The English Long Bow is what's known as a 'self' bow. This is a bow made from a single, natural piece of wood. Yew is the wood of preference, although ash, wych elm and elm can also be used
Construction of the Longbow
Construction is quite a slow process because the wood has to be dried for up to 2 years before the craftsman begins his work.
Initially the bow section is shaped into a D-section. It is cut from the radius of the tree so that the sapwood forms the back 2 thirds while the inner side of the bow known as the belly consists of heart wood.
The bow string is usually made of hemp but more modern bows have had strings made of flax or silk. The string is approximately 1/8 inch (3-4 mm) in diameter and is attached to the bow via horn nocks.
The English Longbow varies in length from 60-70 inches (1.5-1.78 m). Intrinsically it should be long enough to allow the marksman to draw the string back to a point on the body, usually the ear or breast.
The arrows were made from a variety of woods these included aspen, poplar, birch, elder or willow. If an arrow was required for deeper penetration for example to pierce the armour of a knight, then a heavier wood was used such as oak, ash or hornbeam. The fletchings were grey goose, swan or sometimes peacock.
The English Armies Were the Most Feared in Europe
The longbow made the English armies some of the most feared fighting units in Europe during the 14th and 15th century. Unlike the use of the crossbow which could be mastered within a week or so, archers began to train in the use of the longbow from as young as 7 years of age. Local tournaments were held on a regular basis with the best archers taken for military duty.
The average speed at which an archer could fire arrows was 12-15 per minute. The longbow had either range or accuracy, it would be an exceptional archer that could deliver both on a regular basis, but at close range the weapon was deadly. During times of conflict armies of longbow men would fire a volley of arrows in a particular direction which would hail down, hitting anything in their path. The longbow was so efficient as a weapon that it has been describe on many occassions as the machine gun of the middle ages.
The oldest bow found in Britain was found in Ashcott Heath, Somerset. It was discovered in 1961 and has been carbon dated to 2665 BC.
Sources:
- Longbow: a Social and Military History, by Robert Hardy
- British History online
- A Short History of the Longbow :The Archers of Ravenswood online
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