What Is Longbow Archery?

From the stone age there is evidence of flat bows and "D" section longbows in UK and on the continent

. In the 12th century, the longbow was developed by the Welsh and used against the English. By the time of 100-year war with France, the longbow archers outnumbered the men at arms in almost every major conflict. In some battles longbow man formed as much as 90% of the fighting force. The later part of the 16th century saw the decline of the longbow as a military weapon. Skills to shoot the longbow to weapon standard needed regular and intensive practice, which was compulsory in England in the middle ages. Arrows used in longbow shooting have to be made out of wood and have natural feathers.

Originally the longbow was made entirely of yew, mainly from Spain and Italy. Because of the wetter climate English yew was coarser grained and therefore generally less suitable. To obtain yew for longbows staves, duties for wine were set as a given ratio of number of staves of yew for each barrel of wine imported. Nowadays it is difficult to find yew of the same close grained quality that was available in Europe during the middle ages. The best source of yew is now from Oregon in the United States.

The physical evidence of the longbow and arrows original characteristics can be seen in Portsmouth in the items recovered from the Mary rose. More than 3,500 arrows and 137 longbows were found. The bows were made of a single baulk of yew. This was cleft into triangular billets (using the sapwood layer to preserve the natural laminate of the wood). The heartwood performs better under compression and the sapwood under tension. The bows were shaped in a D-section with a flat back of sapwood and a rounded belly of heartwood.

What Is Longbow Archery?

By: Norma J. Frost

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