horn bow of the Wagon Peoples and attached to his saddle was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows." — Nomads of Gor, page 11.
"I learned as well the rope and bow. The bow, of course, small, for use from the saddle, lacks the range and power of the Gorean longbow or crossbow; still, at close range, with considerable force, firing rapidly, arrow after arrow, it is a fearsome weapon." — Nomads of Gor, pages 66-67.
"Bring me," I said, "the small horn bow of the Tuchuks, the barbed war arrows of the Wagon Peoples." — Assassin of Gor, page 365.
An attendant, from beneath his cloak, threw to the saddle the tiny, swift bow of Tuchuks, the narrow, rectangular quiver, with its forty arrows. Not hurrying I strung the bow. It is small, double-curved, about four feet in length, built up of layers of bosk horn, bound and reinforced with metal and leather; it is banded with metal at seven points, including the grip, metal obtained from Turia in half-inch rolled strips; the leather is applied diagonally, in two-inch strips, except that, horizontally, it covers the entire grip; the bow lacks the range of both the longbow and the crossbow, but, at close range, firing rapidly, it can be a devastating weapon; its small size, like the crossbow, permits it to clear the saddle, shifting from the left to the right, or to the rear, with equal ease, this providing an advantage lacked by the more powerful but larger longbow; but, like the longbow, and unlike the crossbow, which requires strength and time to reset, it is capable of a considerable volume of fire; a Tuchuk warrior can, in swirling , from the saddle of the running kaiila, accurately fire arrows, drawn to the point, in half an Ehn. …
The small bow, interestingly, has never been used among tarnsmen; perhaps this is because the kaiila is almost unknown above the equator, and the lesson of kaiilaback has not been much available to them; perhaps it is of tradition, which weighs heavily in Gorean life, even in military affairs for example, the phalanx was abandoned only after more than a century of attempts to preserve and improve it; or perhaps the reason is that range is commonly more important to tarnsmen in flight than maneuverability, of the bow. I suspect, however, that the truest reason is that tarnsmen, never having learned respect for the small bow, tend to despise such a weapon, regarding it as unworthy a Warrior's hand, as being too puny and ineffective to win the approval of a true Gorean fighting man. Some of the riders of the Steels, I recalled, seeing it among the belongings of Gladius of Cos, had jested with me about it, asking if it were a toy, or perhaps a training bow for a child; these men, of course, had never, on kaiilaback, and it is just as well for them, met Tuchuks. It seemed to me that combat on kaiilaback, and combat on tarnback, had much in common; I suspected that the small bow, though it had never been proven in battle on tarnback, might prove that it had worth in the Gorean skies as well as on the dusty, southern plains… — Assassin of Gor, pages 365-366."About his shoulder he had slung some coils of braided rope, fashioned from twisted sleen hide, and, in his hand, he carried a sack and a bundle of tied furs; at his back was a quiver containing arrows, and a short bow of sinew-bound, layered horn." — Beasts of Gor, page 3.
"The horn bow, unfortunately, formed of pieces of split tabuk horn, bound with sinew, is not effective beyond some thirty yards, One must, thus, be almost upon the animal before loosing the shaft. Wood is scarce in the north and the peasant bow, or longbow, is not known there. More importantly, in the colder weather, the long bow would freeze and snap, unable to bear the stress of being drawn to its customary extent." — Beasts of Gor, page 13.
• Long Bow
Also: "Great Bow"
Also: "Peasant Bow"
A Bow made from the supple, bending wood of the Ka-la-na tree, usually tipped with notched bosk horn at each end. 
Unstrung it is over six feet in length, and can require a pull of up to 120 lbs. The bowstring itself is usually made of hemp and lashed with silk thread. The arrows of the long bow are of tem-wood, and fletched with the feathers of such birds as the Vosk gull. Each such arrow is approximately three feet in length, and can be tipped with several different types of arrowheads; of these, the flight tip and the sheaf tip are the most common. It is commonly carried slung or strapped over the shoulder of the archer when not in use, and is accompanied by a belt or shoulder quiver used for the storage of arrows. Its use requires the archer to wear a bracer of thick leather upon the forearm of his bow arm (see "Leather Bracer" further down this page ), and to use a leather finger tab (see "Leather Tab" further down this page ) to protect his hands and arm from the string when fired. This bow is commonly known as a peasant weapon and thus not popular with the Gorean warriors, since the peasant is considered the lowest of all castes and the Warriors are of one of the five High Castes. However, all learn to respect it. It takes considerable strength to draw the bow. Also referred to as the "Great Bow" and the "Peasant Bow." See also: "Flight Arrows" and "Sheaf Arrows."
The English Longbow:
"The longbow evolved during the 12th century in response to the demands of siege and guerrilla operations in the Welsh Marches, a topographically close and economically marginal area that was in many ways similar to the regions in which the crossbow had evolved three centuries earlier. It became the most effective individual missile weapon of western Europe until well into the age of gunpowder and was the only foot bow since classical times to equal the composite recurved bow in tactical effectiveness and power.
While it was heavily dependent on the strength and competence of its user, the longbow in capable hands was far superior to the ordinary military crossbow in range, rate of fire, and accuracy. Made from a carefully cut and shaped stave of yew or elm, it varied in length, according to the height of the user, from about five to seven feet. The longbow had a shorter maximum range than the short, stiff composite Turkish or Mongol saddle bows of equivalent draw force, but it could drive a heavy arrow through armour with equal efficiency at medium ranges of 150-300 yards. Each archer would have carried a few selected light arrows for shooting at extreme ranges and could probably have reached 500 yards with these.
The longbow's weakness was that of every serious military bow; the immense amounts of time and energy needed to master it. Confirmation of the extreme demands placed on the archer was found in the skeletal remains of a bowman who went down with the English ship Mary Rose, sunk in Portsmouth Harbour in 1545. The archer (identified as such by a quiver, its leather strap still circling his spine) exhibited skeletal deformations caused by the stresses of archery; the bones of his left forearm showed compression thickening, his upper backbone was twisted radially, and the tips of the first three fingers of his right hand were markedly thickened, plainly the results of a lifetime of drawing a bow of great strength. The longbow was dependent upon the life-style of the English yeomanry, and, as that life-style changed to make archery less remunerative and time for its practice less available, the quality of English archery declined. By the last quarter of the 16th century there were few longbowmen available, and the skill and strength of those who responded to muster was on the whole well below the standards of two centuries earlier. An extended debate in the 1580s between advocates of the longbow and proponents of gunpowder weapons hinged mainly on the small numbers and limited skills of available archers, not around any inherent technical deficiency in the weapon itself." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006
"I mounted my tarn, that fierce, black magnificent bird. My shield and spear were secured by saddle straps; my sword was slung over my shoulder. On each side of the saddle hung a missile weapon, a crossbow with a quiver of a dozen quarrels, or bolts, on the left, a longbow with a quiver of thirty arrows on the right. The saddle pack contained the light gear carried by raiding tarnsmen — in particular, rations, a compass, maps, binding fiber, and extra bowstrings." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 64-65.
"My weapons shared the boat, with a gourd of water and a tin of bread and dried bosk meat. I had the Gorean short sword in its scabbard, my shield and helmet, and, wrapped in leather, a Gorean long bow of supple Ka-la-na wood, from the yellow wine trees of Gor, tipped with notched bosk horn at each end, loose strung with help and whipped with silk, and a roll of sheaf and flight arrows. The bow is not commonly favored by Gorean warriors, but all must respect it. It is the height of a tall; its back, away from the bowman, is flat; its belly, facing the bowman, is half-rounded; it is something like an inch and a half wide and an inch and a quarter thick in the center; it has considerable force and requires considerable strength to draw; many men, incidentally, even some warriors, cannot draw the bow; nine of the arrows can be fired aloft before the first falls again to the earth; at point-blank range it can be fired completely through a four-inch beam; at two hundred yards it can pin a man to a wall; at four hundred yards it can kill the huge, shambling bosk; its rate of fire is nineteen arrows in a Gorean Ehn, about eighty Earth seconds; and a skilled bowman, but not an extraordinary one, is expected to be able to place these nineteen arrows in on Ehn into a target, the size of a man, each a hit, at a range of some two hundred and fifty yards. Yet, as a weapon, it has serious disadvantages, and on Gor the crossbow, inferior in accuracy, range and rate of fire, with its heavy cable and its leaves of steel, tends to be generally favored. The long bow cannot well be used except in a standing, or at least kneeling, position, thus making more of a target of the archer; the long bow is difficult to use from a saddle; it is impractical in close quarters, as in defensive warfare of in fighting from room to room; and it cannot be kept set, loaded like a firearm, as can the crossbow; the crossbow is the assassin's weapon, par excellence; further, it might be mentioned that, although it takes longer to set the crossbow, a weaker man, with, say, his belt claw or his winding gear, can certainly manage to do so; accordingly, for every man capable of drawing a warrior's long bow there will be an indefinite number who can use the crossbow; lastly, at shorter distances, the crossbow requires much less skill for accuracy than the long bow. … It is not difficult to see why, popularly, the crossbow should be regarded as a generally more efficient weapon that the long bow, in spite of being inferior to it, in the hands of an expert, in range, accuracy and rate of fire. Well used, the long bow is a far more devastating weapon than its rival, the crossbow; but few men had the strength and eye to use it well; I prided myself on my skill with the weapon. … It is the weapon of a peasant, I heard echoing in my mind, and again smiled. The Older Tarl, my former master-at-arms, had so spoken to me years before in Ko-ro-ba, my city, the Towers of the Morning. I looked down at the long, heavy, leather-wrapped bow of supple Ka-la-na wood in the bottom of the rush craft. … It was true that the long bow is a weapon of peasants, who make and use them, sometimes with great efficiency. That fact, in itself, that the long is a peasant weapon, would make many Goreans, particularly those not familiar with the bow, look down upon it. Gorean warriors, generally drawn from the cities, are warriors by blood, by caste; moreover, they are High Caste; the peasants, isolate in their narrow fields and villages, are Low Caste; indeed, the Peasant is regarded, by those of the cities, as being little more than an ignoble brute, ignorant and superstitious, venal and vicious, a grubber in the dirt, a plodding animal, an ill-tempered beast, something at best cunning and treacherous; and yet I knew that in each dirt-floored cone of straw that served as the dwelling place of a peasant and his family, there was, by the fire hole, a Home Stone; the peasants themselves, though regarded as the lowest caste on all Gor by most Goreans, call themselves proudly the ox on which the Home Stone rests, and I think their saying is true." — Raiders of Gor, pages 2-3.
"In some cities, Port Kar, for example, the long bow is almost unknown. Similarly it is not widely known even in Glorious Ar, the largest city of known Gor. It is reasonably well know in Thentis, in the Mountains of Thentis, famed for her tarn flocks, and in Ko-ro-ba, my city, the Towers of Morning. Cities vary. But generally the bow is little known. Small straight bows, of course, not the powerful long bow, are, on the other hand, reasonably common on Gor, and these are often used for hunting light game, such as the brush-maned, three-toed Qualae, the yellow-pelted, single-horned Tabuk, and runaway slaves." — Raiders of Gor, page 4.
Women and the Long Bow
The long bow is far to powerful a weapon, requiring great strength and therefore making it unrealistic to think a woman could handle such a weapon equally to a man. Stringing the bow would most likely be an impossible feat for the woman of Gor, however, a strung bow could possibly be fired by a woman, though at a lesser strength than that of a man. Certainly such limited range would still be damage causing.
"I knew she could not string the bow. I knew, further, that she could not, even were the weapon strung, draw it to the half, but further I knew that, at the range she might fire, the arrow, drawn even to the quarter, might penetrate my back." — Raiders of Gor, page 79.
There were gasps from two or three of the men present. I gathered they had seen small straight bows, but that this was the first long bow they had seen. Ho-Hak stood up. The bow was taller than several of the men present. He handed the bow to the blondish girl, she with blue eyes, who had been instrumental in my capture. "String it," said he to her.
