The Medieval Longbow
The longbow was probably first developed by the Welsh and introduced into England about 1250. Shorter bows had been used down the centuries. They appear in use by both Anglians and Normans in the Bayeaux Tapestry.
There are various descriptions of the medieval longbow. There are no surviving longbows prior to the 15th century and more than 130 from the Renaissance period. Descriptions range in length from 1,2 to 2,11 m, and were made from imported yew in preference although ash and other woods were also used. Estimates for the draw of these bows vary considerably. Estimates made on examples from the Mary Rose typically had draw forces of 72 – 82 kgf. A modern longbow's draw is typically 27 kg or less although there are no modern longbow men capable of using 81 kg bows accurately.
As to the bow length, there is no agreement. In continental Europe it was generally seen as any bow longer than 1.2 m The Royal Antiquaries Society of Great Britain says it is 1.5 or 1.83 m in length. Richard Bartelot of the Royal Artillery Institution said that the bow was of yew, 1.83 m long, with a 914 mm arrow. Gaston Phoebus, the count of Foix, and viscount of Béarn, wrote in 1388 that a longbow should be "of yew or boxwood, 1.78 m between the points of attachment for the cord".
The range of the medieval weapon is unknown, with estimates from 165 to 228 m. Modern longbows have a useful range up to 180 m A 75 kg Mary Rose replica longbow was able to shoot a 53.6 g arrow 328.0 m and a 95.9 g a distance of 249.9 m.
It is a fact that the longbow had a long range, and was accurate, but it was not both at the same time. Modern champion archers maintain that you cannot 'guarantee' a hit on an individual target at more than 80 yards with any bow whatsoever. Most of the longer range shooting mentioned in stories was not marksmanship, but rather thousands of archers throwing volleys of arrows at an entire army. As they are aiming at a large mass at a particular distance, they can extend their range substantially. In its day it was considered amazingly accurate, and by the standards of the day it was. Standards for accuracy have changed dramatically in the modern age. By modern standards the bow cannot compare to a rifle, which can be used by a skilled marksman to hit individual targets at 500 or 700 metres. An archer could hit a person at 20 m 'part of the time' and could always hit an army.
An average longbow man could loose up to 12 arrows a minute. "The longbow was the machine gun of the Middle Ages: accurate, deadly, possessed of a long range and rapid rate of fire, the flight of its missiles was likened to a storm." This rate of fire was much higher than that of crossbows or any other projectile weapon of the period, including firearms.
The construction of a longbow consists of seasoning the yew wood for 1 to 2 years then slowly working the wood into shape, with the entire process taking up to 4 years. The bow stave is shaped into a D-section from a half cross section of a tree or branch. The inner side of the bow stave consists of rounded heartwood and the outer of sapwood with a flat back. The heartwood resists compression and the outer sapwood performs better in tension.
Bow strings were made of hemp, flax or silk and attached to the wood with "horn nocks" which fit onto the end of the bow. Today strings may still be made the traditional way, or a modern synthetic material (usually a string twisted of Dacron wire) can be used as well.
History
During the Anglo-Norman invasions of Wales, Welsh bowmen took a heavy toll on the invaders by using this extraordinary weapon of war. The English were quick to realise the impact that the longbow could produce on the battlefield. As soon as the Welsh campaign was successfully over, Welsh conscripts began to be incorporated into the English army. The lessons the English learned in Wales were later used with deadly effect by Welsh mercenaries on the battlefields of France and Scotland. Their skill was exercised under King Edward I of England (1272-1307), who banned all sports but archery on Sundays to make sure English citizens practised with the longbow. As a result, the English during this period as a whole became very effective with the longbow. A variant (bow-staves) was used by 14th century mercenary troops of Sir John Hawkwood.
