The Medieval English
Longbow
by Robert E. Kaiser, M.A.
From the thirteenth until the sixteenth century, the national weapon of the
English army was the longbow. It was this weapon which conquered Wales and
Scotland, gave the English their victories in the Hundred Years War, and
permitted England to replace France as the foremost military power in
Medieval Europe. 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 missilies was liken to a storm.1 Cheap and simple enough for
the yeoman to own and master, it made him superior to a knight on the field
of battle.2 Yet, important as this weapon was, most of our present day
beliefs concerning it are based upon myth.
There are many statistics available on the longbow, but few agree. The term
longbow implies a weapon of greater length than the 4 foot bow used on the
continent. Geoffrey Trease, author of The Condottieri, maintains the
longbow used by the 14th century mercenary troops of Sir John Hawkwood "was
as tall as themselves or a fraction taller".3 This would make the bow
approximately five feet long, since the average height of the medieval
yeoman soldier was five feet to five feet two inches.4 The Royal
Antiquaries Society of Great Britain maintains the weapon was "of five or
six feet" in length.5 Major Richard G. Bartelot, Assistant Historical
Secretary of the Royal Artillery Institution says "the bow was of yew, six
feet long, with a three foot arrow".6
Finally, Gaston Foebus, Count of Foix, wrote in 1388, that a longbow should
be "of yew or boxwood, seventy inches between the points of attachment for
the cord..."7 These quotes demonstrate that the weapon was considerably
longer than its continental counterpart, but still leaves the length in
question.
Another chracteristic of the English weapon was its superior strength. An
early 14th century English inquiry into the murder of Simon de Skeltington
records the instrument of death as an arrow shot from a five foot seven
inch bow. "The wound measured three inches long by two inches wide and six
inches deep".8 This was the powerful weapon used by Edward III and his son,
the Black Prince, in the Hundred Years War.
The two current authorities both agree the weapon was much stronger than
our present day bows. Count M. Mildmay Stayner, Recorder of the British
Long Bow Society, estimates the bows of the Medieval period drew between 90
and 110 pounds, maximum.9 Mr. W.F. Paterson, Chairman of the Society of
Archer-Antiquaries, believes the weapon had a supreme draw weight of only
80 to 90 pounds.10
A bow of the strength described by Stayner and Paterson would project a war
arrow a long distance. But here again, no one is sure how far: Stayner
believes the war arrow had an effective range of 180 yards;11 Paterson
maintains a slightly further distance of 200 yards;12 and Bartelot
estimates a useful range of 249 yards.13 Captain George Burnet, Secretary
to the Royal Scottish Archers, notes that the members of the Queen's Body
Guard for Scotland, who still shoot, use six foot long self yew bows of 55
to 60 pounds draw weight. The range of these modern bows is 180-200 yards
shooting light target shafts.14
The longbow, because of its rapidity of fire, was a medieval machine gun.
It has been calculated that a bowman of the Hundred Years War period, when
military archery was at its zenith, could shoot 10 to 12 arrows a minute.15
The closest weapon in range and strength to the longbow was the crossbow.
But, as the battle of Crecy (1346) showed, even the superior Genoese
composite crossbow - made of wood, horn, sinew and glue - was no match for
the English weapon.16
After firearms were introduced into continental warfare, Sir John Smythe,
soldier of fortune, and Queen Elizabeth's ambassador to the Spanish Court
of Philip II, noted that "archers are able to discharge four or five arrows
apiece before the harquebusies shall be ready to discharge one bullet.17
The reason for present day confusion and controversy over the longbow is
the limited number of surviving artifacts. There are no longbows in
existence from the Early Middle Ages. There are, however, five surviving
Renaisance weapons.
All of these bows are similar. They are nearly six feet long; made of wood;
shaped in order to use both the centre and sap wood; are symmetrically
tapered; and appear to have a very stiff draw weight. What is more, all
five weapons are self bows. This means that they are made from a single
stave of wood. Horace Ford, Champion Archer of England from 1850 to 1859,
and an authority on English archery, maintained:
"The self bow of a single stave is the real old English weapon - the one
with which the mighty deeds that rendered this country renounced in by-gone
times were performed."18
The first of the five surviving bows, by tradition, dates from the Battle
of Flodden (1513). Burnet verifies that the artifact hangs on the wall of
Archers Hall, headquarters of Royal Scottish Archers, in Edinburgh.19
About the turn of the twentieth century, Colonel Fergusson of Huntly Burn
presented it to Mr. Peter Muir of the Royal Scottish Archers. Fergusson
claimed the artifact from the rafters of a house near Flodden Field where
it had been for generations. 20
The Flodden Bow is a self yew weapon, 'probably of English yew",
approximately six feet long, and "rather roughly made". The estimated
strength of the weapon is between 80 and 90 pounds.21 Burnet's decription
can be deceiving. The rough appearance of the weapon does not imply it was
poorly made.
