Editing English longbow (section)

== Description ==

=== Length ===

A longbow must be long enough to allow its user to [[bow draw|draw]] the string to a point on the face or body, and the length therefore varies with the user. In continental Europe it was generally seen as any bow longer than {{convert|1.2|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}. The [[Society of Antiquaries of London]] says it is of {{convert|5|to|6|ft|m|abbr=off}} in length.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaiser|1980}} footnote 5, citing "The Berkhamsted Bow", Antiquaries Journal 11 (London), p. 423</ref> Richard Bartelot, of the [[Royal Artillery Institution]], said that the bow was of yew, {{convert|6|ft|m}} long, with a {{convert|3|ft|mm|adj=on}} arrow.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaiser|1980}} footnote 6, citing Major Richard G. Bartelot, Assistant Historical Secretary, Royal Artillery Institution, Old Military Academy, Woolwich, England. Letter, 16 February 1976</ref> [[Gaston III, Count of Foix]], wrote in 1388 that a longbow should be "of yew or [[boxwood]], seventy inches ({{convert|70|in|m|disp=output only}}) between the points of attachment for the cord".{{sfn|Longman|Walrond|1967|p=132}} Historian [[Jim Bradbury]] said they were an average of about {{convert|5|ft|8|in|m}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Bradbury|1985|loc=|p=75}} </ref> All but the last estimate were made before the excavation of the ''Mary Rose'', where bows were found ranging in length from {{convert|1.87|to|2.11|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}} with an average length of {{convert|1.98|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Staff|2007|p=6}}

=== Draw weights ===
Estimates for the draw of these bows varies considerably. Before the recovery of the ''Mary Rose'', Count M. Mildmay Stayner, Recorder of the British Long Bow Society, estimated the bows of the medieval period drew {{convert|90|–|110|lb-f|N|lk=on|abbr=off}}, maximum, and W. F. Paterson, Chairman of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries, believed the weapon had a supreme draw weight of only {{convert|80|–|90|lb-f|N|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Kaiser|1980}} Other sources suggest significantly higher draw weights. The original draw forces of examples from the ''Mary Rose'' are estimated by [[Robert Hardy]] at {{convert|150|–|160|lb-f|N|abbr=on}} at a {{convert|30|in|cm|1|adj=on}} draw length; the full range of draw weights was between {{convert|100|–|185|lb-f|N|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Strickland-17>{{harvnb|Strickland|Hardy|2005|p=17}}</ref> The {{convert|30|in|cm|1|adj=on}} draw length was used because that is the length allowed by the arrows commonly found on the ''Mary Rose''.

A modern longbow's draw is typically {{convert|60|lb-f|N|abbr=on}} or less, and by modern convention measured at {{convert|28|in|cm|1|}}. Historically, hunting bows usually had draw weights of {{convert|50|–|60|lb-f|N|abbr=on}}, which is enough for all but the very largest game and which most reasonably fit adults can manage with practice. Today, there are few modern longbow archers capable of using {{convert|180|–|185|lb-f|N|abbr=on}} bows accurately.{{sfn|Strickland|Hardy|2005|pp=13, 18}}<ref>A review of ''The Great Warbow'' "The power of a bow is measured in its draw-weight, and these days few men can pull a bow above 80lb... and skeletons retrieved from the wreck show spinal distortions, indicating just what it took to be a proper archer" {{harv|Cohu|2005}}.</ref><ref>In the English language there is the expression that someone "was not pulling their weight". This is thought to infer that someone was using a longbow that had a draw weight that was less than that person's body weight.</ref>

A record of how boys and men trained to use the bows with high draw weights survives from the reign of Henry VII.

{{Blockquote|[My yeoman father] taught me how to draw, how to lay my body in my bow ... not to draw with strength of arms as divers other nations do ... I had my bows bought me according to my age and strength, as I increased in them, so my bows were made bigger and bigger. For men shall never shoot well unless they be brought up to it.|Hugh Latimer.{{sfn|Trevelyan|2008|loc=pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dhzdClLxMr8C&pg=PA18 18], [https://books.google.com/books?id=dhzdClLxMr8C&pg=PA88 88]}} }}

What Latimer meant when he describes laying his body into the bow was described thus:

{{quote|the Englishman did not keep his left hand steady, and draw his bow with his right; but keeping his right at rest upon the nerve, he pressed the whole weight of his body into the horns of his bow. Hence probably arose the phrase "bending the bow", and the French of "drawing" one.|W. Gilpin.<ref>{{harvnb|Trevelyan|2008|p=18}} quoting W. Gilpin (1791) ''Forest Scenery''</ref>}}

=== Construction and materials ===

==== Bowstave ====

[[File:Self and composite longbows-blank.jpg|thumb|Self (bottom) and laminated (top) bows for comparison]]

