English Longbow (Edited from Wikipedia)
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English Longbow (Edited from Wikipedia) SUMMARY The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, is a powerful medieval type of longbow (a tall bow for archery) about 6 feet long used by the English and Welsh for hunting and as a weapon in medieval warfare. English use of longbows was effective against the French during the Hundred Years' War, particularly at the start of the war in the battles of Sluys (1340), Crécy (1346), and Poitiers (1356), and perhaps most famously at the Battle of Agincourt (1415). They were less successful after this, with longbowmen having their lines broken at the Battle of Verneuil (1424), and being completely routed at the Battle of Patay (1429) when they were charged before they had set up their defensive position. No longbows survive from the period when the longbow was dominant (c. 1250–1450 AD), probably because bows became weaker, broke and were replaced, rather than being handed down through generations. More than 130 bows survive from the Renaissance period, however. More than 3,500 arrows and 137 whole longbows were recovered from the Mary Rose , a ship of Henry VIII's navy that sank at Portsmouth in 1545. HISTORY The origins of the English longbow are disputed. While it is hard to assess the significance of military archery in pre-Norman Conquest Anglo-Saxon warfare, it is clear that archery played a prominent role under the Normans, as the story of the Battle of Hastings shows. Their Anglo-Norman descendants also made use of military archery, as exemplified by their victory at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. [In other words, William the Conqueror and his men, when they invaded England from Normandy, used bows-and-arrows against the English. Afterwards, archery became common in England.] During the Anglo-Norman invasions of Wales, Welsh bowmen took a heavy toll of the invaders and Welsh archers would feature in English armies from this point on. However, historians dispute whether this archery used a different kind of bow to the later English Longbow. 1 Traditionally it has been argued that prior to the beginning of the 14th century, the weapon was a self-bow between four and five feet in length, known since the 19th century as the shortbow . This weapon, drawn to the chest rather than the ear, was much weaker. The English longbow as an effective weapon system evolved in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The longbow decided many medieval battles fought by the English and Welsh, the most significant of which were the Battle of Crécy (1346) and the Battle of Agincourt (1415), during the Hundred Years' War [the English against the French]. These victories followed earlier successes, notably at the Battle of Falkirk (1298) and the Battle of Halidon Hill (1333) during the Wars of Scottish Independence. They were less successful after this, with longbowmen having their lines broken at the Battle of Verneuil (1424), and being routed at the Battle of Patay (1429) when they were charged before they had set up their defenses. The longbow was also used against the English by their Welsh neighbors. The Welsh used the longbow mostly in a different manner than the English. In many early period English campaigns, the Welsh used the longbow in ambushes, often at point blank range that allowed their missiles to penetrate armor and generally do a lot of damage. Although longbows were much faster and more accurate than the black-powder weapons which replaced them, longbowmen always took a long time to train because of the years of practice necessary before a war longbow could be used effectively. In an era in which warfare was usually seasonal, and non-noble soldiers spent part of the year working at farms, the year-round training required for the effective use of the longbow was a challenge. 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 longbowmen were sought as mercenaries in other European countries, most notably in the Italian city-states and in Spain. The White Company, comprising men-at-arms and longbowmen and commanded by Sir John Hawkwood, is the best known English Free Company of the 14th century. The powerful Hungarian king, Louis the Great, is an example of someone who used longbowmen in his Italian campaigns. 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 arquebusiers 2 [early rifles] and grenadiers began appearing. Despite this, the English Crown made numerous efforts to continue to promote archery practice by banning other sports and fining people for not possessing bows. Indeed, just before the English Civil War, a pamphlet by William Neade entitled “The Double-Armed Man” advocated that soldiers be trained in both the longbow and pike; albeit this advice was followed only by a few town militias. The Battle of Flodden (1513) was a landmark in the history of archery, as the last battle on English soil to be fought with the longbow as the principal weapon. The last recorded use of bows in an English battle may have been a skirmish at Bridgnorth, in October 1642, during the Civil War, when an impromptu town militia, armed with bows, proved effective against un-armored musketeers. The Battle of Tippermuir (1644), in Scotland, may have been the last battle involving the longbow. Longbowmen remained a feature of the Royalist Army, but were not used by the Roundheads. [The English Civil War (1642-1651) was fought over what form of government England should have: a monarchy with a king, or a republican form of government ruled by Parliament, which is similar to the Congress in the United States. “Roundheads” were those who supported the Republican form of government, and the Royalist army supported the King. They were called “Cavaliers.”] Longbows have been in continuous production and use for sport and for hunting to the present day, but since 1642 they have been a minority interest, and very few have had the high draw weights of the medieval weapons. Other differences include the use of a stiffened non-bending centre section, rather than a continuous bend. Serious military interest in the longbow faded after the seventeenth century but occasionally schemes to resurrect its military use were proposed. Benjamin Franklin was a proponent in the 1770s; and a man named Richard Mason wrote a book proposing the arming of militia with pike and longbow in 1798. There is a record of the use of the longbow in action as late as WWII, when Jack Churchill is credited with a longbow kill in France in 1940. The weapon was certainly considered for use by Commandos during the war but it is not known whether it was used in action. SOCIAL IMPORTANCE The importance of the longbow in English culture can be seen in the legends of Robin Hood, which increasingly depicted him as a master archer, and also in the "Song of the 3 Bow", a poem from by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries]. The Assize of Arms of 1181 was a proclamation of King Henry II of England concerning the obligation of all freemen of England to possess and bear arms in the service of king and realm. They had to swear allegiance to the king, on pain of "vengeance, not merely on their lands or chattels, but on their limbs". The assize stipulated precisely the military equipment that each man should have according to his rank and wealth. The Assize established restrictions on weapon ownership by Jews, terms of inheritance, and prohibition of exports of arms, ships and timber. "Every knight was forced to arm himself with coat of mail, and shield and lance ; every freeholder with lance and hauberk, every burgess and poorer freeman with lance and iron helmet. This universal levy of the armed nation was wholly at the disposal of the king for the purposes of defense." During the reign of Henry III the Assize of Arms of 1252 was passed and required that all "citizens, burgesses, free tenants, villeins and others from 15 to 60 years of age" should be armed. The poorest of them were expected to have a halberd and a knife, and a bow if they owned land worth more than two pounds. This made it easier for the King to raise an army, but also meant that the bow was a weapon commonly used by rebels during the Peasants' Revolt. From the time that the yeoman class of England became proficient with the longbow, the nobility in England had to be careful not to push them into open rebellion. It has been conjectured that yew trees were commonly planted in English churchyards to have readily available longbow wood. ROLLO AND THE VIKINGS Rollo (c. 846 – c. 930) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, a region of France. Charles the Simple, the king of West Francia [the Western portion of the Holy Roman Empire that had split off after the death of Charlemagne], gave them land in exchange for Rollo agreeing to end his fighting. Rollo would also provide the Franks with his protection against further incursion by Norse war bands. In return for formal recognition of the lands he possessed, Rollo agreed to be baptized and assist the king in the defense of the realm. Rollo took the baptismal name Robert. The seal of 4 agreement was to be marriage between Rollo the Viking and Gisla, daughter of Charles of France.