The History of the Longbow

If you have ever seen a film about Robin Hood, and there are not many who haven't, then you have seen the beauty and strength of a Longbow. The Longbow was the one weapon that epitomized medieval warfare. Welsh by design, it became famous when the English adopted it for the troops, especially in the battles of Poitiers and Agincourt.

Elite Longbow units were the mainstay of the English army during the 13^th and 14^th century. Of course, they did not only use this weapon of medieval mass destruction. The Longbow was used by the Celts, Saxons and finally made its way to Ancient Japan where the weapon was created using bamboo and other materials to aid in Samurai warfare.

But it took a great deal of recruiting, training and maintenance. After choosing the best boys from local archery tournaments, they were trained early and hard for their lives depended on how well they could handle this dominant weapon. As trained archers, they were expected to be able to make ten aimed shots per minute although a more experience individual could shoot twenty in that same minute.

What made the Longbow so much more powerful and exacting on its prey than it's predecessor was its power. The commanding Longbow could send an arrow, on average, 200 yards more accurately than any other weapon of that period. It could even penetrate body armor. The majority of armies during the Renaissance period consisted of Longbow men, as in the Battle of Crecy, where these soldiers did the most damage. Generals, knowing that the bow could not carry in long distances, preferred to keep their Longbow men on the sides of the troops and thus sending 'a cloud of arrows' for the most effect.

A heavy weapon for its time, the Longbow was individually designed to be as tall as its master and created from a single piece of wood, usually Yew. The Medieval design had a thickness of 33%-40% of the wood. Although not drastically recurved like the bows used by the Turks and Chinese, it had a definite D-shape at the cross section. Centuries later, archeologists discovered the remains of Longbow archers and found many defects including enlarged left arms, spurs in wrists and forefingers and damage to the face where the string of the bow rested.

This medieval version of a machine gun only wore out its welcome in the 16^th century when gunpowder was introduced. The musket was much less expensive in maintenance, training and manpower. Thus the Longbow was retired in 1595.

However, the popularity of this weapon during medieval times has not left our own culture. This is apparent in literature such as 'Robin Hood', the poem 'Song of the Bow' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and other literary works.

If you are interested in seeing a Longbow in action, archery tournaments and Renaissance festivals still exhibit its skill and power. Even today in Edinburgh, The Royal Company of Archers, who have been the Sovereign's bodyguards since 1822 still carry the Longbow.