Archery

Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. Archery has historically been used in hunting and combat, and has become a precision sport. One term for an archer is a toxopholite which derives from ancient Greek.

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Beginnings

Archaeologists suspect that archery may have begun up to 15,000 years ago, but the earliest concrete evidence is between 8,000 and 9,000 years old. The bow probably originated for use in hunting, and was then adopted as a tool of warfare. Bows eventually replaced the atlatl as the predominant means for launching projectiles. Archery was practised in antiquity on every inhabited continent except Australia, demonstrating that it is both basic and versatile.

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Classical archery

Classical civilizations, notably the Greeks, Parthians, and Chinese, fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Arrows proved exceptionally destructive against massed formations, and the use of archers often proved decisive. Archers sometimes rode on horseback, combining range with speed. Apollo, Odysseus, and other mythological characters are often depicted with a bow.

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The phrase "A parting shot" comes from 'The Parthian shot' as a rider turned in the saddle to shoot as he rode away from the enemy.

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Medieval archery

In medieval Europe, the value of archery on the battlefield steadily increased. The Mongols were extremely adept at archery on horseback, and used it to dominate the Asian steppes, and eastern Europe. Horse archers would shoot while approaching their target, then turn around in the saddle and shoot again after they passed.

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By the Hundred Years' War, the English had become the world's best archers on foot, using a English longbow. Archers were drawn from the peasantry, and trained rigorously from childhood. Every boy was given a bow of his own height and was required to train with it. Tournaments were sponsored to encourage proficiency.

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In combat, they would often shoot two arrows, one on a high trajectory, and one on a low trajectory. These two arrows would hit the enemy simultaneously from two different angles, making defense difficult. The advent of the bodkin point allowed arrows to pierce most armour.

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The crossbow, while dating from classical times, became quite popular during the Middle Ages. While it took decades to train a longbow man, someone could become proficient with a crossbow with little training. The crossbow had about the same power and range as a longbow. Its major drawback was that it took a long time to reload. The armour piercing power of the crossbow caused fear amongst the well armoured nobility, and it was banned by the Second Council of the Lateran (at least between christians), although to little avail.

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The advent of firearms rendered bows obsolete in warfare. Although bows had a longer range and could shoot much more frequently than the earliest guns, guns could penetrate most armour and required minimal training. Later development gradually gave firearms advantages over bows in range, accuracy and eventually in reload time.

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The term "Second String" derives from the fact that medieval archers would carry a second string in the event that their "first string" snapped.

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Equipment

As a minimum most archers wore a padded jacket and a helmet for protection, others having mail coats or pieces of armour scavenged from the battlefield. They also wore wrist protection: bracers to protect them from the passing bowstring as they released an arrow. A leather tab or gauntlet was often worn on the right hand so the archer's fingers would not be cut by the bowstring.

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An archer would of course have his longbow, preferably some arrows of his own and a few spare strings. When battle was joined sheaves of arrows would be passed to the archers, from huge wagons that followed English armies.

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Bowstrings were linen, hemp, or gut, and had a distressing tendency to shrink when wet, so they were usually coated with beeswax.

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For close quarters combat - which was avoided at all costs - the archers carried personal weapons; the most popular weapon being rondel dagger, a long thin knife that could be pushed through a knight?s visor when looting on the battlefield. Others carried swords (and bucklers), falchions (a heavy cutting sword instead of piercing) or even axes.

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Bow: Bow may mean:...

Arrows: :This article is about a Formula One team. For other meanings of 'Arrow' and 'Arrows', see Arrow (disambiguation)...

Hunting: :This article is about the hunting of prey by human society. For other uses of the word "hunting", see Hunting (disambiguation). "Hunter" and "huntress" redirect here; for other uses of these words, see Hunter (disambiguation) and Huntress (disambiguation)....

Archery related Images and Photos (experimental)

Archery Japanese Wood-Cut Print	Archery Competition Bumthang Bhutan	2012 Olympics Archery Pictogram Pin	Archery Contest Naadam Festival Oulaan Bator (Ulaan Baatar) Mongolia Central Asia
Ladies at an Archery Meeting	Olympics London 2012 Archery Coin	An Archery Match for Which the Competitors Dress Like Robin Hood and His Merry Men