Angrily she threw the marsh gants from her shoulder and took the bow. She seized the bow in her left had and braced the bottom of it against the instep of her left foot, taking the hemp cord whipped in silk, the string, in her right hand. She struggled. At last, angrily, she thrust the bow back into the hands of Ho-Hak.
Ho-Hak looked down at me, the large ears inclining toward me lightly. "This is the peasant bow, is it not?" he asked. "Called the great bow, the long bow?"
"It is," I said.
"Long ago," said he, "in a village once, on the lower slopes of the Thentis range, about a campfire, I heard sing of this bow." …
He handed the bow to the fellow with the headband of pearls of the Vosk sorp bound about his forehead. "String it," said Ho-Hak. The fellow handed his marsh spear to a companion and turned to the bow. He took it confidently. Then the look of confidence vanished. Then his face reddened, and then the veins stood out on his forehead, and then he cried out in disgust, and then he threw the bow back at Ho-Hak. Ho-Hak looked at it and then set it against the instep of his left foot, taking the bow in his left hand and the string in his right. There was a cry of awe from about the circle as he strung the bow. I admired him. He had strength, and much strength, for he had strung the bow smoothly, strength it might be from the galleys, but strength, and superb strength. "Well done," said I to him. …
Then Ho-Hak took, from among the arrows on the mat, the leather bracer and fastened it about his left forearm, that the arm not be lacerated by the string, and took the small tab as well, putting the first and second fingers on his right hand through, that in drawing the string the flesh might not be cut to the bone. The he took, from the unwrapped roll of arrows, now spilled on the leather, a flight arrow, and this, to my admiration, he fitted to the bow and drew it to the very pile itself. He held the arrow up, pointing it into the sky, at an angle of some fifty degrees. Then there came the clean, swift, singing flash of the bowstring and the flight arrow was aloft. There were cries from all, of wonder and astonishment, for they would not have believed such a thing possible. The arrow seemed lost, as though among the clouds, and so far was it that it seemed vanished in its falling. The group was silent. Ho-Hak unstrung the bow. "It is with this," he said, "that peasants defend their holdings." — Raiders of Gor, pages 19-20."And there was, too, the great bow, of yellow, supple Ka-la-na, tipped with notched bosk horn, with its cord of hemp, whipped with silk, and the roll of sheaf and flight arrows. I counted the arrows. There were seventy arrows, fifty of which were sheaf arrows, twenty flight arrows. The Gorean sheaf arrow is slightly over a yard long, the flight arrow is about forty inches in length. Both are metal piled and fletched with three half-feathers, from the wings of the Vosk gulls. Mixed in with the arrows were the leather tab, with its two openings for the right forefinger and the middle finger, and the leather bracer, to shield the left forearm from the flashing string." — Raiders of Gor, page 68.
"I had told Telima to make the rence craft sturdy, wider than usual, stabler. I was not a rencer and, when possible, when using the bow, I intended to stand; indeed, it is difficult to draw a bow cleanly in any but a standing position; it is not the small, straight bow used in hunting light game, Tabuk, slaves and such." — Raiders of Gor, page 68-69.
"On the wall of the hut, behind Thurnus, hung the great bow, of supple Ka-la-na. It was tipped with notched bosk horn. It was now unstrung, but the string, of hemp, whipped with silk, lay ready, looped loose upon the broad, curved yellow wood. Near the bow hung a mighty quiver, in which nestled flight and sheaf arrows, and many of each thereof. Such a weapon I could not even bend. It required, too, not simply the strength of a man, but of a man who was unusually strong. Most men, no more than a woman, could use such a fearsome device. It was a common weapon among peasants. It is often called the peasant bow." — Slave Girl of Gor, page 139.
• Leather Bracer
Worn on the arm as a protective shield for the forearm; used by archers especially with the long bow. 
The bracer covers the inside of an archer's arm to protect it while shooting, to keep the arm from being injured by the string of the bow, the fletching of the arrow, or the reverberation of a pulled bow string.
"And there was, too, the great bow, of yellow, supple Ka-la-na, tipped with notched bosk horn, with its cord of hemp, whipped with silk, and the roll of sheaf and flight arrows… Mixed in with the arrows were the leather tab, with its two openings for the right forefinger and the middle finger, and the leather bracer, to shield the left forearm from the flashing string." — Raiders of Gor, page 68.
• Leather [Finger] Tab
Leather piece with two holes for slipping through fingers; 
used in conjunction with the long bow to protect the archer's hands from the string when fired.
"And there was, too, the great bow, of yellow, supple Ka-la-na, tipped with notched bosk horn, with its cord of hemp, whipped with silk, and the roll of sheaf and flight arrows… Mixed in with the arrows were the leather tab, with its two openings for the right forefinger and the middle finger, and the leather bracer, to shield the left forearm from the flashing string." — Raiders of Gor, page 68.
Following, is an example of how to fire a long bow:
"I stood in the small craft, shielded by rushes and sedge. My feet were spread; my heels were aligned with the target; my head was sharply turned to my left; I drew the sheaf arrow to its pile, until the three half-feathers of the Vosk gull lay at my jawbone; I took breath and then held it, sighting over the pile; there must be no movement; then I released the string." — Raiders of Gor, page 71.
• Peasant Bow
See: "Long Bow."
• Ship Bow
A short, stout bow, making its use maneuverable even in close quarters, with a rapid rate of fire. The ship bow excels above the peasant bow (long bow) in impact, range and accuracy.
"The bows were put to their feet. They were short, ship bows, stout and manoeuvrable, easy to use n crowded quarters, easy to fire across the bulwarks of galleys locked in combat. I had seen only such bows in the holding of Policrates. Their rate of fire, of course, is much superior to that of the crossbow, either of the drawn or windlass variety. All things considered, the ship bow is an ideal missile weapon for close-range naval combat. It is superior in this respect even to the peasant bow, or long bow, which excels it in impact, range and accuracy." — Rogue of Gor, pages 307-308.
• Short Bow
The short bow is found in the northern reaches of Gor; the arrows used are short and heavy. The short bow is said to be accurate with a short range of one hundred and fifty (150) yards, and is useful in close combat as on a ship, easily fired through thole ports.
"We brushed through the scrabbling workers and saw before us the wharf, and the serpent, sleek and swift, of Ivar Forkbeard, at its moorings. Ten men had remained at the (pg. 52) ship. Eight held bows, with arrows at the string; none had dared to approach the ship; the short bow of the Gorean north, wit its short, heavy arrows, heavily headed, lacks the range and power of the peasant bow of the south, that now, too, the property of the rencers of the delta, but at short range, within a hundred and fifty yards, it can administer a considerable strike. It has, too, the advantage that it is more manageable in close quarters than the peasant box resembling somewhat the Tuchuk bow of layered horn in this respect. It is more useful in close combat on a ship, for example, than would be the peasant bow. Too, it is easier to fire it through a thole port, the oar withdrawn. The two other men stood ready with knives to cut the mooring ropes." — Marauders of Gor, page 52.
• Small Bow
See also: "Horn Bow."
There are also small, straight bows (the Horn Bow is curved) common on Gor. The small bow has several advantages, such as the quickness with which it may be drawn and fired. No Gorean weapon can match it in its rate of fire, and at close range it can be devastating. Other advantages of the small bow are its maneuverability and its capacity to be concealed, such as beneath a robe. It can be easily swept from one side of the kaiila to the other.
"In some cities, Port Kar, for example, the long bow is almost unknown. Similarly it is not widely known even in Glorious Ar, the largest city of known Gor. It is reasonably well know in Thentis, in the Mountains of Thentis, famed for her tarn flocks, and in Ko-ro-ba, my city, the Towers of Morning. Cities vary. But generally the bow is little known. Small straight bows, of course, not the powerful long bow, are, on the other hand, reasonably common on Gor, and these are often used for hunting light game, such as the brush-maned, three-toed Qualae, the yellow-pelted, single-horned Tabuk, and runaway slaves." — Raiders of Gor, page 4.
"I was not a rencer and, when possible, when using the bow, I intended to stand; indeed, it is difficult to draw a bow cleanly in any but a standing position; it is not the small, straight bow used in hunting light game, Tabuk, slaves and such." — Raiders of Gor, pages 68-69.
"The small bow has many advantages. High among these is the rapidity with which it may be drawn and fired. A skilled warrior, in the Gorean gravity, can fire ten arrows into the air, the last leaving the bow before the first has returned to the earth. No Gorean weapon can match it in its rate of fire. At close range it can be devastating. Two further advantages of the small bow that might be mentioned are its maneuverability and its capacity to be concealed, say beneath a robe. It can be easily swept from one side of the kaiila to the other. In this type of combat, incidentally. it is not unusual for the warrior to shield himself behind the body of his racing kaiila, and, circling the enemy, rise up, suddenly, to fire over the animal's back or, sometimes, from beneath its neck. A heel over the animal's back and a fist in its silken neck hair, or an arm thrust through a leather throat loop, provide the leverage needed or these feats." — Savages of Gor, pages 46-47.
Gauntlets
These are gloves, usually made of leather which are worn on the hands as protection or as a weapon. 
Some gauntlets on Gor have spikes of metal, though the gauntlets themselves are not (this would fall into the forbidden class of metal armor).
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French gantelet, diminutive of gant glove, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch want glove, Old Norse vottr; Date: 15th century;
"A glove worn with medieval armor to protect the hand." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006
• Spiked Gauntlets
Leather gauntlets are often found with projecting spikes which cover the wearer's knuckles; often used in sports, such as in gladiatorial fight in the Stadium of Blades; the spikes of these devices can be very long. Also, gauntlets may be worn by warriors used in conjunction with their swords.
"There were various matches in the pit of sand that evening. There was a contest of sheathed hook knife, one of whips and another of spiked gauntlets." — Assassin of Gor, page 120.
"Sometimes men wrestle to the death or use the spiked gauntlets." — Assassin of Gor, page 189.
"… Murmillius, at least until he himself should lie red in the white sand, held the adherents of the games in Ar, and perhaps the city itself, in the gauntleted palm of his right hand, his sword hand." — Assassin of Gor, page 191.
• Steel Claws
Also: "Finger Gauntlets."
Long, sharp steel claws which are worn on fingers and used in fighting; often slave girls must fight this way in the cruel games at the Stadium of Blades.
"Sometimes slave girls are forced to fight slave girls, perhaps with steel claws fastened on their fingers, or several girls, variously armed, will be forced to fight a single man, or a small number of men. Surviving girls, of course, become the property of those whom they have fought; men who lose are, of course, slain." — Assassin of Gor, page 189.
Pole Weapons
Please note that there are many pole-class weapons that are not noted on this page. This is because weapons like the pilum were not mentioned in the books.
The Lances
Any of a number of various spears found on Gor; used when riding a mount, such as a kaiila, tharlarion or tarn. See "Kaiila Lance," "Tharlarion Lance" and "Tarn Lance" for descriptions of each of these culturally unique spears.
A lance in the original sense is a light throwing spear, or javelin. The English verb to launch "fling, hurl, throw" is derived from the term (via Old French lancier), as well as the more rare or poetical to lance. Paradoxically, the term from the 17th century came to refer specifically to spears not thrown, used for thrusting by heavy cavalry, and especially in jousting. A thrusting spear which is used by infantry is usually referred to as a pike. The first use of the lance in this sense was made by the Sarmatian and Parthian cataphractes from ca. the 3rd century BC.