The longbow decided a number of medieval battles fought by the English, the most significant of which was the Battle of Crécy and later the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War. The longbow corps saw particularly heavy casualties at the Battle of Patay and this loss contributed to England's eventual defeat in that war. Longbow men armies would aim at an area and fire a rain of arrows indiscriminately hitting everyone in the area, a decidedly un-chivalrous, but highly effective, means of combat. Longbows remained in use until around the 16th century, when advances in firearms made gunpowder weapons a significant factor in warfare and such units as harquebusiers and grenadiers began appearing
Although longbows were much faster and more accurate than any black powder weapons, longbow men were always difficult to produce because of the years of practice necessary before a war longbow could be used effectively (examples of longbows from the Mary Rose typically had draws greater than 65 kg. In an era where warfare was usually seasonal and non-noble soldiers spent part of the year working at farms, the longbow required year round training. A standing army was an expensive proposition to a medieval ruler. Mainland European armies seldom trained a significant longbow corps. Due to their specialized training, English longbow men were sought as mercenaries in other European countries, most notably in the Italian city-states and in Spain.
Tactics
Although bowmen were still deadly at close range, they were light skirmishers unsuited to prolonged hand-to-hand combat and were understandably vulnerable to a committed attack by cavalry. Consequently they were often deployed behind physical barricades, such as stakes and poles driven into the ground. A longbow corps was vulnerable to ambush until its defensive barricade was complete. This practice discouraged offensive battle tactics because the longbow was most effective when an opposing army charged.
A common battle formation:
Light Infantry (such as swordsmen) in the centre forward, in rank formation.
Heavy Infantry (often armed with poleaxes or pole weapons with bill hooks being the preferred English weapon) in the centre middle, in rank or square formation.
Traditional Archers and Crossbowmen in the centre back, in rank formation.
Cavalry either on the flanks (to protect against attacks), or deployed in the centre to counter any breakthroughs and such.
Longbowmen were usually on the side, in an enfilade formation with the middle being occupied by melee troops.
Light Infantry (such as swordsmen) in the centre forward, in rank formation.
Heavy Infantry (often armed with poleaxes or pole weapons with bill hooks being the preferred English weapon) in the centre middle, in rank or square formation.
Traditional Archers and Crossbowmen in the centre back, in rank formation.
Cavalry either on the flanks (to protect against attacks), or deployed in the centre to counter any breakthroughs and such.
Longbowmen were usually on the side, in an enfilade formation with the middle being occupied by melee troops.
Surviving bows
More than 3,500 arrows and 137 whole longbows were recovered from the Mary Rose, a ship of Henry VIII's navy that was sunk at Portsmouth in 1545. It is an important source for the history of the longbow, as the bows, archery implements and the skeletons of archers have been preserved. The bows range in length from 1.87 to 2.11 m with an average length of 1.98 m.
The longbows on the Mary Rose were in excellent finished condition. There were enough bows to test some to destruction which resulted in draw forces of 45 kg on average. However, analysis of the wood indicated that they had degraded significantly in the seawater and mud which had weakened their draw forces. Replicas were made and when tested had draw forces of 68 to 90 kg.
In 1980, Robert E. Kaiser wrote an article in the “Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries, prior to the recovery of the Mary Rose, stating that there were five known surviving longbows:
The first bow comes from the Battle of Hedgeley Moor in 1464 during the War of the Roses. A family who lived at the castle since the battle had saved it to modern times. It is 1.66 m and a 27 kg draw force.
The first bow comes from the Battle of Hedgeley Moor in 1464 during the War of the Roses. A family who lived at the castle since the battle had saved it to modern times. It is 1.66 m and a 27 kg draw force.
The second dates to the Battle of Flodden (a landmark in the history of archery, as the last battle on English soil to be fought with the longbow as the principal weapon) in 1513. It hung in the rafters at the headquarters of the Royal Scottish Archers in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a draw force of 36 to 41 kg
The third and fourth were recovered in 1836 by John Deane from the Mary Rose. Both weapons are in the Tower of London Armoury and Horace Ford writing in 1887 estimated them to have a draw force of 28 to 32 kg. A modern replica made in the early 1970s of these bows has a draw force of 46 kg.
The fifth surviving longbow comes from the armoury of the church in the village of Mendlesham in Suffolk, England and is believed to date either from the period of Henry VIII or Queen Elizabeth I. The Mendlesham Bow is broken, has an estimated length of 1.73 to 1.75 m and draw force of 35 kg.