The preferred material to make the longbow was [[Taxus baccata|yew]],<ref>{{cite web|title=It had to be yew|publisher=Field and Roving Archery Society|first=Gavin|last=Banks|date=January 2010|url=http://www.fieldandrovingarcherysociety.co.uk/infopage.php?page_id=8|access-date=14 March 2023|archive-date=14 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314194603/http://www.fieldandrovingarcherysociety.co.uk/infopage.php?page_id=8|url-status=dead}}</ref> although [[Fraxinus excelsior|ash]], [[elm]], and other [[hardwood]]s were also used. [[Gerald of Wales]] speaking of the bows used by the Welsh men of Gwent, says: "They are made neither of horn, ash nor yew, but of elm; ugly unfinished-looking weapons, but astonishingly stiff, large and strong, and equally capable of use for long or short shooting".{{sfn|Oakeshott|1960|p=294}} The traditional way of making  a longbow requires drying the yew wood for 1 to 2 years, then slowly working it into shape, with the entire process taking up to four years. The bow stave is shaped to have a ''D'' cross-section. The outer "back" of [[sapwood]], approximately flat, follows the natural growth rings; modern [[bowyer]]s often thin the sapwood, while in the ''Mary Rose'' bows the back of the bow was the natural surface of the wood, only the bark is removed. The inner side ("belly") of the bow stave consists of rounded [[heartwood]]. The heartwood resists [[compression (physics)|compression]] and the outer sapwood performs better in [[tension (physics)|tension]]. This combination in a single piece of wood (a [[self bow]]) forms a natural "laminate", somewhat similar in effect to the construction of a [[composite bow]]. Longbows last a long time if protected with a water-resistant coating, traditionally of "wax, resin and fine [[tallow]]".

The trade of yew wood to England for longbows was such that it depleted the stocks of yew over a huge area. The first documented import of yew bowstaves to England was in 1294.{{sfn|Hageneder|2007|p= }} In 1470 compulsory practice was renewed, and [[hazel]], ash, and [[laburnum]] were specifically allowed for practice bows. Supplies still proved insufficient, until by the [[Statute of Westminster 1472]], every ship coming to an English port had to bring four bowstaves for every [[Tun (unit)|tun]].<ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lKU3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA408 |quote=...because that our sovereign lord the King, by a petition delivered to him in the said parliament, by the commons of the same, hath perceived That the great scarcity of bowstaves is now in this realm, and the bowstaves that be in this realm be sold as an excessive price... |title=Statutes at Large |volume=3 |year=1762 |page=408|last1=Britain |first1=Great }}</ref> [[Richard III of England]] increased this to ten for every tun. This stimulated a vast network of extraction and supply, which formed part of royal monopolies in southern Germany and Austria. In 1483, the price of bowstaves rose from two to eight pounds per hundred, and in 1510 the Venetians obtained sixteen pounds per hundred.

In 1507 the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] asked the [[Duke of Bavaria]] to stop cutting yew, but the trade was profitable, and in 1532 the royal monopoly was granted for the usual quantity "if there are that many". In 1562, the Bavarian government sent a long plea to the Holy Roman Emperor asking him to stop the cutting of yew and outlining the damage done to the forests by its selective extraction, which broke the canopy and allowed wind to destroy neighbouring trees. In 1568, despite a request from Saxony, no royal monopoly was granted because there was no yew to cut, and the next year Bavaria and Austria similarly failed to produce enough yew to justify a royal monopoly.

Forestry records in this area in the 17th century do not mention yew, and it seems that no mature trees were to be had. The English tried to obtain supplies from the Baltic, but in this period [[History of archery#Decline of archery|bows were being replaced by guns]] in any case.{{sfn|Hageneder|2007|pp=105-106}}

==== String ====
{{Main|Bowstring}}
Bowstrings are made of [[hemp]], [[flax]] or [[silk]], and attached to the wood via horn "nocks" that fit onto the end of the bow. Modern synthetic materials (often [[Dacron]]) are now commonly also used for strings.

==== Arrows ====
{{Main|arrow}}
A wide variety of arrows were shot from the English longbow. Variations in length, [[fletching]] and [[arrowhead|heads]] are all recorded. Perhaps the greatest diversity lies in hunting arrows, with varieties like broad-arrow, wolf-arrow, dog-arrow, Welsh arrow and Scottish arrow being recorded.{{sfn|Strickland|Hardy|2005|p=42}} War arrows were ordered in the thousands for medieval armies and navies, supplied in sheaves normally of 24 arrows.<ref>War arrows were often described as being a "clothyard" in length – the clothyard being the slightly longer physical measure from the fingertips to the nose, but with the head turned away from the fingertips. At the time of the Hundred Years' War archers drew the arrow back to the ear rather than to the chin.</ref> For example, between 1341 and 1359 the English crown is known to have obtained 51,350 sheaves (1,232,400 arrows).{{sfn|Wadge|2007|pp=160–161}}

Only one significant group of arrows, found at the wreck of the ''Mary Rose'', has survived. Over 3,500 arrows were found, mainly made of poplar but also of ash, beech and hazel. Analysis of the intact specimens shows their length to range from {{convert|61|to(-)|83|cm|in|order=flip}}, with an average of {{convert|76|cm|in|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Staff|2007|p=7}} Because of the preservation conditions of the ''Mary Rose'', no arrowheads survived. However, many heads have survived in other places, which has allowed typologies of arrowheads to be produced, the most modern being the Jessop typology.<ref>{{cite web |first=Oliver |last=Jessop |title=A New Artefact Typology for the Study of Medieval Arrowheads |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-769-1/dissemination/pdf/vol40/40_192_205.pdf}}</ref> The most common arrowheads in military use were the short [[bodkin point]] (Jessop M10) and a small barbed arrow (Jessop M4).{{sfn|Wadge|2007|pp=184–185}}