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin lancea; Date: 14th century;
"A steel-tipped spear carried by mounted knights or light cavalry." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006The Lance:
"Spear used by cavalry troops. It usually consisted of a long wooden shaft with a sharp metal point. Its employment can be traced to the ancient Assyrians and Egyptians, and it was widely used by the Greeks and Romans, despite their lack of the stirrup, which did not appear until the 6th century AD. The combination of lance and stirrup gave the armoured knights of the European Middle Ages tremendous shock potential in battle and led to the development of the tournament joust , in which single knights sought to unhorse each other by holding their lances level and charging headlong at each other. The butt end of the shaft was couched in a leather rest attached to the saddle. Medieval battles usually disintegrated into hundreds of such single combats." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
• Kaiila Lance (Wagon Peoples, Red Savages)
A long slender spear, eight to ten feet long, designed to be used from the saddle of a rider on kaiila-back. These lances are carried in the right fist, and are flexible and light. They are used primarily for thrusting. Black in color, they are made from the poles of young tem-wood trees, and so flexible that they may be bent almost double before they break. A loose loop of bosk hide, wound twice about the right fist, helps the user to retain the weapon in mounted combat. It is seldom, if ever, thrown. The hunting lance of the Red Savages is commonly longer, heavier and thicker. The point of this lance is longer and narrower than the war lance, designed to pierce deeply into a kailiauk's heart. The shaft is made from tem-wood. The tip can be metal, carved bone or shaped stone,(depending upon what is available) and made be lashed to the shaft with boiled sinew or rawhide, or even attached with metal trade rivets. 
Leather grips, hand loops, and decorations all made be present also.
"And then I saw the first of the outriders, moving toward me, swiftly yet not seeming to hurry. I saw the slender line of his light lance against the sky, strapped across his back." — Nomads of Gor, page 10.
"As one, the lances were lowered. The lances of the Wagon Peoples are not pouched. They are carried in the right fist, easily, and are flexible and light, used for thrusting, not the battering-ram effect of the heavy lances of Europe's High Middle Ages. Needless to say, they can be almost as swift and delicate in their address as a saber. The lances are black, cut from the poles of young tem trees. They may be bent almost double, like finely tempered steel, before they break. A loose loop of boskhide, wound twice about the right fist, helps to retain the weapon in hand-to-hand combat. It is seldom thrown." — Nomads of Gor, page 15.
"Now I could see down the wide, grassy lane, loping towards us, two kaiila and riders. A lance was fastened between them, fixed to the stirrups of their saddles. The lance cleared the ground, given the height of the kaiila, by about five feet." — Nomads of Gor, page 35.
"In the hour that followed I rejoiced that I had spent much of the last several months, when not riding with Kamchak in the care of his bosk, in the pleasant and, to a warrior, satisfying activity of learning Tuchuk weaponry, both of the hunt and war. Kamchak was a skilled instructor in these matters and, freely, hours at a time, until it grew too dark to see, supervised my practice with such fierce tools as the lance, the quiva and bola." — Nomads of Gor, page 66.
"The warrior of the Wagon Peoples does not use the short sword, probably because such a weapon could not be optimally used from the saddle of the kaiila; the saber, incidentally, which would be somewhat more effective from kaiila-back, is almost unknown on Gor; its role, I gather, is more than fulfilled by the lance, which may be used with a delicacy and address comparable to that of a blade, supplemented by the seven quiva, or saddle knives…" — Nomads of Gor, page 123.
"… I would have liked to use the Tuchuk tem-wood thrusting lance from the saddle of a tarn." — Assassin of Gor, pages 365-366.
• Tarn Lance (Red savages)
Similar to the tharlarion lance, except that it is longer and more slender, easier use from tarnback.
"The tarn alighted, its talons seizing Agleskala. In its strike I think his back was broken. Hci and I stumbled backward, swept to one side by the strokes of the wing, the blows of the air. We could scarcely see for dust. The rider, clad only in a breechclout, his body bright in purple and yellow paint, thrust towards us with the long tarn lance. In the movement of the tarn, again taking flight, the thrust was short. Hci and I, from the dirt, looked upward. A hundred feet in the air the body of Agleskala was released." — Blood Brothers of Gor, page 210.
• Tharlarion Lance
A thick spear, approximately ten to fourteen feet long. It has a lanceolate spear tip that attaches to a thick shaft; at the thickest part the shaft of the lance is about four inches in width and is often fluted to lighten it. Usually carried when on the tharlarion, couched beneath the right arm of the user, the lance itself crossing over and above the neck of the mount, often supported by a lance-rest which is either attached to the saddle or worn strapped to the user's chest. Can also be thrown, though not designed for it.
"In a minute the rider appeared in view — a fine, bearded warrior with a golden helmet and a tharlarion lance." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 115.
"At the entrance of the cave two of his men had set a tharlarion lance, of the sort carried by Kazrak and his men, in a crevice obviously prepared to receive it. I supposed it was to serve for my impalement. There are various ways in which this cruel mode of execution can be accomplished, and, needless to say, some are more merciful than others. I did not expect that I would be granted a swift death." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 154.
"On long lines of tharlarion I could see warriors of Turia approaching in procession the Plains of a Thousand Stakes. The morning sun flashed from their helmets, their long tharlarion lances, the metal embossments on their oval shields, unlike the rounded shields of most Gorean cities." — Nomads of Gor, page 113.
The Spears
The spear is a pole weapon used for hunting and war, consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. 
The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft. The most common design is of a metal spearhead, shaped like a triangle or a leaf.
Spears were arguably one of the most common personal weapons from the late Bronze Age until the advent of firearms. They may be seen as the ancestor of such weapons as the lance, the halberd, the naginata and the pike. One of the earliest weapons fashioned by human beings and their ancestors, it is still used for hunting and fishing, and its influences can still be seen in contemporary military arsenals as the rifle-mounted bayonet. Spears can be used as both melee and ballistic weapons. Spears used primarily for thrusting tend to have heavier and sturdier designs than those intended exclusively for throwing. Two of the most noted throwing spears are the javelin thrown by the ancient Greeks and the pilum used by the Romans.
• Fish Spear
Also: Trident
Another name for the trident. Some do not see it as a true weapon, but more as a tool. Refer to: "Trident."
"A trident," said a man.
"Yes," I said. "The three-pronged fish spear." — Vagabonds of Gor, page 91.
• Gorean Spear
Also: Gorean War Spear
The typical Gorean spear is approximately seven feet in length, with a fitted wooden handle up to two inches thick, capped by a leaf-shaped, tapering head eighteen inches in length. 
The handle itself is usually made from ka-la-na wood, and banded with metal near the juncture of the spear-head socket to prevent the handle from shearing when thrown.
The Spear:
"Though early man probably employed spears of fire-hardened wood, spearheads of knapped stone were used long before the emergence of any distinction between hunting and military weapons. Bronze spearheads closely followed the development of alloys hard enough to keep a cutting edge and represented, with the piercing ax, the earliest significant military application of bronze. Spearheads were also among the earliest militarily significant applications of iron, no doubt because existing patterns could be directly extrapolated from bronze to iron. Though the hafting is quite different, bronze Sumerian spearheads of the 3rd millennium BC differ only marginally in shape from the leaf-shaped spearheads of classical Greece. The spears of antiquity were relatively short, commonly less than the height of the warrior, and typically were wielded with one hand. As defensive armour and other weapons of shock combat (notably the sword) improved, spear shafts were made longer and the use of the spear became more specialized. The Greek hoplite's spear was about nine feet long; the Macedonian sarissa was twice that length in the period of Alexander's conquests and it grew to some 21 feet in Hellenistic times." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006
"One, the Tuchuk, I might have slain with a cast of the heavy Gorean war spear; the others would have had free play with their lances." — Nomads of Gor, pages 16-17.
"… I would have liked to use the Tuchuk tem-wood thrusting lance from the saddle of a tarn. The tarnsman commonly carries, strapped to the saddle, a Gorean spear, a fearsome weapon, but primarily a missile weapon, and one more adopted to infantry." — Assassin of Gor, pages 365-366.
• Harpoon
A javelin-type spear, fitted with a barbed head and used with an attached line for retrieval; generally used for hunting of large fish and whales by the Innuit, often from a kayak along with a throwing board. The foreshaft, head, and point, made of bone, rests in the notch of the throwing board. The harpoon head is attached to a light rawhide line of twisted tabuk sinew which is kept coiled in the bottom of the boat. Because the hole is drilled, the line, when it snapped taut, will turn the head of the harpoon in the wound, thusly anchoring it. A similar weapon appears in the brine pits of Klima.
Etymology: probably from Dutch harpoen, from Old French harpon brooch, from harper to grapple, Date: 1625;
"A barbed spear or javelin used especially in hunting large fish or whales." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006Harpoon:
"A barbed spear used to kill whales, tuna, swordfish, and other large sea creatures, formerly thrown by hand but now, in the case of whales, shot from especially constructed guns. The hand-thrown harpoon has two sets of sharp barbs and is made in two parts, the lily iron, about 5 inches (13 centimetres) long, which contains the barbs, and a shaft about 18 in. long. The gun-projected harpoon explodes when it has struck the whale, expanding the barbs and killing the animal instantly." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006
"I grasped the long harpoon. It was some eight feet in length, some two and a half inches in diameter. Its major shaft was of wood, but it had a foreshaft of bone. In this foreshaft was set the head of the harpoon, of bone, drilled, with a point of sharpened slate. Through the drilled hole in the bone, some four inches below the slate point and some four inches above the base of the head, was passed a rawhide line, which lay coiled in the bottom of the boat. As the hole is drilled the line, when it snaps taut, will turn the head of the harpoon in the wound, anchoring it." — Beasts of Gor, page 258.
• Javelin
A throwing spear. 
Etymology: Middle English chafeveleyn, from Middle French javeline, alteration of javelot, of Celtic origin; akin to Old Irish gabul forked stick; Date: 15th century;
"A light spear thrown as a weapon of war or in hunting." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006"Javelins, or throwing spears, were shorter and lighter than spears designed for shock combat and had smaller heads. The distinction between javelin and spear was slow to develop, but by classical times the heavy spear was clearly distinguished from the javelin, and specialized javelin troops were commonly used for skirmishing. A throwing string was sometimes looped around the shaft and tied to the thrower's finger to impart spin to the javelin on release. This improved the weapon's accuracy and probably increased the range and penetrating power by permitting a harder cast. A significant refinement of the javelin was the Roman pilum. The pilum was relatively short, about five feet long, and had a heavy head of soft iron that made up nearly one-third of the weapon's total length. The weight of this weapon restricted its range but gave it greater impact. Its head of soft iron was intended to bend on impact, preventing an enemy from throwing it back. Like the spear, the javelin was relatively unaffected by the appearance of iron and retained its characteristic form until it was finally abandoned as a serious weapon in the 16th century." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"On the other hand, whereas the round ships do not carry rams and are much slower and less maneuverable than the long ships, they are not inconsequential in a naval battle, for their deck areas and deck castles can accommodate springals, small catapults, and chain-slings onagers, not to mention numerous bowmen, all of which can provide a most discouraging and vicious barrage, consisting normally of javelins, burning pitch, fiery rocks and crossbow quarrels." — Raiders of Gor, page 133.
"Bowmen were setting their weapons; helmets, weapons and shields were being brought up from below decks. Fires were being stoked to heat pitch and stones; bundles of tarred javelins would be shaken out near the springals and light catapults." — Raiders of Gor, page 197.
• Marsh Spear
The weapon of the Rencers; a sort of cross between the common spear and the trident, this spear can have two or three prongs.
"Instantly there was a great cry from all sides, and, breaking through the rushes and sedge, dozens of rence craft, bound with marsh vine, thrust into view, each poled by one man, with another in the prow, a two- or three-pronged marsh spear uplifted. … It was pointless to unsheath my sword, or to take up a weapon. From the safety of the yards of marsh water separating me from my enemies I could have been immediately slain, lost in a thicket of the two- or three-pronged marsh spears." — Raiders of Gor, page 12.
• Trident
The three-pronged spearing fork used by fishermen and sailors of the islands of Gor. 
