VERY INTERESTING: LONGBOW

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Facts About the Longbow

Securing Henry V’s famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt, the English longbow was a powerful weapon used throughout the medieval period. The impact of the longbow has been popularised for centuries by popular culture in stories of outlaws and great battles where armies showered arrows down upon one another.

Here are 5 facts you need to know about medieval England’s most notorious weapon.

1. Longbows date back to the Neolithic period

Often thought to have originated from Wales, there is evidence the long ‘D’ shaped weapon was in use during the Neolithic period. One such bow dating to around 2700 BC and made of yew, was found in Somerset in 1961, while there is thought to be another in Scandinavia.

Nonetheless, the Welsh were renowned for their skill with longbows: having subdued Wales, Edward I hired Welsh archers for his campaigns against Scotland.

2. The longbow rose to legendary status under Edward III during the Hundred Years’ War

The longbow first rose to prominence during the Battle of Crecy with Edward’s force of 8,000 men led by the Black Prince, his son. With a firing rate of 3 to 5 volleys per minute the French were no match for the English and Welsh bowmen who could fire 10 or 12 arrows in the same amount of time. The English also prevailed despite reports that rain had adversely affected the bowstrings of the crossbows.

The Battle of Crecy, depicted in this 15th century miniature, saw English and Welsh longbowmen face off with Italian mercenaries using crossbows.

3. Archery practice was allowed on holy days

Recognising the tactical advantage they had with longbowmen, English monarchs encouraged all Englishmen to gain skill with the longbow. The demand for skilled archers meant archery was even allowed on Sundays (traditionally a day of church and prayer for Christians) by Edward III. In 1363, during the Hundred Years’ War, archery practice was ordered on Sundays and holidays.

4. Longbows took years to make

During the medieval period English bowyers would have waited years to dry and gradually bend the wood to make a longbow. Yet longbows were a popular and economic weapon because they could be made from a single piece of wood. In England, this traditionally would have been yew or ash with a string made from hemp.

5. Longbows secured Henry V’s victory at Agincourt

Longbows would reach up to 6 feet tall (often as tall as the man wielding it) and could fire an arrow almost 1,000 feet. Although accuracy was really dependent on quantity, and longbowmen were used like artillery, firing huge numbers of arrows in successive waves.

This tactic was used during the famous Battle of Agincourt in 1415, when 25,000 French forces met Henry V’s 6,000 English troops in the rain and mud. The English, the majority of which were longbowmen, rained arrows down upon the French, who became unnerved and spread in all directions trying to escape and as always have a chilled day from the Viking