Most yew, even the kind that makes the finest bows, is quite irregular in
appearance.The sapwood of the stave, following the longitudinal line of the
trunk, rises and falls and tilts upwards or down in places. It has 'pins'
(tiny black knots) too, as a rule."22
It is ironic that a weapon should survive from this battle. "Flodden is a
landmark in the history of archery, as the last battle on English soil to
be fought with the longbow as the principle weapon..."23 Modern authors
maintain that the victory of Flodden was due to archery. Indeed Longman and
Walrond in their book, Archery, maintain that a 1515 statute endorsing the
use of, and practice with the bow was a result of the victory.24 These
authorities are probably correct, but not for the reasons they believe. The
sole contemporary account of the battle notes "that a few of thaim (the
Scots) wer slaine with arrows, how be it the billes (spears with hooks on
the head) did beat and hew thaim downe..."25 It is apparent that the law
was passed because of the poor showing of the archers.
The most interesting and least known Renaissance longbow comes from the
armoury of the church in the village of Mendlesham in Suffolk, England.
Records show it was there in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; however,
Paterson believes it may date back to the time of Henry VIII.26
Unfortunately, the Mendlesham Bow is broken. It is a self bow of 53 inches
length. Paterson believes: "Assuming that the mid-point of the bow is about
one inch above the centre of the grip, this would suggest a bow length of
about 68-69 inches - if the remnant is an upper limb - or about 71 inches
if it is the lower limb. I am inclined to suggest the former as the more
likely choice."27
The surviving limb tip is shaped to take a horn nock for the bow string
loop. That would make the total length of the bow a little over six feet
tall. Measurements suggest a draw-weight of 80 pounds at 28 inches.28
The Mendlesham Bow, a typical longbow, is also unique for two reasons.
First, although it is shaped to use the properties of the yew centre and
sap wood; the bow's "cross-section approximated more closely to a rectangle
with the corners rounded, than the reputed traditional 'D'-form" found in
the other four artifacts. Second, the longitudinal taper of the bow limb is
not straight but whip ended. This would better distribute the stress as the
bow is drawn and force it to bend in an elipse instead of an arc.29
Like the two previous artifacts, the Hedgeley Moor Bow is also something of
a mystery. It is reputed to have been used at the Battle of Hedgeley Moor
(1464), during the War of the Roses. The weapon was presented to Alnwick
Castle by John Wilkinson, whose family lived on the Castle estate from the
time of the battle.
"It is 65.5 inches inches in length, 3.5 inches at its greatest girth, with
greatest width of 1.5 inches. The wood is probably yew..."30
There are no nocks, but the ends have been notched to take a string. "At
mid-point where the handle is, there are two deep cuts which look remakably
of the shape of a bodkin head (sic) would make if it were overdrawn." Draw
weight is estimated at 50 pounds.29
The remaining two Renaissance longbows, like the Mendlesham artifact, come
from the reign of Henry VIII. Unlike the Flodden and Hedgeley Moor Bows, we
are sure of the age and use of these artifacts. They were recovered in 1836
by John Deane from H.M.S. Mary Rose.32 The Mary Rose, flag ship of the
British fleet, sank off Portsmouth while engaging an invading French
squadron on Sunday, 19th July, 1545.33
These two bows are on display in the Armouries in the Tower of London.
Inventory records show that they are made of yew wood, "of rounded section,
tapered at tips to take the nocks, now missing".34 The largest of the bows
is 75 inches long.The smaller stave is 72.75 inches long. Both bows are 4.5
inches at "greatest girth" and weigh 1 pound, 10 ounces.35 They are
symmetrical weapons, utilising the same 'D'-shape as the Floddern Bow.
Both weapons are unfinished looking, but as pointed out previously, this is
a characteristic of yew wood. Ford, in his study of the Mary Rose bows,
notes that they are self bows, made from "foreign yew" and had an estimated
draw weight of 65 to 70 pounds.36
The variation in length between the Mary Rose, the Flodden, and the
Mendlesham bows; as opposed to the Hedgeley Moor artifact, lies in the fact
that the individual archer had his personal bow made to measure. The Mary
Rose weapons were arsenal issues meant to suit the tallest men in service.