Can be utilized both as a thrusting weapon and as a throwing weapon. It is also used, in conjunction with a hooked net, in various gladiatorial arenas throughout Gor. It is briefly described as being approximately seven feet in overall length, with prongs of 10" inches or more. Often used with a line attached, for retrieval should it be thrown.
"My name is Clitus," he said. "I am a fisherman. I can guide ships by the stars. I know the net and trident." — Raiders of Gor, page 85.
"He had purchased the net in the morning, with a trident, the traditional weapons of the fisherman of the western shore and the western islands." — Raiders of Gor, page 112.
"Another popular set of weapons, as in the ancient gladitorial games of Rome is net and trident. Usually those most skilled with this set of weapons are from the shore and islands of distant, gleaming Thassa, the sea, where they doubtless originally developed among fishermen." — Assassin of Gor, page 189.
"Consider the wounds," I said. There were three of them, in the back.
"He was struck three times," said a fellow. "No, once," I said.
"There are three wounds," said the man.
"Consider them," I said, "the rectlinear alignment, their spacing."
"A trident," said a man.
"Yes," I said. "The three-pronged fish spear."
"That is not a weapon," said a man. "It may be used as such, obviously," I said. "And in the arena, it is," said a fellow. He referred to one of the armaments well known in the arena, that of the "fisherman," he who fights with net and trident. There are a number of such armaments, usually bearing traces of their origin. — Vagabonds of Gor, page 91.
Staves
A staff is a large, thick stick or stick-shaped object used to help with walking, as a status symbol, or as a weapon. An older plural form of staff is staves. In American English the usual plural form has become staffs, however British and International English regard both as acceptable and "staves" as preferred. Staves, in particular those used for status, are often ornately ornamented, but are sometimes also deliberately bland-looking. Staves are a traditional prop for the elderly and infirm, and this has led to their association with wisdom.
• Great Staff
Another favored weapon of the peasant-folk, about six feet in length, and two inches wide. 
This puts new meaning into "Walk softly and carry a big stick." :)
"The other common peasant weapon is the great staff, some six feet in length, some two inches in width." — Slave Girl of Gor, page 139.
"A good staff," said Thurnus, "must be one with which one can thrust," and, saying this, looking at one young man, he drove the staff, like a spear into the ribs of another, "and slice," added Thurnus, who then smote the first fellow, whose attention was now on his struck fellow, along the side of the face. The first fellow fell in the dirt clutching his ribs. I had little doubt that one or more had been broken; the second fellow lay inert in the dirt, blood at the side of his head. "But," said Thurnus, "a good staff must also be strong." The young men stood, tensed, five of them, and Bran Loort. "Come at me," said Thurnus to another of the men. Enraged the fellow charged. Thurnus was behind him and smote down, shattering the heavy staff across the fellow's back. He lay in the dirt, unable to rise. The staff had been more than two inches in diameter. "That staff, you see," said Thurnus, instructing the younger men, "was flawed. It was weak." He gestured to the fellow lying in the dirt, his face contorted with pain, scratching at the dust. "It did not even break his back," said Thurnus. "Such a staff may not be relied upon in combat." — Slave Girl of Gor, pages 231-232.
Swords
The Sword:
"The advantages of a long, sharp blade had to await advanced smelting and casting technology before they could be realized.By about 1500 BC the cutting ax had evolved into the sickle sword, a bronze sword with a curved, concave blade and a straight, thickened handle. Bronze swords with straight blades more than three feet long have been found in Greek grave sites; however, because this length exceeded the structural capabilities of bronze, these swords were not practical weapons. As a serious military implement, the sword had to await the development of iron forging, and the first true swords date from about 1200 BC. Swords in antiquity and classical times tended to be relatively short, at first because they were made of bronze and later because they were rarely called upon to penetrate iron armour. The blade of the classic Roman stabbing sword, the gladius , was only some two feet long, though in the twilight years of the empire the gladius gave way to the spatha, the long slashing sword of the barbarians." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"In affairs of the sword, there is a place for outguessing the opponent, but there is no place for anxious speculation; it paralyses, puts you on the defensive." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 209-210.
• Gladius
A short, stabbing sword. 
"The blade of the classic Roman stabbing sword, the gladius , was only some two feet long, though in the twilight years of the empire the gladius gave way to the spatha, the long slashing sword of the barbarians." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"It was a long, cutting sword, of the sort called a spatha among the wagons. It is more useful than the gladius from the back of a tharlarion, because of its reach. He also carried among his things the short, stabbing sword similar to the gladius, and doubtless related to it, called by his people, the sacramasax." — Mercenaries of Gor, page 66.
• Gorean Short Sword
The basic weapon of all warriors of Gor. Approximately twenty to twenty-two inches in length from hilt tip to blade tip, the blade is doubled-edged, and leaf shaped, more narrow at the hilt base and then widening to a width of three or four inches and then descending to a curved and pointed tip. The grip is generally either of polished wood or leather covered wood, with an oval cross-guard. The Gorean short sword is hand forged of high carbon steel. The leaf shaped blade is ideal for thrusting. Perfect for close combat, its point giving it excellent armor penetrating properties. It is generally carried, in a sheath slung over the left shoulder by means of a leather harness, but may also be worn at the hip.
"The crowd is fond of seeing various types of weapons used against others, and styles of fighting. Buckler and short sword are perhaps most popular, but there are few weapons on Gor which are not seen over a period of three or four days of the games." — Assassin of Gor, page 189.
• Long Sword
The long sword is commonly used by the warriors of Torvaldsland. Approximately 36 inches in length, the forging of these "long swords" follows the pattern of the swords in the Damascus style. 
In this method, many billets of steel, both hard (high carbon) and soft or flexible (tool) steel are beaten together under heat and folded back upon itself and beaten flat again. This is repeated many times. This folding creates a blade with both a tremendous amount of flexibility and also one that is virtually unbreakable. It also, when treated with a mild acid solution, reveals the pattern formed by the layers of the different steels . This pattern is different from blade to blade and gives the sword it's unique appearance. This blade is used as a slashing weapon; often it is used to batter an opponent's shield to bits. It is carried in a belt-scabbard or strapped across its user's back over his right shoulder. Most long swords are "named" blades; they carry the name of their maker or are named by their owner, names like 'Gramr'('fierce')and 'Fotbitr' ('leg biter') are often used. The warriors of Torvaldsland believe their swords, as with their ships, possesses a 'soul'.
"Blue Tooth was a large man, bearded, with a broad, heavy face. He had blue eyes, and was blond haired. His hair came to his shoulders, There was a knife scar under his left eye. He seemed a shrewd, highly intelligent, competent, avaricious man. I thought him probably an effective jarl. He wore a collar of fur, dyed scarlet, and a long cloak, over the left shoulder, of purple-dyed fur of the sea sleen. He wore beneath his cloak yellow wool, and a great belt of glistening black, with a gold buckle, to which was attached a scabbard of oiled, black leather; in this scabbard was a sword, a sword of Torvaldsland, a long sword, with a jeweled pommel, with double guard." — Marauders of Gor, page 172.
• Panga
A two-foot long, curve-bladed bush knife used in the Ushindi region for the cutting of vines and other jungle growth, as well as a weapon;
a machete.
Etymology: Swahili; Date: 1925;
"Machete." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006
"… two pangas, two-foot-long, heavy, curve-bladed bush knives." — Explorers of Gor, page 287.
"One may also, with pangas, hack away the wet wood of fallen trees, until one can obtain the dry wood beneath. — Explorers of Gor, page 309.
"Through them one can make ones way only tortuously, cuffing with the machete or panga, stroke by stroke." — Explorers of Gor, page 313.
• Saber
A heavy sword with a long, sometimes curving, blade; rarely found on Gor.
Sabre:
"Also spelled Saber, heavy military sword with a long cutting edge and, often, a curved blade, derived from a Hungarian cavalry sword introduced from the Orient in the 18th century;also a light fencing weapon developed in Italy in the 19th century for duelling. The military sabre had been relegated to a ceremonial role by the 20th century, while the fencing sabre had become one of the sport's standard weapons." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"… the saber, incidentally, which would be somewhat more effective from kaiila-back, is almost unknown on Gor; its role, I gather, is more than fulfilled by the lance, which may be used with a delicacy and address comparable to that of a blade, supplemented by the seven quiva, or saddle knives; it might further be pointed out that a saber would barely reach to the saddle of the high tharlarion; the warrior of the Wagon Peoples seldom approaches an enemy more closely than is required to bring him down with the bow, or, if need be, the lance; the quiva itself is regarded, on the whole, as more of a missile weapon than a hand knife. I gather that the Wagon Peoples, if they wanted sabers or regarded them as valuable, would be able to acquire them, in spite of the fact that they have no metalworking of their own; there might be some attempt to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Wagon Peoples, but where there are gold and jewels available merchants, in Ar and elsewhere, would see that they were manufactured and reached the southern plains. Most quivas, incidentally, are wrought in the smithies of Ar. The fact that the saber is not a common weapon of Wagon Peoples is a reflection of the style, nature and conditions of warfare to which they are accustomed, a matter of choice on their part rather than the result of either ignorance or technological limitation. The saber, incidentally, is not only unpopular among the Wagon Peoples but among the warriors of Gor generally; it is regarded as being too long and clumsy a weapon for the close, sharp combat so dear to the heart of the warrior of the cities; further it is not of much use from the saddle of a tarn or tharlarion." — Nomads of Gor, pages 123-124.
• Sacramasax (Alars)
A short, stabbing sword.
"He also carried among his things the short, stabbing sword similar to the gladius, and doubtless related to it, called by his people, the sacramasax. It is much more useful on foot, particularly in close combat". — Mercenaries of Gor, page 66.
• Scimitar (Tahari)
A long curved sword, used either one-handed or with two-hands, depending upon the situation. 
Forged in the Damascus manner, it has a wickedly curved, single-edged blade, honed to razor-sharpness. Even a light stroke of a Tahari scimitar will pass effortlessly through the flesh, leaving a carved mark 1/4" inch deep in the bone beneath. The overall blade length is perhaps thirty or more inches, with an eight inch long "false-edge" across the back of the tip, for backhanded slashes. Used one handed from kaiila back it is incredibly deadly; used two-handed upon the ground it is equally terrifying.
"Bring the scimitar of discipline," said Ulafi. This was brought by a guardsman. Ulafi showed the heavy, curved blade to the girl. She looked at it with horror. — Explorers of Gor, page 69.
• Spatha (Alars)
A long sword of the Alars. The spatha on Earth, known as the longsword of the barbarians, grew to favor over the Roman gladius.
"The blade of the classic Roman stabbing sword, the gladius, was only some two feet long, though in the twilight years of the empire the gladius gave way to the spatha, the long slashing sword of the barbarians." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"I purchased this splendid sword." He unsheathed it and swung it about. He handled it lightly. It nearly decapitated a passing wagoner. It was a long, cutting sword, of the sort called a spatha among the wagons. It is more useful than the gladius from the back of a tharlarion, because of its reach. — Mercenaries of Gor, page 66.
Knives
• Butcher Knife
Those described of the red savages, are small knives ground to a narrow concave shape, used in the butchering of animals. These knives are not sturdy enough for combat, but can be used in taking a scalp.
"Grunt's goods, on the other hand, of course, were distributed over his eleven beasts of burden, the kaiila and the ten other pack animals. My goods, substantially, consisted of blankets, colored cloths, ribbons, mirrors and beads, kettles and pans, popular in the grasslands, hard candies, cake sugar and chemical dyes. Grunt carried similar articles but he, as well, as I had not, carried such items as long nails, rivets, hatchets, metal arrowheads, metal lance points, knife blades and butcher knives. … The butcher knives are usually ground down into a narrow, concave shape. They do not have the sturdiness for combat. They are used, generally, for the swift acquisition of bloody trophies." — Savages of Gor, page 145.
