English longbow

The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, was a powerful type of bow about 2.0 m (6 ft 6 in) long used by the English and Welsh during the Middle Ages both for hunting and as a weapon of war. Longbows were most devastatingly put to use during the Hundred Years War against the French.

Origins

In the British Isles the weapon was first recorded as being used by the Welsh in AD 633, when Offrid, the son of Edwin, king of Northumbria, was killed by an arrow shot from a Welsh longbow during a battle between the Welsh and the Mercians — more than five centuries before any record of its military use in England. Despite this, the weapon is often referred to as the "English longbow" rather than the "Welsh longbow".

Related Topics:
British Isles - 633 - Offrid - Edwin - Northumbria - Arrow - Battle - Mercians

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At least two Neolithic longbows have been found in Britain. One, made of yew and wrapped in leather, was found at Meare Heath, Somerset, in 1961. Though broken, it had an original length of 6ft 3ins, It was identified as Neolithic by a combination of peat stratigraphy, pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating ca 2690+-120 BC (Somerset Historic Environment Record), 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 force of about 23 kgf (230 N, 50 lbf) and a range of 50 to 55 metres. The famous Ötzi the Iceman, of the Chalcolithic period (Copper Age), found in the Ötztaler Alps, bore a bow very similar to the Rotten Bottom example, with a bowstring of nettle or flax fibre.

Related Topics:
Somerset - 1961 - 4040 - 3640 BC - Ötzi the Iceman - Chalcolithic - Alps

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Weapons resembling a longbow have been discovered by archaeologists in Scandinavia dating from the Mesolithic period, made of elm wood found in the Holmegaard-bog in Denmark (although during the medieval period Scandinavians were characterized by the effective use of the shortbow). 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.

Related Topics:
Scandinavia - Mesolithic - Elm - Holmegaard - Shortbow - Neolithic - Yew - Heartwood - Spring

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