Shorter men would cut their weapons down to suit their height and arm
length. This point is supported by Roger Ascham's treatise on Archery,
Toxophilus, published in 1545.
During the Middle Ages, the yeoman archer was illiterate, while the
scholars of the day, by virtue of their noble birth, had little knowledge
of archery. Ascham was both a scholar and an ardent archer. As tutor to
Elizabeth I, he had considerable influence on the royal family and was
favoured by Henry VIII for his writing on this subject. Commenting on the
selection and adjustment of a longbow, Ascham writes: "Take your bow in to
the field, shote in hym, synke hym wyth deade heauye shaftes...whe(n) you
haue thus shot in hym, and perceyued good shootynge woode in hym, you must
have hym agayne to a good cunnynge, and trustie woorkeman, whyche shall cut
hym shorter, and pyke him and dresse hym fytter."37
All five weapons are remarkably similar and may be said to be typical
longbows. They are approximately six feet tall, made of the sap and
centrewood of the yew tree, are rough looking, and stiff weapons pulling
between 65 and 90 pounds. Given this draw weight, a maximum effective range
of approximately 200 yards with a heavy war missile is not unreasonable,
especially considering the performance of the present day Scottish Archers.
The making of logbows changed little from the Medieval period until the
turn of the twentieth century. They still were wooden self bows utilising
the centre and sapwood of the stave. The best bows continued to be made of
yew wood; and all bows were made by hand thus, each was unique.
According to Ford, yew was the only wood for a self bow, and the best yew
came from Spain and Italy. The foreign wood is "straigther, finer in grain,
freer from pins, stiffer and denser in quality, and requires less bulk in
proportion to the strength of the bow".38 Stayner adds that the best wood
is grown in the poor soil of the mountains; this produced the desired light
grained wood.39 Ascham described the best yew for bow staves as coloured:
"...lyke virgin wax or golde, having a fine longe grayne, even from the one
ende of the bowe, to the other... the short grayne are for a most part very
brittle."40
Staves were cut only in winter, when the sap was down.41 Stayner notes that
the yew wood trade was tied to the wine trade. To insure an adequate supply
of bows, "at one time, all wine imports (from Southern France) had to have
longbow staves in the cargo as well."42
Why was yew such a superior wood for bow making? The natural properties of
yew are much like a modern thermostat: by skillfully cutting and shaping
the stave in a 'D'-section, a layer of sapwood was left along the flattened
back of the bow.
"When a bow is drawn, the inside face of the arc undergoes compression
while the outer surface is stretched. The heartwood of yew is able to
withstand compression and its sapwood is elastic by nature, and both tend
to return to their original straightness when the bow is loosed."43
Bows were not made all at once. Cut down in winter, they were roughed out
and left to cure for a year or two. After the bow was "seasoned", it was
worked in slow stages into the finished product. Often these steps occurred
at intervals of a year for three or four years.44
Once the bow was made, it would provide long service with minimum
maintanance. Smythe tells us that archers of the Hundred Years War used to
rub a mixture of "wax, resin, and fine tallow" into the bow to protect it
from "all weather of heat, frost, and wet".45 Ascham says that the archers
also had bow cases, not of leather, but of canvas or wool to protect their
bows from the elements.46
Bow strings were of two materials: in the sixteenth century, strings were
made of "good hempe...(but, earlier, strings were made of)...fine Flaxe or
Sylk".47 A waterproof glue was used to preserve the Renaissance bow string
and it was reinforced by a whipping of fine thread.48 The strings were
attached to nocks made of bone or horn.49
The English Medieval war arrow, like the longbow, is a controversial
subject. Known as the clothyard shaft, it was efficient, cheap, capable of
being mass-produced, and "made in greater numbers than any other type of
arrow in history".50 But few sources agree to its length: estimates range
from 27 to 36 inches.51
A close examination of the sources tend to point to approximately 27 inches
as the correct figure. The clothyard was not a standard yard.The term comes
from the reign of Edward III, when he introduced Flemish weavers into
England. The weavers brought their own system of measurement with them.