• Daggers
A dagger (from Vulgar Latin daca meaning Dacian knife) is a typically double-edged blade used for stabbing or thrusting.
They often fulfil the role of a secondary defence weapon in close combat. In most cases, a tang extends into the handle along the centreline of the blade. Daggers may be roughly differentiated from knives on the basis that daggers are intended primarily for stabbing whereas knives are usually single-edged and intended mostly for cutting. However, many or perhaps most knives and daggers are usually very capable of either stabbing or cutting.
Daggers evolved out of prehistoric tools, initially made of flint, ivory, or even bone and were used as weapons since the earliest periods of human civilization. The earliest metal daggers appear in the Bronze Age, in the 3rd millennium BC, predating the sword, which essentially developed from oversized daggers. Although the standard dagger would at no time be very effective against axes, spears, or even maces due to its limited reach, it was an important step towards the development of a more useful close-combat weapon, the sword.
Daggers take many forms, depending upon the needs and whims of their users, and such weapons are the most common form of side-arm used on Gor.
Daggers are worn openly in a belt-sheath or concealed beneath one's clothing, often strapped to the wrist beneath the owner's sleeve, tucked into the collar behind the neck, or hidden in a boot. Carried by many free women as a personal means of self-defense, perhaps a false sense of security. A useful throwing knife used by the Caste of Assassins as well. It is never used in hand-to-hand combat, designed primarily to be thrown at the body of an unsuspecting victim.
"His hand drew Talena's dagger from his belt…" — Tarnsman of Gor, page 104.
"Incidentally, Turian warriors, in order to have the opportunity to slay a foe, as well as acquire his woman, customarily choose as the weapon of combat in these encounters, buckler and dagger, ax and buckler, dagger and whip, ax and net, or the two daggers, with the reservation that the quiva, if used, not be thrown." — Nomads of Gor, page 124.
"The older Tarl, taking the knife by the hand guard withdrew it. It was a throwing knife, of a sort used in Ar, much smaller than the southern quiva, and tapered on only one side. It was a knife designed for killing." — Assassin of Gor, page 42.
"In Mip's hand I saw a small dagger, a throwing knife, of a sort manufactured in Ar; it was smaller than the southern quiva; it was tapered on only one side… Mip tossed the knife underhanded to me, and I caught it. My heart had nearly stopped beating. I examined the knife, the balance of it, the hilt, the tapered blade." — Assassin of Gor, pages 174-175.
• Hook Knife
A small hook-shaped knife; often used in sport.
"Then the large man with missing teeth seized Hup's hair and pulled up the head, to expose the throat, holding in his right hand a small, thick, curved blade, the hook knife of Ar, used sheathed in the sport of that name, but the knife was not now sheathed. — Assassin of Gor, page 12.
"He had a broad leather belt, with four buckles. To this belt there hung the sheath of a hook knife, which was buckled in the sheath, the strap passing over the hilt." — Assassin of Gor, pages 84-85.
"There were various matches in the pit of sand that evening. There was a contest of sheathed hook knife, one of whips and another of spiked gauntlets." — Assassin of Gor, page 120.
• Killing Knife
See: "Dagger."
• Quiva
The quiva is another weapon specific to the warriors of the Wagon Peoples. These are balanced throwing knives, coming seven to a set. The kaiila saddles of the Tuchuks have seven sheaths for the carrying of these knives. The foot-long blades are double-edged and tapered, honed to a razor sharpness and mounted in handles of bosk horn or bone. The Tuchuks do no metalworking of their own and most of their blades are forged in the smithies of Ar. It is important to note that each of the Tribes uses quivas with their own standard embossed on the hilt. No Warrior of the Wagon Peoples would consider using any other. A quiva can be thrown with deadly accuracy, but it can also be used as a hand-held weapon for slitting, thrusting and piercing. Also referred to as the Tuchuk "Saddle Knife" and the "Southern Quiva."
"On the saddle there also hung, on one side, a coiled rope of braided boskhide and, on the other, a long, three-weighted bola of the sort used in hunting tumits and men; in the saddle itself on the right side, indicating the rider must be right-handed, were the seven sheaths for the almost legendary quivas, the balanced saddleknives of the prairie." — Nomads of Gor, page 11.
"I was most fond, perhaps, of the balanced saddle knife, the quiva; it is about a foot in length, double edged; it tapers to a daggerlike point. I acquired, I think, skill in its use. At forty feet I could strike a thrown tospit; at one hundred feet I could strike a layered boskhide disk, about four inches in width, fastened to a lance thrust in the turf." — Nomads of Gor, page 67.
"The warrior of the Wagon Peoples does not use the short sword, probably because such a weapon could not be optimally used froth the saddle of the kaiila; the saber, incidentally, which would be somewhat more effective from kaiila-back, is almost unknown on Gor; its role, I gather, is more than fulfilled by the lance, which may be used with a delicacy and address comparable to that of a blade, supplemented by the seven quiva, or saddle knives…" — Nomads of Gor, pages 123-124.
"This Tuchuk horn bow was now strung, the quiver attached to the saddle with the rope sword; I carried the killing knife I had taken from the back of Mip; lastly, thrust in my belt, was the double-edged quiva, the Tuchuk saddle knife." — Assassin of Gor, page 366.
"Bring me," I said, to the crossbowman, standing at the foot of the perch, "from the belongings of Gladius of Cos, kept in the compound of the Steels, the bola of the Tuchuks, the kaiila rope, the southern quiva." — Assassin of Gor, page 364.
• Rence Knife
This knife is not actually a weapon, but rather it is a tool in which to harvest rence with. With its mere two-inch (2") curved blade, it would not make a formidable weapon. Because of the very little threat, this knife is often a tool given to slaves to use.
"One holds the stem of the plant in the left hand and, with the right, with a small, curved, two-inch knife makes a diagonal upward stroke." — Raiders of Gor, page 27.
"The rence knife flashed through a stem and then I cut the tufted, flowered head, it falling in the water, and threw the stem on the rence craft, with the numerous others." — Raiders of Gor, page 30.
"The rence knife, with which I had cut rence, she had left in the packet in her rence craft." — Raiders of Gor, page 33.
• Saddle Knife
See: "Quiva."
• Slave Knife
Used by Slavers, this small knife is used for various purposes, such as slicing off a woman's clothing without fear of harming her flesh.
"Then the warrior threw her to her stomach, swiftly binding her wrists together behind her back, then binding her ankles. With a slave knife he cut the rence tunic from her and threw her, still partly tangled in the net, over his shoulder, and carried her toward one of the dark, high-prowed barges in the shadows at the edge of the island. He would take no chances of the loss of such a prize." — Raiders of Gor, page 54.
• Sleen Knife
There is not much information on this particular knife, but likely named for its purpose in the training of sleen. That the panther girls own such knives is likely through the local trade of slaves for goods at the exchange points.
"They stopped only long enough to lift aside some branches and take up the light spears, and bows and arrows, which they had hidden there. Each girl wore, too, at her waist, a sheathed sleen knife. The tall, blond girl, Verna, beautiful and superb, led the file, her bow and a quiver of arrows now on her back, her spear in hand. " — Captive of Gor, page 122.
Verna removed her sleen knife from her belt. She handed it to me. I stood there, holding the knife. The other girls stood ready, some half crouching. All had removed their knives from their sheaths.
"The place of which of these," said Verna, "will you take?"
"I do not understand," I said.
"One of these," said Verna, "or myself, you will fight to the death." I shook my head, No. "I will fight you, if you wish," said Verna, "without my knife."
"No," I whispered.
"Fight me, Kajira!" hissed the girl who had held my leash. Her knife was ready.
"Me!" cried another.
"Me!" cried yet another.
One of the girls cried out and leaped toward me, the knife flashing in her hand. — Captive of Gor, page 125."Look up at me, Girl," said Thurnus. I looked up at him. "You attempted to escape," he said.
"I had no chance to escape, Master," I said. "A sleen was set upon me."
"It is true," said he, "that you had no chance for escape. But you, ignorant girl, did not know that." I was silent, frightened. "Did you try to escape?" he asked.
I had tried to escape. "Yes, Master," I whispered.
"Sit with your back against the cage, legs drawn up," he said. I did so, my neck roped to one of the bars. He crouched down, near me. He drew out a sleen knife. He felt the back of my legs, with his left hand. "Pretty legs," he said.
"Thank you, Master," I said.
"Do you know what these muscles are?" he asked, touching the twin cords behind my right knee.
"Tendons, Master," I said.
"Do you know what they are for?" he asked.
"They control the movement of my leg," I said. "Without them I could not walk."
I felt the blade touch the left tendon behind my right knee. If Thurnus were to draw the blade toward him, the tendon would be severed. He replaced the sleen knife in its sheath. — Slave Girl of Gor, page 188.
• Snow Knife
Large bone knife of the Red Hunters, used both as a weapon and building tool.
"I did as I was told, and Imnak, with a large, curved, bone, saw-toothed knife, a snow knife, began to cut at a nearby drift of snow." — Beasts of Gor, page 26.
"He continued to cut blocks of snow, though he now made no effort to place them in the walls. One normally places such blocks from the inside. When the domed shelter is completed, as ours was not, the last block is placed on the outside and the builder then goes within, and, with the snow knife, trimming and shaping, slips it into place. A hole is left for the passage of air and smoke. Imnak's walls were rough, and not too well shaped. The snow knife suffices, when there is time, to shape the dwelling. Chinks between blocks are filled with snow, as though it were mortar." — Beasts of Gor, page 26.
• Tarn Knife
A throwing knife; no real information is provided for this knife, though it appears to be standard issue of a tarnsman.
"I saw that he had been given another knife, a tarn knife, of the sort carried by riders." — Assassin of Gor, page 363.
"In Mip's hand I saw a small dagger, a throwing knife, of a sort manufactured in Ar; it was smaller than the southern quiva; it was tapered on only one side." — Assassin of Gor, page 174.
• Throwing Knife
Any of the small knives designed with a particular balance for throwing; almost always one-piece in order to retain this balance. 
Additionally, some throwing knives are double-edged.
The older Tarl, taking the knife by the hand guard withdrew it. It was a throwing knife, of a sort used in Ar, much smaller than the southern quiva, and tapered on only one side. It was a knife designed for killing. Mixed with the blood and fluids of the body there was a smear of white at the end of the steel, the softened residue of a glaze of kanda paste, now melted by body heat, which had coated the tip of the blade. On the hilt of the dagger, curling about it, was the legend "I have sought him. I have found him." It was a killing knife. — Assassin of Gor, page 42.
"In Mip's hand I saw a small dagger, a throwing knife, of a sort manufactured in Ar; it was smaller than the southern quiva; it was tapered on only one side." — Assassin of Gor, page 174.
• Whip Knife
Please refer to the Other Weapons category.
Other Types of Weapons
• Bola
The favored weapon of the Warriors of Wagon People. The bola consists of three long leather straps, each about five (5) feet in length, terminating in a leather sack which contains, a heavy rounded metal weight. It was probably developed for hunting the tumit, a huge, flightless carnivorous bird of the plains, but the Wagon Peoples use it also, and well, as a weapon of war. Thrown low, the long straps, with their approximate ten-foot (10') sweep, strike the victim and the weighted balls, whip about the victim's legs, entangling and tightening the straps. Thrown high it can pin a man's arms to his sides; thrown at the throat it can strangle him; thrown at the head the whipping weights can crush his skull. Once a victim is entangled with the bola, the victim is easily captured or dispatched by the warrior. Also, the warrior can aim to strap arms to sides, or to crush the windpipe, or to wrap the head, using the stones in the last instance to strike the victim's skull, therefore ending his life.
