landing craft

[bairdlander2]

At the movies today I saw a trailer for an upcoming film called Robin Hood.In the trailer they breifly showed what appeared to be landing craft made out of wood attacking a beach.I realize Robin Hood is not real,but did such technology exist in that time period?Anyone know?

[wworld7]

As long as it was powered by oars or the wind anything is possible. If it was powered by a gas motor than of course no.

I just saw the clip, in case you missed it, those pointing things sticking out from the sides are oars.

Row, row, row your boat...

[DampSquib]

Here is a link to the film clip.....Go to 2.16. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810077954/info

I have no clue the only boats etc i know are cogs,carracks,hulks etc... Sorry BairdLander.

[Southernland]

They don't appear in Total war medieval (1 or 2)  ipso facto they don't exist

[GoodGuy]

There's some discussion here:

http://tenthmedieval.wordpress.com/2010 ... ing-ships/

The comments and replies in that blog are pretty interesting.
It seems like some people in Wales (where the scenes were recorded, if I am not mistaken) have seen the landing craft, shortly before they were prepared for the shooting, and it seems like they were (or at least one was a) leftover(s) from "Saving Private Ryan".
It's debatable whether there were such landing craft or not, but it seems that Niketas Choniates (ca. *1155 - 1215), Byzantine Greek historian, at least reported about "round" landing craft being used during the Fourth Crusade (which was planned as an invasion of Egypt, in order to get to Jerusalem (and conquer it), but which was then carried out at Constantinople instead. Logistically, some sort of landing craft would have made sense, if they wanted to approach the beaches of Egypt in full gear. I can't imagine that they looked like WW2 landing craft though.
The Brits may correct me, but I think Robin Hood (well, as the legend suggests) was in England while Richard was imprisoned AFTER the 3rd crusade.
I don't know anything about at what year Ridley Scott imagines this landing craft scene may have happened, since I only saw the trailer, but in case his take would be that it happened before the 4th Crusade, say the scene depicts some events during the 3rd crusade, as in portraying a "young" Robin Hood before he went back to England, then he's mixing/making up things entirely. As some landing craft had only be used during the 4th crusade (IF at all).

Geoffrey of Villehardouin (1160 - ca. 1212) wrote a chronicle ("On the Conquest of Constanople", in old French), probably reporting about some events, in prose form btw. Another source would be Gunther of Pairis, a German monk, with his work "Historia Constantinopolitana".

Anyway, who's this Phillips (or Philips) guy ppl keep talking about in the comments?

Graham Philips?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Phi ... ppearances

Maybe that's the guy ppl are talking about, as he has quite some books covering the medieval era in his portfolio:

Like "Robin Hood: The Man behind the Myth" (with Martin Keatman), 1995

It seems like ppl keep saying that it was someone called 'Philips" who came up with the landing craft theory, where some say the author went over the top, though, because he misinterpreted Choniates' accounts in a way that he turned the "round" landing vessels into dedicated WW2 types of landing craft.

Another little discussion:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0955308/boa ... #159318906

[goodwoodrw]

Landing craft or not looks like the movie might worth a look. The same team as Gladiator and that was a good one.
Ron

[Phatguy]

I will go check it out but will most likely chortle when that landing craft scene appears

[JudgeDredd]

ORIGINAL: bairdlander
...I realize Robin Hood is not real...

[X(]

[ilovestrategy]

ORIGINAL: Southern_land

They don't appear in Total war medieval (1 or 2)  ipso facto they don't exist

[:D] You have won the internet!

[Phatguy]

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

ORIGINAL: Southern_land

They don't appear in Total war medieval (1 or 2)  ipso facto they don't exist

[:D] You have won the internet!

Al Gore might take issue with that

[wilecki]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

ORIGINAL: bairdlander
...I realize Robin Hood is not real...

[X(]

Yesterday I've learned that Cookie Monster has turned Veggie Monster and now this.. All my childhood heroes are gone and I am loosing identity.. [:(]