Known as the "clothyard ", "clothier's yard", "ell", or
"Flemish yard", it
was 27 4/10 inches long.52 The late John E. Morris, the acknowledged
authority on the military organisation and tactics of Edward I, supports
this conclusion by noting that a draw length of 36 inches from a 65 pound
or strong bow is biomechanically impossible.53
The final and most conclusive argument for a war arrow length of a "Flemish
yard" is the sole surviving Medieval war arrow. The artifact, now in the
Library of Westminster Abbey, was found in one of the turrets of the
Chapter House in 1878. The exact age of the arrow is unknown; but, due to
the construction of the war head, it was probably made during the second
half of the Hundred Years War. Dr. Howard M. Nixon, Abbey Librarian, notes
the head belogns to type 16 in the London Museum Catalogue:
"This is a typical medieval war head, with small barbs to prevent the arrow
from being easily withdrawn. It seems likely that the wood is either ash or
birch."54
This type of war head was devised to negate the protection offered by the
combination mail and plate armour, which came into wide use after the
Battle of Poitiers (1356). (Froissart tells us that the archers of the
Black Prince shot (broadhead) "bearded" arrows).55 The Chapter House Arrow
is 30.5 inches long. The diameter of the shaft varies from 1.07 centimeters
at the war head to a maximum of 1.14 centimeters at a distance of 30.5
centimeters from head. The diameter reduces to 0.756 centimeters at the
nock. The total weight is 1.5 ounces.56 This arrow is a 27 inch shaft
(approximately) mounted to a 4 inch or 5 inch socketed war head.
The Medieval arrow, like its present day descendant, consisted of
three
parts: the stele (shaft), the arrow head, and the fletching (feathers).57
Ascham notes that different types of arrows had different lengths of
fletching. A war missile would have large feathers. Target and small game
arrows had smaller.58 But, not just any feathers were acceptable: Medieval
archers preferred the pinion (flight) feathers of the bird's wing.59 The
most commonly used feathers were from the grey goose: "These were tough,
durable, cheap and in plentiful supply".60 There were three feathers to a
shaft, fixed by "binding, adhesion, or a combination of both"61 Consistant
with present day practice, the cock feather was coloured differently from
the other two feathers. Ascham wrote:
"...surelye it standeth with good reaso(n) to have the cocke fether black
or greye, as it were to gyue a man warning to noche right."62 In order to
preserve the stele, it was coated with a moisture repellent copper solution
called virido greco.64
As for the stele of the arrow, Ascham lists fourteen different woods which
were used in his day. They include brazil, birch, oak, and ash. But as far
as he is concerned, ash was the best for war arrows since it was "both
swifter and heuier, is more fit for sheaafe arrows."63
The arrow nock, the place for the bowstring to attach, was also composed of
many types. Depending upon the arrow and corresponding width of the
bowstring, the nock could be small, shallow, wide, deep, or any cobination
of these. Some arrows even had a double nock. In terms of a war arrow, the
best nock was deep and long to insure that the string did not slip during
the draw.65
The last of the three parts of an arrow is the head. Medieval arrow heads
were of three main types: the 'y'-shaped forked hunting head, the leaf
shaped broadhead, and the bodkin head.66 The famed bodkin point, unlike the
broadhead, was reserved strictly for war. It was a four-sided spike
developed to penetrate plate armour.67 Stayner notes that the 6 inch
socketed heads were often waxed to aid penetration.68
[Arrowheads] The origin of the English longbow is lost in the mist of
time. The currently accepted theory was set at the turn of
the twentieth century by Morris in his superb study, The Welsh Wars of
Edward I. Morris maintained the weapon was of Welsh descent and was
introduced into England's military arsenal around the turn of the
fourteenth century.69 Sir Charles Oman, in his classic, A History of the
Art of Warfare in the Middle Ages, took Morris' idea and perpetuated it.70
Morris is undoubtedly correct in his assumption that the longbow was
foreign to both the Saxons and the Normans. The Bayeux tapestry shows only
one Saxon bowman with a short bow. The rest of Harold's forces use the
shield and battle axe. The Norman archers from Louviers and Evreux who,
according to tradition, won William's victory for him, also used the short
wooden bow.71
Morris based his conclusion that Southern Wales was the home of the longbow
from the historical writings of the late twelfth century cleric Silvester
Giraldus Cambrensis.72 Cambrensis, youngest son of William de Barri, was in
his lifetime: Archdeacon of Brecknock, servant of King Henry II and his
son, Richard the Lion-Hearted, and co-adjutor in administration with the
Bishop of Ely of Richard's realm during the Third Crusade. But the one
accomplishment Cambrensis is best remembered for is his chronicle, The
Itinery Triugh Wales.73
In his chronicle, Cambrensis describes the archery of the Southern Welsh.