"Slowly, singing in a gutteral chant, a Tuchuk warrior song, he began to swing the bola. It consists of three long straps of leather, each about five feet long, each terminating in a leather sack which contains, sewn inside, a heavy, round, metal weight. It was probably developed for hunting the tumit, a huge, flightless carnivorous bird of the plains, but the Wagon Peoples use it also, and well, as a weapon of war. Thrown low the long straps, with their approximate ten-foot sweep, almost impossible to evade, strike the victim and the weighted balls, as soon as resistance is met, whip about the victim, tangling and tightening the straps. Sometimes legs are broken. It is often difficult to release the straps, so snarled do they become. Thrown high the Gorean bola can lock a man's arms to his sides; thrown to the throat it can strangle him; thrown to the head, a difficult cast, the whipping weights can crush a skull. One entagles the victim with the bola, leaps from one's mount and with the quiva cuts his throat." — Nomads of Gor, pages 24-25.
"In the hour that followed I rejoiced that I had spent much of the last several months, when not riding with Kamchak in the care of his bosk, in the pleasant and, to a warrior, satisfying activity of learning Tuchuk weaponry, both of the hunt and war. Kamchak was a skilled instructor in these matters and, freely, hours at a time, until it grew too dark to see, supervised my practice with such fierce tools as the lance, the quiva and bola." — Nomads of Gor, page 66.
"On the saddle there also hung, on one side, a coiled rope of braided boskhide and, on the other, a long, three-weigthed bola of the sort used in hunting tumits and men…" — Nomads of Gor, pages 10-11.
"Slowly, singing in a gutteral chant, a Tuchuk warrior song, he began to swing the bola. It consists of three long straps of leather, each about five feet long, each terminating in a leather sack which contains, sewn inside, a heavy, round, metal weight. It was probably developed for hunting the tumit, a huge, flightless carnivorous bird of the plains, but the Wagon Peoples use it also, and well, as a weapon of war." — Nomads of Gor, page 24.
"Also called Bolas (Spanish: "balls"; from boleadoras), South American Indian weapon, primarily used for hunting, consisting of stone balls, usually in a group of three, attached to long, slender ropes. In hunting rhea, guanaco, and other animals in open country, the bola is whirled like a sling, then thrown parallel to the ground to entwine the quarry's legs. Bolas were also used by the gauchos of Argentina and Uruguay to catch cattle." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
The Bola on Earth: Its History, Its Roots
The bola is a throwing weapon, primarily a hunting weapon, used by many aboriginal peoples throughout the Americas for many periods throughout history; the gauchos of Argentina can be credited for its popularization in the Western Hemisphere. While the peoples in the south may have made their bolas from a range of local materials, the peoples of the north made theirs from sinew and bones. For hunting purposes, the bola was whirled overhead and thrown at an animal's legs to entangle the legs and prevent the animal from running. However, no longer used for hunting purposes, it is still used at times by the gauchos who herd cattle with them.
The bola consists of weights of various sizes connected together by cord. The weights are made of different materials held in pouches or tied to their cords directly. Generally, there are at least three (3) such weights, but there are many different bola designs, some having as many as six (6) or eight (8) weights. In some designs, the weights are of different sizes, others use weights of equal size, and there are variations in between. The same is true for the cords holding the weights. Sometimes the distance between each weight and the place where the cords come together is equal, other times not.
The bola is thrown by grasping one of the weights in some designs, while in others, the nexus (where the cords come together) is held. The whole assembly is often swung over the head in a horizontal plane and released. As they fly through the air, the weights will separate giving the bola a configuration something like a flattened and open net. On striking a target, usually the legs of an animal, the weights will cause the cords to wrap themselves about it tripping the animal. The bola is not a friendly weapon. It often damages the target by breaking bones and causing other blunt trauma.
• Qilamitautit: The Bola of the North
The Europeans that first visited the arctic areas of North America were very curious about the contents of the Eskimos' "possibles bag." One item that they found, was a loosely knitted series of cords connected at one end to a wooden handle and at the other to individual weights; the number of cords varied from four (4) to eight (8). This item was the Qilamitautit, the bola of the north (ref. Birket-Smith [1], page 69). They decided that the knitting was some kind of art work, however, later they observed that the "knitting" was actually a method of keeping the cords untangled until the bola was needed to be used (ref. Oswalt, page 212).
Bolas were constructed of plaited sinew and had weights of differing sophistication and size (ref. Birket-Smith [2], page 116). Heavier weights were used with longer cords and were normally made of bone. Bola weights have also been found in prehistoric Thule sites (the Thule were the tundra people that were displaced by present day Eskimos.) The hunter of the north had a light compact weapon for gathering birds from the large migratory flocks of ducks and geese. The reported range in all the references is 35 meters.
Two methods of play for this equipment appear to exist. In the first method, a target such as a piece of wood is suspended and the Bola is whirled around and aimed at the target. The second method is an entirely different game call Chuk Chuk on Holman Island (western Arctic). In this method a player holds the tied ends of the hemp in one hand, and the bones in the other hand. Then letting go of one piece of bone, the hand holding the hemp swings that bone in a clockwise direction. When ready, the player lets go of a second piece of bone, sending it in a counter clockwise direction while maintaining the direction of the first piece of bone. Finally, in the three bone version, the third piece is dropped and all three must move in their own arcs without interfering with each other. The winner is the player who can do this. To complicate the game various body positions are taken, such as maintaining the movement above a player's head, or holding the hemp knotted end in the teeth and moving the head up and down (ref. Eger, page 108).
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| The Inuit Bolas and called Kiipooyaq. When extended to it's full length it is 22cm long. The three pieces of slant cut bones each have a hole on one end and are suspended from a piece of braided hemp tied through the hole. The three pieces of hemp are tied together at the other ends into a loop which is used as a kind of handle. | This Inuit Bola is made of two bones approximately 4.8 cm long x 3 cm wide x 1.3 cm thick. A small hole is bored in the narrow ends of each bone, and a piece of braided hemp is tied into each hole. The other two ends of the hemp is knotted together making the length of the object 86.5 cm. |
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| The Bola above was used by the North American Eskimos at the turn of the century. It has a span of 73 inches and a weight of 22.4 ounces. | Closeup of an Eskimo bola. |
• The Bola of South America
(From a Documentary Film on Gauchos on South America)
The • Bolo is a thong, with a length of about 40 inches, with a hard wooden ball or leather sack containing stones on the end. Used as a weapon and hurled at the unfortunate recipient (rather like a large stone on a rope), it can also be swung around the neck of the recipient to strangle. It can also be used as a rhythm maker and held at the end of the thong and swung in an arc until the ball just touches the ground.
The • Bolas is a weapon made of two or three hard wooden balls (or sacks with stones), connected by twisted rawhide or braided leather thongs to a central hub (such as spokes on a wheel). The thongs are usually 32 to 42 inches in length and vary between 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch in thickness. The thicker thongs giving more strength but the thinner thongs give more flexability for wrapping. The main use of the bolas is to ensnare running animals such as horses, deer, cattle etc around the legs to trip them. There are two main ways of throwing the bolas:
- 1. By holding the central hub and circling your arm 360 degrees above your head then releasing in the direction of the quarry (one rotation only, otherwise the balls, or sacks, may tangle and create more noise than is necessary when hunting);
- 2. By holding one of the balls, or sacks, and rotating your arm above your head again, leaving the other one or two balls, or sacks, to fly free. This method is favored by horse riders as there is less likelihood of the bolas tangling while it may be swung above the head many times as they chase the quarry and position the horse for the perfect throw. The perfect throw is if you are hunting for food, bind the front legs, the quarry may fall and break it's neck. The perfect throw for animals that will be domesticated is bind the back legs, this will slow the animal down to enable capture.
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| A South American Aborigine using a bola on horseback in the Pampas. | Closeup of a Peruvian bola made by the Aguaruna Indians. |
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At left: a 19th Century Argentinian bola. The chord is made from the skin of a large cat and the stone pouches are made of rhea skin. The span is 82 inches and it weighs 16.7 ounces. It was made by Pampas Aborigines and is almost exactly like the bola shown in the picture above. |
Sources
- Birkit-Smith, Kaj [1]: Ethnographical Collections from the Northwest Passage, Gyldendalske Boghande, Copenhagen, 1945
- Birkit-Smith, Kaj [2]: The Caribou Eskimos, 1929
- Mathiassen, Therkel: Archaeological Collection from the Western Eskimos, Gyldendalske Boghandel, Copenhagen 1945
- Eger, F.H.: Eskimo Inuit Games, Vancouver: X-Press
- Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006
- Oswalt, Wendal N.: Eskimos & Explorers, Chandler & Sharp, 1979
"Albrecht was rearing on his kaiila, loosening the bola at his saddle." — Nomads of Gor, page 68.
"At the count of ten Conrad began to slowly spin the bola. It would not reach its maximum rate of revolution until he was in full gallop, almost on the quarry." — Nomads of Gor, pages 69-70.
• Capture Loops
Used by Slavers; lassoes made of leather formed with slip knots dropped over a leg, head or arm and pulled tight. This sort of capturing device is very effective as it will hold a person securely until the captor releases the knot.
"Then, as we milled and ran, here and there among us were men of Port Kar, warriors, some with helmet and shield, sword and spear, others with club and knife, others with whips, some with capture loops, some with capture nets, all with binding fiber. Among them ran slaves, carrying torches, that they might see to their work." — Raiders of Gor, page 51.
"She struggled, snared in two leather capture loops, held by warriors, tight about her waist. Another warrior approached her from behind, with a whip, and with four fierce strokes had cut the rence tunic from her body and she knelt on the rence matting that was the surface of the island, crying out in pain, begging to be bound. I saw her thrown forward on her stomach, one warrior binding her wrists behind her back, another crossing and binding her ankles." — Raiders of Gor, page 52.
• Capture Nets
See: "Nets."
"Then two capture nets, circular, strongly woven, weighted, dropped over him." — Raiders of Gor, page 53.
• Dart Thrower (Kurii)
A missile weapon of the Kurii and used by its human agents. This weapon can fire gas propelled darts of various types; similar in principles of the rifle.
"The men on either side of the cage cart carried some sort of projectile weapon. It feed, I conjectured, judging from the breech, a long, conical, gas-impelled dart. The principles of the weapon, I assumed, were similar to those of a rifle, except that the missile would not be a slug of metal but something more in the nature of a tiny quarrel, some six inches in length. The weapons had carved wooden stocks, reminiscent of a time in which rifles were the work of craftsmen. Eccentric designs surmounted these stocks. The actual firing of the weapon was apparently by means of a button in the forepart of the stock. Although this button could be depressed quickly it could not be jerked, as a trigger might be, either on a rifle or crossbow, an action which sometimes, in moving the weapon, ruins or impairs the aim. Each man carried a bag at his left hip. It contained, I supposed, among other accouterments, the missiles, or darts, for the weapon." — Beasts of Gor, page 29.
• Garrote
An instrument of execution, rather than a weapon. The most common form of garrote is that of a thin wire, with two handles (usually of wood) at each end, which, when wrapped about a person's throat, effectively strangles a victim.
Etymology:Spanish garrote club, garrote, probably from Middle French garrot heavy wooden projectile;
"1a) A Spanish method of execution by means of an iron collar affixed to a post and tightened by a screw until the victim is strangled;
1b) the instrument with which the execution is effected — before each turn of the garrotte the Greek was ordered to tell the truth — W.S.Maugham;
2a) strangulation as if with the garrote especially with robbery as the motive;
2b) an implement (as a length of piano wire with wooden handles) used for this purpose." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006
About my throat, closely looped, was a narrow golden chain. It was controlled by two narrow wooden handles, in his hand.
"It was a girl-capture chain," I said. "It is to be distinguished sharply from the standard garrote, which is armed with wire and can cut a throat easily. The standard garrote, of course, is impractical for captures, for the victim, in even a reflexive movement, might cut her own throat. — Savages of Gor, page 180.
• Iron Pan
Large, flat, heavy object normally used to cook food for the warriors on, but occasionally a head-strong free woman may see fit to use it otherwise.
