Why did medieval archers use flaming arrows?
For the same reason a person would toss a burning torch into a building: To set it on fire. When a town or city is under siege, the beseigers want to create as much havoc and destruction as possible, and setting things on fire inside the town/city is one of the best ways to do that — and the best way to set things on fire inside a town/city, without actually being inside the town/city, is to send a few volleys of flaming arrows over the walls into the roofs of the buildings. As late as WW II, flaming arrows were used to set things on fire from a moderate distance. Flaming arrows were also sometimes used as signaling devices at night (but there isn’t much real evidence of that). Hope this helps.
