The Trident - Mere Fantasy or Practical Weapon?

The trident is an iconic weapon seen in the hands of gods, superheroes, and other characters in roleplaying games and other fantasy fiction. Was it just a tool and symbol in history or was it used in combat as well? Let's take a look a the design with its practical pros & cons, as well as examples of two and three pronged spears / polearms from various time periods and parts of the world. Of course there is nothing wrong with less restrained fantasy, but those of you who like to incorporate some level of realism into your writing may find this useful. Thanks to Ace the Super Villain for making the 3D animations for visual reference in this video. Check out his bundle of weapon models: https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/mi... If you're looking for reproductions of medieval & renaissance polearms (affiliate link): https://www.kultofathena.com/product-... ** Sources ** Luristani bronze trident https://timevaultgallery.com/large-an... Viking harpoon / fishgig https://www.touchofmodern.com/sales/r... Sasumata & Sodegarami (Japanese mancatcher designs) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi... Chinese Tang Pa & Tiger Fork https://kknews.cc/news/avj5v2n.html https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/... African tridents http://ancientpoint.com/inf/155480-tr... http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/photos... Vietnamese trident http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.p... Brandistocks https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921... https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collect... Artwork: https://www.deviantart.com/ladyheinst... https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Ne... https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wi... ** Music ** "Cavern of Wonders" by Hitctrl https://opengameart.org/content/rpg-t... Royalty-free music by Alexander Nakarada (creative commons license)    • Epic Music No Copyright - CELTIC FANTASY M...   Outtakes: "Little People At Work" by Horrorpen https://opengameart.org/content/littl... Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC BY 3.0) Outro: "Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records https://theslantedroom.github.io/stev... Used with artist's permission ** Support the channel ** Help fund future videos, get bonus content and other rewards:   / skallagrim   https://www.subscribestar.com/skallagrim    / @skallagrim   Books about history and/or martial arts, swords, knives, video/audio equipment, and other stuff I recommend (as an Amazon Affiliate I earn commission through these links): US - https://www.amazon.com/shop/skallagri... Canada - https://amzn.to/2HeOCMA Other ways to support the channel by shopping through affiliate links: Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc: https://www.kultofathena.com/?koa=259 Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords: http://www.woodenswords.com/?Click=1799 ** Social media & merch ** How to contact me (can't always reply, since I get too many messages):    / skallagrimnilsson   See a list of my video uploads:   / _skallagrim_     / skallagrimyt   Channel-related shirts and other merch: http://skallagrim.spreadshirt.com/ https://teespring.com/stores/skallagrim