"She seized a heavy iron pan, of the sort used out of doors across stones for cooking. It would not be pleasant to have that utensil beating on my head… She then rushed forward, striking down at me with the heavy, flat pan. I removed it from her. I did this that I not be killed." — Beasts of Gor, pages 213-214.
• Kaiila Rope
Used by the Wagon Peoples.
"Bring me," I said, to the crossbowman, standing at the foot of the perch, "from the belongings of Gladius of Cos, kept in the compound of the Steels, the bola of the Tuchuks, the kaiila rope, the southern quiva." — Assassin of Gor, page 364.
• Mattock
A mattock is an agricultural tool similar to a pickaxe. It is distinguished by the head, which makes it particularly suitable for breaking up moderately hard ground. A mattock has a broad chisel-like blade, which twists so that the side of the blade is pointing upwards. 
This broad bladed end is effectively an adze that could be used as a hoe as well. If the reverse has a pointed end the tool is called a pick mattock and if it instead has an axe-like splitting end it is a cutter mattock. A combination axe and mattock used for fighting forest fires is a pulaski. In some regions of the southern United States, the mattock is called a grub hoe. Mattock heads range from 1.5 to 3.5 kg (3 to 7 pounds) in weight, and are normally mounted on a 90 to 120 cm (3 to 4 foot) shaft. The shaft is often heavier than the head, sometimes possessing twice the mass and density of a baseball bat. During the Middle Ages of Europe, the mattock served as an improvised pole weapon for the poorer classes.
A peasant tool of the hammer class; again, though it is first a tool, it can be utilized as a weapon.
Her man, carrying a mattock, was not far behind. Over his left shoulder hung a bulging sack filled with what must have been the paraphernalia of his hut. He circled me, widely. "Beware," he said, "I carry a Home Stone."
I stood back and made no move to draw my weapon. Though I was of the caste of warriors and he of peasants, and I armed and he carrying naught but a crude tool, I would not dispute his passage. One does not lightly dispute the passage of one who carries his Home Stone. — Nomads of Gor, page 1.
• Rope
Your standard everyday rope used for lassoing and tying slaves and bosk.
"I learned as well the rope and bow." — Nomads of Gor, page 66.
"On the saddle there also hung, on one side, a coiled rope of braided boskhide…" — Nomads of Gor, page 11.
• Silver Tube (Priest-Kings)
A charged, cylindrical weapon operated manually which incorporates the same principles of the mechanism for the flame death. These weapons are encased in plastic quivers until they are ready for use. These weapons had remained thusly encased for many centuries, until the need for use during the Nest Wars.
Sarm moved back another step. He turned to one of the closest Priest-Kings. "Bring me a silver tube," he said. "A silver tube to kill only a Mul?" asked the Priest-King. — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 222.
"After the death of the Mother, Sarm an those who followed him, most of the Priest-Kings for he was the first Born, fled from the chamber to fetch, as it was said, silver tubes. These were charged, cylindrical weapons, manually operated but incorporating principles much like those of the Flame Death Mechanism. Unused, they had lain encased in plastic quivers for a matter of centuries and yet when these quivers were broken open and the weapons seized up by angry Priest-Kings they were as ready for their grim work as they had been when first they were stored away. I think with one such weapon a man might have made himself Ubar of all Gor. Perhaps there were only a hundred Priest-Kinds who rallied to the call of Mist and among them there were no more than a dozen silver tubes." — Priest-Kings of Gor, page 229.
• Throwing Sticks
A curved stick used by rencers when hunting the gant. Not quite a boomerang, for such would be ineffective among the sedge and rushes of the marsh. A light weapon, it is thrown to stun the bird.
"In her hand was a curved throwing stick, used for hunting birds. It is not a boomerang, which would be largely useless among the sedges and rushes, but it would, of course, float, and might be recovered and used indefinitely. Some girls are quite skilled with this light weapon. It stuns the bird, which is then gathered from the water and tied, alive, in the craft." — Raiders of Gor, page 10.
• Varts of Tyros
Trained relatives of the bat-like beasts and used as weapons.
"The important point, however, in the circumstances was that Kamras had proposed the sword as the weapon of his encounter with Kamchak, and poor Kamchak was almost certain to be as unfamiliar with the sword as you or I would be with any of the more unusual weapons of Gor, say, the whip knife of Port Kar or the trained varts of the caves of Tyros." — Nomads of Gor, page 123-124.
• Whip Knife
Not really a knife, it is actually a whip with knife blades set into it's tips. This weapon is usually found only in Port Kar. There are many varieties of this unusual weapon; some have double-edge blades.
"To my surprise I noted, coiled at the side of his saddle, in four loops, was a whip knife, of the sort common in Port Kar, a whip, but set into its final eighteen inches, arranged in sets of four, twenty thin, narrow blades; the tips of whip knives differ; some have a double-edged blade of about seven or eight inches at the tip; others have a stunning lead, which fells the victim and permits him, half-conscious, to be cut to pieces at the attacker's leisure; the whip knife of Menicius, however, held at its tip the double-edged blade, capable of cutting a throat at twelve feet." — Assassin of Gor, pages 363-364.
"The important point, however, in the circumstances was that Kamras had proposed the sword as the weapon of his encounter with Kamchak, and poor Kamchak was almost certain to be as unfamiliar with the sword as you or I would be with any of the more unusual weapons of Gor, say, the whip knife of Port Kar or the trained varts of the caves of Tyros." — Nomads of Gor, pages 123-124.
"Off to my right a table was overturned and two men of the crew of Surbus were rolling about, brawling. Others were calling for Whip Knives to be brought. — Raiders of Gor, page 107.
The two drunken seamen were now cutting away, wildly, at one another, with whip knives. They fought in the square of sand among the tables. The girl, who had danced there, she who had worn the delicate vest and belt of chains and jewels, with shimmering metal droplets attached, with the musicians, had withdrawn to one side. Men were calling odds in betting.
The whip knife is a delicate weapon, and can be used with elegance, with finesse; it is, as far as I know, unique to Port Kar. In the shouts, under the ship's lanterns, I saw the flesh leap from the cheek of one of the seamen. The girl, the dancer, eyes blazing with delight, fists clenched, was screaming encouragement to one of the contestants. But these men were drunk and stumbling, and their brutal striking about, it seemed, was offensive to many at the tables, who disdained so crude an employment of a weapon of such subtlety." — Raiders of Gor, page 109.
Weapons of War
Mechanical Artillery:
"In contrast to individual weaponry, there was little continuity from classical to medieval times in mechanical artillery. The only exception-and it may have been a case of independent reinvention-was the similarity of the Roman onager to the medieval catapult.
Mechanical artillery of classical times was of two types: tension and torsion. In the first, energy to drive the projectile was provided by the tension of a drawn bow; in the other, it was provided by torsional energy stored in bundles of twisted fibres.
The invention of mechanical artillery was ascribed traditionally to the initiative of Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, in Sicily, who in 399 BC directed his engineers to construct military engines in preparation for war with Carthage. Dionysius' engineers surely drew on existing practice. The earliest of the Greek engines was the gastrophetes, or 'belly shooter.' In effect a large crossbow, it received its name because the user braced the stock against his belly to draw the weapon. Though Greek texts did not go into detail on construction of the bow, it was based on a composite bow of wood, horn, and sinew. The potential of such engines was apparent, and the demand for greater power and range quickly exceeded the capabilities of tension. By the middle of the 3rd century BC, the bow had been replaced by rigid wooden arms constrained in a wooden box and drawn against the force of tightly twisted bundles of hair or sinew. The overall concept was similar to the gastrophetes, but the substitution of torsion for tension permitted larger and more powerful engines to be made. Such catapults (from Greek kata, 'to pierce,' and pelte, 'shield;' a 'shield piercer') could throw a javelin as far as 800 yards (700 metres). The same basic principle was applied to large stone-throwing engines. The Jewish historian Josephus referred to Roman catapults used in the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 that could throw a one-talent stone (about 55 pounds, or 25 kilograms) two stades (400 yards) or more.
The terminology of mechanical artillery is confusing. Catapult is the general term for mechanical artillery; however, the term also narrowly applies to a particular type of torsion engine with a single arm rotating in a vertical plane. Torsion engines with two horizontally opposed arms rotating in the horizontal plane, such as that described above, are called ballistae. There is no evidence that catapults in the narrow sense were used by the Greeks; the Romans called their catapults onagers, or wild asses, for the way in which their rears kicked upward under the recoil force. The Romans used large ballistae and onagers effectively in siege operations, and a complement of carroballistae, small, wheel-mounted torsion engines, was a regular part of the legion. The onager and the medieval catapult were identical in concept, but ballistae were not used after the classical era." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
• Ballistae
A heavy missile launcher, designed to hurl spears, boulders and such to penetrate a fortress.
Ballista:
"Ancient heavy missile launcher designed to hurl javelins or heavy balls. A smaller ballista was basically a large crossbow fastened to a mount. The huge and complicated Roman ballista, however, was powered by torsion derived from two thick skeins of twisted cords through which were thrust two separate arms joined at their ends by the cord that propelled the missile. The largest ballistas were quite accurate in hurling 60-pound weights up to about 500 yards. Compare catapult." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"Light engines, mostly catapults and ballistae, would be transported over the ditches by harnessed tarn teams." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 164.
• Battering Rams
Large heavy logs used for bringing down walls of a fortress.
Battering Rams:
"Battering rams were capable of bringing down sections of wall, given sufficient time, manpower, and determination. Large battering rams were mounted on wheels and were covered by a mobile shed for protection from defensive fire." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"Here and there among the tents siege towers were being constructed. Nine towers were in evidence. It was unthinkable that they should top the walls of Ar, but with their battering rams they would attempt to break through at the lower levels." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 164.
• Capture Loops
Used by Slavers; lassoes made of leather formed with slip knots dropped over a leg, head or arm and pulled tight. This sort of capturing device is very effective as it will hold a person securely until the captor releases the knot.
"Then, as we milled and ran, here and there among us were men of Port Kar, warriors, some with helmet and shield, sword and spear, others with club and knife, others with whips, some with capture loops, some with capture nets, all with binding fiber. Among them ran slaves, carrying torches, that they might see to their work." — Raiders of Gor, page 51.
"She struggled, snared in two leather capture loops, held by warriors, tight about her waist. Another warrior approached her from behind, with a whip, and with four fierce strokes had cut the rence tunic from her body and she knelt on the rence matting that was the surface of the island, crying out in pain, begging to be bound. I saw her thrown forward on her stomach, one warrior binding her wrists behind her back, another crossing and binding her ankles." — Raiders of Gor, page 52.
• Capture Nets
See: "Nets."
"Then two capture nets, circular, strongly woven, weighted, dropped over him." — Raiders of Gor, page 53.
• Catapult
The catapult is a mechanism for forcefully propelling stones, spears, or other projectiles.
Catapult:
"Catapult is the general term for mechanical artillery; however, the term also narrowly applies to a particular type of torsion engine with a single arm rotating in a vertical plane.Torsion engines with two horizontally opposed arms rotating in the horizontal plane, such as that described above, are called ballistae. There is no evidence that catapults in the narrow sense were used by the Greeks; the Romans called their catapults onagers, or wild asses, for the way in which their rears kicked upward under the recoil force. The Romans used large ballistae and onagers effectively in siege operations, and a complement of carroballistae, small, wheel-mounted torsion engines, was a regular part of the legion. The onager and the medieval catapult were identical in concept, but ballistae were not used after the classical era. The catapult is a mechanism for forcefully propelling stones, spears, or other projectiles, in use since ancient times. The Romans used the word ballista to designate an engine used to hurl stones and catapulta for one that shot arrows and darts, although the larger catapults mounted a single long arm, which hurled stones and other objects. Nearly all catapults employed in ancient and medieval artillery operated by a sudden release of tension on wooden beams or twisted cords of horsehair, gut, sinew, or other fibres. An exception was the medieval trebuchet, powered by a counterweight. Modern mechanisms using hydraulic pressure, tension, or other force to launch gliders, aircraft, or missiles are also called catapults." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"Light engines, mostly catapults and ballistae, would be transported over the ditches by harnessed tarn teams." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 164.
