Medieval English Longbow

The medieval longbow, or English Longbow, as it is traditionally known in military history was the battlefield weapon of choice for the English army nearly 700 years ago. The characteristics that allowed the longbow to stand out from other bows was the power, precision and the rate of fire that could be achieved by a skilled archer. The medieval longbow was a Welsh invention and incorporated into the English armies by Edward I and brought about a devastating element of artillery fire that had not been seen on the battlefield for some time.

Archers made up a vast portion of many armies for hundreds of years, going back into the times of ancient warfare. Egypt, the Greeks, Carthaginians and Persians all fielded some form of this artillery-firing soldier. Egyptian archers were well respected for their close fighting skills as well as their accuracy. Not confined to the long range abilities of his bow and arrow, the archer could switch to a sword or dagger for close-in fighting when the battle went south. Most, if not all archers, were armed with a sword or dagger for close range combat (English Longbowmen were issued 3-foot long longswords). This assured that the archer could still be part of the battlefield should ranges begin to decrease - though most were often held behind battle lines or fielded with a personal group of bodyguards. For additional self-defense, archers could be set up behind a wall of forward-facing stakes (similar to the pike but not movable in the heat of battle once entrenched) that could protect the soldier from oncoming cavalry charges.

Longbows were traditionally made out of yew, which was a wood grown in England at the time of the Medieval Ages. The string of the longbow would be manufactured out of linen or hemp. The grass was then processed into the fiber, creating a string-type material that could later be woven into the bow. English Longbows measured about 6 feet tall when standing and required a tremendous amount of upper body strength to fire the system with any accuracy. Archers were expected to train for up to ten full years in order to develop the strength and accuracy needed in maintaining an acceptable rate of fire often required in the thick of battle. With this amount of investment, it is no doubt that English archers were the prize of Edward III's armies for some time and, as a result, became the highest paid soldiers in his army.

Arrows used by medieval longbow archers varied on the type of enemy they faced. Archers would rely on an armor-piercing arrow tip to help break through knight armor, or chainmail. Other types included a standard tip that could be used against horses - bring down the ride and you in effect bring down the charging rider, creating evermore havoc to the charging horses behind him. This particular arrow tip was called the swallowtail. Other arrows available to the archer could include a flammable tip that acted more as a psychological tool of warfare than a direct attack one. Effective ranges for Longbowmen are reported to be between 50 yards and 250 yards. Armor of the Longbowman consisted of nothing more than a leather cap reinforced with iron and a sleeping/rain cloak to keep their bowstrings dry. Some were even provided with a fast pony for quick entries and departures from the field of battle.

The longbow maintained many advantages on the battlefield for many years until eventually superceded by the crossbow - which offered up less of a range but more force behind its bolt shots. As mentioned above, rate of fire was the true advantage to the expert archer as much as the range of the system. A trained army archer could shoot upwards of ten to twelve arrows in one minute, making him the world's first "machine gun" in some ways. With the advent of powder rifles in the 16th Century, the day of the archer - and knight for that matter - would see its closing days.