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The longbow (or patriotically English longbow, or Welsh longbow, see below) was a type of bow used in the Middle Ages both for hunting and as a weapon of war. It reached its zenith of perfection as a weapon in the hands of English and Welsh archers.1 Origins
The longbow was common in Scandinavia; several preserved longbows have been found there. Longbows made of elm wood found in the Holmegard -bog in Denmark have been dated to the Mesolithic. From the Neolithic onwards, yew was the preferred material. It was ideal as the inner heartwood would compress, while the outer sapwood would stretch, making a powerful natural spring.
At least two Neolithic longbows have been found in Britain. One was found in Somerset. It was identified as Neolithic by radiocarbon dating in the 1950s, much to the consternation of some archaeologists at the time. A second was found in southern Scotland at Rotten Bottom. It was made of yew and dates to between 4040 and 3640 BC . A reconstructed bow had a draw-weight of about 23 kg (50 lb) and a range of 50 to 55 metres. The famous Ötzi the Iceman, of the Early Bronze Age, found in the Ötztaler Alps, bore a bow very similar to the Rotten Bottom example, with a bowstring of nettle or flax fibre.
In the British IslesThe British Isles is a traditional term used to identify the group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe consisting of Great Britain, Ireland and the many smaller adjacent islands. These islands form an archipelago of more than 6,000 islands off th the weapon was first recorded as being used by the Welsh in AD 633Events Oswald of Bernicia becomes Bretwalda. Osric becomes king of Deira. In the Battle of Hatfield Chase, Penda of Mercia and Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd defeat and kill Edwin of Northumbria. Li Chung Feng builds a celestial globe. Fourth Council of T, when Offrid , the son of EdwinEdwin (alternately Eadwine or duini c. 584 October 12, 632/ 633) was the King of Northumbria from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, he was regarded as a saint an, king of NorthumbriaNorthumbria was one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England, named because it was to the north of the River Humber. It was one of the Heptarchy. The name survives as an alternative description for North East England, which formed the heartland of the Kingd, was killed by an arrowThis is an article about the projectile; see Arrow (disambiguation) for other meanings. An arrow is a pointed projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates history and is common to most cultures. An arrow consists of a long and thin shaft made formerly shot from a Welsh longbow during a battleThe Battle of Hatfield Chase was fought in Anglo-Saxon England between the Northumbrians under Edwin and the allied Welsh of Gwynedd under Cadwallon ap Cadfan and Mercians under Penda. It took place on October 12 1, 632 (or 633) and was a decisive victory between the Welsh and the Mercians — more than five centuries before any record of its military use in England. Despite this, the weapon is more commonly known as the "English longbow" than the "Welsh longbow". As legend has it, England's history was forever altered at the Battle of HastingsThe Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Prelude On September 28, 1066, William of Normandy, bent on asserting by arms his claim to the English crown, landed unopposed at Pevensey. On hearing the ne in 1066, when a stray arrow shot from a Norman longbow killed King Harold of England.
2 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 on their enemies on the battlefields of France and Scotland.
The longbow decided a number of medieval battles fought by the English, the most significant of which was the Battle of Crecy and later the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War. A variant (bow-staves) was used by 14th century mercenary troops of Sir John Hawkwood. Longbows were used until around the 16th century, when gunpowder began to be used, and such units as arquebusiers and grenadiers began appearing.
Although longbows were much faster and more accurate than any blackpowder weapons, longbowmen were always difficult to produce because of the years of practice necessary before a war longbow (examples from the Mary Rose typically had draws of 72–82 kg (160–180 lb)) could be used effectively. To train the average commoner to use a handgun required a mere fifteen minutes, and the most difficult thing to master was keeping one's eyes open when the powder ignited. In addition to this, the longbow was a powerful weapon to put in the hands of the commoners — many nations (e.g the French) simply did not trust their people enough to instruct them in how to use a weapon that could be turned against the nobility.