"Besides her stem and stern castles the Dorna carried two movable turrets amidships, each about twenty feet high. She also carried, on leather-cushioned, swivel mounts, two light catapults, two chain-sling onagers, and eight springals." — Raiders of Gor, page 193.
• Chain-Sling Onager
See: "Onager."
• Flying Bridges
Light bridges used to connect siege towers with fortress walls. See: Siege Towers.
"The siege was in its fifty-second day, and the forces of Pa-Kur had breached the first wall. It was being methodically razed in seven places, to allow for the passage of the siege towers to the second wall. Moreover, hundreds of light flying bridges were being constructed; at the moment of the final assault these would be extended from the first wall to the second, and the men of Pa-Kur would scramble upward towards the looming ramparts of Ar's last defense." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 186.
• Iron Hooks
Large hooks made of iron, these are buried in small ditches for impaling the unsuspecting intruder; used in ancient times on Earth; also known as "spurs."
"Also, half buried in the sands among the stakes and set in wooden blocks would be iron hooks, much like those used in ancient times on Earth and sometimes called spurs." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 163-164.
• Kanda
Lethal poison derived from the brush of the same name; used in sieges to poison wells and foods, thusly rendering a city helpless in starvation and thirst.
"On the twentieth day of the siege there was great rejoicing in the camp of Pa-Kur, because in one place the wires had been cut and a squad of spearmen had reached the main siege reservoir, emptying their barrels of toxic kanda, a lethal poison extracted from one of Gor"s desert shrubs. The city would now have to depend primarily on its private wells and the hope of rain." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 179.
• Nets
Also: "Capture Nets."
Netted rope used in capturing wild animals, slaves, and such in times of hunt, raid and war. The use of the net with the trident is popular amongst the fishermen caste.
"My name is Clitus," he said. "I am a fisherman. I can guide ships by the stars. I know the net and trident." — Raiders of Gor, page 85.
Them before us a woman screamed, stopping, pointing. "They have nets!" she cried. We were being driven toward the nets. …
"Stop!" I cried. "Stop! There are nets! Nets!" But most of those with us, heedless, fleeing the trumpets and beating of spears on shields, ran wildly toward the nets, which suddenly emerged before them, held by slaves. These were not the small capture nets but wall nets, to block a path of escape. Between their interstices, here and there, spears thrust, forcing back those who would tear at them. Then the long, wide net, held by slaves, began to advance. — Raiders of Gor, page 51."Then, as we milled and ran, here and there among us were men of Port Kar, warriors, some with helmet and shield, sword and spear, others with club and knife, others with whips, some with capture loops, some with capture nets, all with binding fiber. Among them ran slaves, carrying torches, that they might see to their work." — Raiders of Gor, page 51.
"Then two capture nets, circular, strongly woven, weighted, dropped over him." — Raiders of Gor, page 53.
"Then I saw, under the light of the torches, fleet as the Tabuk, running, the dark-haired, lithe girl, she who was so marvelously legged in the brief rence tunic. A warrior of Port Kar leapt after her. I saw the swirl of the circular, closely woven, weighted capture net and saw her fall, snared." — Raiders of Gor, page 54.
• Onager
Also: "Chain-Sling Onager."
A catapult; 
onanger translated from Roman means wild ass.
Onager:
"… the Romans called their catapults onagers, or wild asses, for the way in which their rears kicked upward under the recoil force. The Romans used large ballistae and onagers effectively in siege operations, and a complement of carroballistae, small, wheel-mounted torsion engines, was a regular part of the legion. The onager and the medieval catapult were identical in concept, but ballistae were not used after the classical era." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006.
"On the other hand, whereas the round ships do not carry rams and are much slower and less maneuverable than the long ships, they are not inconsequential in a naval battle, for their deck areas and deck castles can accommodate springals, small catapults, and chain-slings onagers, not to mention numerous bowmen, all of which can provide a most discouraging and vicious barrage, consisting normally of javelins, burning pitch, fiery rocks and crossbow quarrels." — Raiders of Gor, page 133.
"Besides her stem and stern castles the Dorna carried two movable turrets amidships, each about twenty feet high. She also carried, on leather-cushioned, swivel mounts, two light catapults, two chain-sling onagers, and eight springals." — Raiders of Gor, page 193.
• Pitch, Burning
Hot, flaming tar which is thrown via catapult.
Etymology: Middle English pich, from Old English pic, from Latin pic-, pix; akin to Greek pissa pitch, Old Church Slavonic picilu; Date: before 12th century;
"A black or dark viscous substance obtained as a residue in the distillation of organic materials and especially tars." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006
"On the other hand, whereas the round ships do not carry rams and are much slower and less maneuverable than the long ships, they are not inconsequential in a naval battle, for their deck areas and deck castles can accommodate springals, small catapults, and chain-slings onagers, not to mention numerous bowmen, all of which can provide a most discouraging and vicious barrage, consisting normally of javelins, burning pitch, fiery rocks and crossbow quarrels." — Raiders of Gor, page 133.
"Bowmen were setting their weapons; helmets, weapons and shields were being brought up from below decks. Fires were being stoked to heat pitch and stones; bundles of tarred javelins would be shaken out near the springals and light catapults." — Raiders of Gor, page 197.
• Sharpened Stakes
Heavy wooden stakes, sharpened to a deadly point, planted in ditches to impale the unsuspecting intruder.
"Between the ditch and the walls of the city, under the cover of darkness, thousands of sharpened stakes had been set, inclined towards the walls. I knew that the worst of such devices would be invisible. Indeed, several of the spaces between the stakes were probably occupied by covered pits, more sharpened stakes being fixed in the bottom." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 163-164.
• Siege Engines
Any of a number of mechanisms used by military units. Light engines would include catapults and ballistae.
"Light engines, mostly catapults and ballistae, would be transported over the ditches by harnessed tarn teams." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 164.
"On the tenth day of the siege small engines, such as covered catapults and ballistae, were flown across the ditches by tarn teams and soon were engaged in artillery duels with the engines mounted on the walls of Ar." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 177-178.
• Siege Poles
Poles which are similar to ladders, used to climb the walls of keeps.
"We heard the striking against the walls of the keep of siege poles, like ladders with a single upright, rungs tied transversely on the single axis." — Raiders of Gor, pages 296-297.
• Siege Tower
Towers built on movable platforms, used by military units to breach the walls of a city.
Siege Towers
"The most basic means of taking a fortress were to storm the gate or go over the wall by simple escalade using ladders, but these methods rarely succeeded except by surprise or treachery. Beginning in the 9th century, European engineers constructed wheeled wooden siege towers, called belfroys. These were fitted with drawbridges, which could be dropped onto the parapet, and with protected firing positions from which the defending parapets could be swept by arrow fire. Constructing one of these towers and moving it forward against an active defense was a considerable feat of engineering and arms. Typically, the moat had to be filled and leveled, all under defensive fire, and attempts to burn or dismount the tower had to be prevented. The wooden towers were vulnerable to fire, so that their faces were generally covered with hides.For breaching fortified positions, military engineers of the classical age designed assault towers that remain a wonder to modern engineers. So large was one siege tower used by Macedonians in an attack on Rhodes that 3,400 men were required to move it up to the city walls. Another 1,000 men were needed to wield a battering ram 180 feet (55 metres) long. The Romans constructed huge siege towers, one of which Caesar mentions as being 150 feet high. The lower stories housed the battering ram, which had either a pointed head for breaching or a ramlike head for battering. Archers in the upper stories shot arrows to drive the defenders from their ramparts. From the top of the tower, a hinged bridge might be lowered to serve a storming party. To guard the attackers against enemy missiles, the Romans used great wicker or wooden shields, called mantelets, which were sometimes mounted on wheels. In some cases the attackers might approach the fortress under the protection of wooden galleries." — Encyclopaedia Britannica ©2003-2006
"Here and there among the tents siege towers were being constructed. Nine towers were in evidence. It was unthinkable that they should top the walls of Ar, but with their battering rams they would attempt to break through at the lower levels. Tarnsmen would make the attack at the summit of the walls. When it came time for Pa-Kur to attack, bridges would be constructed over the ditches. Over these bridges the siege towers would be rolled to the walls of Ar; over them his tharlarion cavalry would march; over them his horde would flow." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 164.
"It began several hours before dawn, as the giant siege towers, covered now with plates of steel to counter the effect of fire arrows and burning tar, were slowly rolled across the ditch bridges. By noon they were within crossbow range of the walls. After dark, in the light of torches, the first tower reached the walls. Within the hour three others had touched the first wall. Around these towers and on top of them warriors swarmed. Above them, tarnsman met tarnsman in battles to the death. Rope ladders from Ar brought defenders two hundred feet down the wall to the level of the towers. Through small postern gates other defenders rushed against the towers on the ground, only to be met by Pa-Kur's clustered support troops. From the height of the walls, some two hundred feet above the towers, missiles would be fired and stones cast. Within the towers, sweating, naked siege slaves, under the frenzied whips of their overseers, hauled on the great chains that swung the mighty steel rams into the wall and back. One of Pa-Kur's towers was undermined, and it tilted crazily and crashed into the dust, amidst the screaming of its doomed occupants. Another was captured and burned. But five more towers rolled slowly towards the walls of Ar. These towers were fortresses in themselves and would be maintained at all costs; hour in and hour out, they would continue their work, gnawing at the walls." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 178.
• Springals
A type of catapult. See: "Catapult." 
Etymology: probably from Middle English, a kind of catapult, from Middle French espringale; Date: 1501. — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2003-2006
"Besides her stem and stern castles the Dorna carried two movable turrets amidships, each about twenty feet high. She also carried, on leather-cushioned, swivel mounts, two light catapults, two chain-sling onagers, and eight springals." — Raiders of Gor, page 193.
"Bowmen were setting their weapons; helmets, weapons and shields were being brought up from below decks. Fires were being stoked to heat pitch and stones; bundles of tarred javelins would be shaken out near the springals and light catapults." — Raiders of Gor, page 197.
• Spurs
See "Iron Hooks."
• Stones, Heated
Heated by fires to be used in conjunction with springals and catapults.
"On the other hand, whereas the round ships do not carry rams and are much slower and less maneuverable than the long ships, they are not inconsequential in a naval battle, for their deck areas and deck castles can accommodate springals, small catapults, and chain-slings onagers, not to mention numerous bowmen, all of which can provide a most discouraging and vicious barrage, consisting normally of javelins, burning pitch, fiery rocks and crossbow quarrels." — Raiders of Gor, page 133.
"Bowmen were setting their weapons; helmets, weapons and shields were being brought up from below decks. Fires were being stoked to heat pitch and stones; bundles of tarred javelins would be shaken out near the springals and light catapults." — Raiders of Gor, page 197.
• Warships
The ram-ships are in their own right, a weapon. However, even round ships can be formidable opponents in times of war, often carrying springals, small catapults, and onangers, as well as armed archers and those trained in the use of javelins. Please refer to the Naval Warfare page for complete information.
"It must be understood that the ship itself it the weapon." — Raiders of Gor, page 192.
"On the other hand, whereas the round ships do not carry rams and are much slower and less maneuverable than the long ships, they are not inconsequential in a naval battle, for their deck areas and deck castles can accommodate springals, small catapults, and chain-slings onagers, not to mention numerous bowmen, all of which can provide a most discouraging and vicious barrage, consisting normally of javelins, burning pitch, fiery rocks and crossbow quarrels." — Raiders of Gor, page 133.
Editor's Note
This page is an on-going project and will be updated as time allows.
Special Note
Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:
- Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
- Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
- Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
- Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)
Disclaimer
These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are strictly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.