He notes that a tribe called the Venta were "more accustomed to war, more
famous for valor, and more expert in archery, than those of any other part
of Wales".74 The Venta were a stubborn people, unlike the Normans who
followed the codes of chivalry, their "mode of fighting consists in chasing
the enemy or in retreating.".75 They were guerrilla fighters, and the bow
was perfectly suited for them.
Morris, reading about the Norman-Venta encounters, misinterpreted a key
passage of The Itinery Triugh Wales:
"Especially we get from Gerald (Gerald de Barri or Giraldus Cambrensis) a
valuable picture of the archers of Gwent, with their 'bows made of wild
elm, unpolished, rude and uncouth, not only calculated to shoot an arrow to
a great distance, but also to inflict very severe wounds in a close
fight'."76
The correct translation of this passage according to Foster and Hoare, The
Historical Works of Giraldus Cambrensis, should be: "Yet the bows used by
these people (the Venta) are not made of horn, ivory, or yew, but of wild
elm; unpolished, rude and uncouth, but stout; not calculated to shoot an
arrow to a great distance, but to inflict very severe wounds in a close
fight."77
Therefore, the twelfth century Welsh weapon could not be a longbow. It did
not have the range of a longbow, nor does Cambrensis mention any
extraordinary length. The bow of Cambrensis' England was the short Norman
bow. Surely an astute observer such as the Archdeacon would not have failed
to notice the most obvious difference between a continental and a longbow.
It is now apparent that the longbow was already in England during the time
of Edward I. Edward simply adopted the longbow because it was superior in
range and equally as powerful as the Welsh bow. But as Morris and Oman
pointed out, the catalysis for the use of the longbow was found in Wales.78
There is good evidence to show that the longbow was introduced into England
from the Scandinavian Countries, the question that remains is when. The
best answer is probably sometime during the many Danish invasions before
the 1066 landing of William the Conqueror.79 E.G. Heath, author of The Grey
Goose Wing and A history of Target Archery, notes that several
well-preserved longbows were recovered from Saxon burial galleys found at
Nydam Moor in Denmark in 1863. "These bows have been scientifically dated
between 200 and 400 A.D..."80 Dr. Elizabeth Munksgaard, Assistant Keeper of
the Prehistoric Department, verified that the Migration Period, Nydam Find
artifacts are in the National Museum of Danmark. There are seven Nydam bows
which closely resemble the Flodden, Mary Rose, Hedgeley Moor and Mendlesham
artifacts. The Nydam bows are self wooden bows, of 5 feet 7 inches to 6
feet long, 'D'-shaped, and one of the bows has a nock of horn.These bows
differ from the Renaissance English weapons in only two ways: they have
ornamental carvings and have a binding of thread and pitch.81
Dr. Adali Lieshf, curator of the Viking Ship Room, Museum of National
Antiquities, University of Oslo, recently discovered a Viking longbow. The
bow was found in a cremation grave on the farm Torshov in Gjerdrum,
Akerhus. All the wood has deteriorated, but the iron bands which reinforced
the wooden stave remains. Lieshf described the artifact this way: "There
are, however, some unpublished fragments of iron, by me identified as parts
of a long bow made of wood reinforced with and riveted to iron bands with
pointed ends somewhat longer than the wooden part."82
A final argument supporting the Scandinavian origins of the longbow comes
from Dr. Lynn White, Jr., noted medievalist, who writes that in old Irish
there are two words for bow: one is for a short bow, and its root is
Celtic; the other is for a longbow, and its root is Norse.83 Given this
information, it is apparent that the yew wood longbow is a very old weapon.
It can be traced from pre-Migration People to Danish Vikings to English
Medieval yeoman soldiers.
The Medieval English longbow was a superb weapon. Incrcdibly powerful,
rapid, and deadly, it was a socially levelling force. With it the yeoman
was superior to the knight, and the Kingdom of England was the master of
Western Europe. Yet, important as it was, the longbow was an everyday
object. Because it was so common, few longbows survive.
When myth is separated from reality, and the few remaining artifacts are
examined, what information is available paints a far different picture than
the currently accepted image. The weapon was of Scandinavian, not Welsh
origin. It was known to pre-Migration Celts and Vikings; made of yew wood,
not ash, boxwood or elm; approximately 6 feet long, shot an arrow roughly
27 inches in length, and had an effective range of circa 200 yards.
Acknowledgements:
The author wishes to acknowledge the information and the constructive
criticism given him by two outstanding authorities in their respective
fields: Lt.-Cdr. W.F. Paterson of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries; and
Dr. Lynn White, Jr., of the University of California, Los Angeles. |