Editing English longbow (section)

== History ==

=== Etymology ===

The word may have been coined to distinguish the longbow from the crossbow.  The first recorded use of the term ''longbow'', as distinct from simply 'bow', is possibly in a 1386 administrative document which refers in Latin to ''arcus vocati longbowes'', "bows called 'longbows'", though the reading of the last word in the original document is not certain.  A 1444 will [[Probate|proved]] in York bequeaths "a sadil, alle my longe bowis, a bedde".<ref>{{OED|longbow|access-date=25 March 2018|date=June 2016}}</ref>

=== Origins ===

The origins of the English longbow are disputed. While it is hard to assess the significance of military archery in pre-[[Norman Conquest]] [[Anglo-Saxon warfare]], it is clear that archery played a prominent role under the [[Normans]], as the story of the [[Battle of Hastings]] shows. Their [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] descendants also made use of military archery, as exemplified by their victory at the [[Battle of the Standard]] in 1138.

During the Anglo-Norman invasions of [[Wales]], Welsh bowmen took a heavy toll of the invaders and Welsh archers would feature in English armies from this point on. [[Giraldus Cambrensis]] [[Itinerarium Cambriae|toured Wales]] in 1188, recording that the bows of [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]] were "stiff and strong, not only for missiles to be shot from a distance, but also for sustaining heavy blows in close quarters."<ref>Gerald of Wales. (c.1188). The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales. Translated by:

Lewis Thorpe. (1978 edition). London: Penguin Books Ltd. </ref>  He gave examples of the performance of the Welsh bow :

{{quote|[I]n the war against the Welsh, one of the men of arms was struck by an arrow shot at him by a Welshman. It went right through his thigh, high up, where it was protected inside and outside the leg by his iron [[chausses]], and then through the skirt of his leather tunic; next it penetrated that part of the saddle which is called the alva or seat; and finally it lodged in his horse, driving so deep that it killed the animal.<ref>''Itinerarium Cambriae'', (1191)</ref><ref>{{citation |quote=12 at the time, 1191, this would be mail chausses, and the story is that having had one leg shot through and pinned to the saddle by an arrow, the knight wheeled his horse around, only to receive a second arrow, which nailed the other leg in the same fashion. |publisher= Osprey |title=Weapon 030 – The Longbow |page= 66}}</ref>}}

However, historians dispute whether this archery used a different kind of bow from the later English Longbow.{{sfn|Strickland|Hardy|2005|pp=34–48}}

Traditionally it has been argued that prior to the beginning of the 14th century, the weapon was a self bow between four and five feet in length, known since the 19th century as the shortbow. This weapon, drawn to the chest rather than the ear, was much weaker. However, in 1985, Jim Bradbury reclassified this weapon as the ''ordinary wooden bow'', reserving the term shortbow for short [[composite bow]]s and arguing that longbows were a developed form of this ordinary bow.{{sfn|Bradbury|1985|pp=14–15}} Strickland and Hardy in 2005 took this argument further, suggesting that the shortbow was a myth and all early English bows were a form of longbow.{{sfn|Strickland|Hardy|2005|pp=37–38, 48}} In 2011, Clifford Rogers forcefully restated the traditional case based upon a variety of evidence, including a large scale iconographic survey.{{sfn|Rogers|2011}} In 2012, Richard Wadge added to the debate with an extensive survey of record, iconographic and archaeological evidence, concluding that longbows co-existed with shorter self-wood bows in England in the period between the Norman conquest and the reign of Edward III, but that powerful longbows shooting heavy arrows were a rarity until the later 13th century.{{sfn|Wadge|2012|pp=211–212}} Whether or not there was a technological revolution at the end of the 13th century therefore remains in dispute. What is agreed, however, is that an effective tactical system that included powerful longbows used in mass was developed in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
In 1295, [[Edward I]] began to better organize his armed forces, creating uniformly-sized units and a clear chain of command. He introduced the combined use of an initial assault by archers followed by a cavalry attack and infantry. The technique was later used effectively at the [[Battle of Falkirk]] in 1298.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kench |first1=Tony |title=Longbow Origins Before Crecy – Was It Really Welsh? |url=https://www.bowyers.com/LongbowOrigins.pdf |website=bowyers.com |access-date=16 June 2021 |date=19 November 2014}}</ref>

{{quote|The rising importance of foot troops, then, brought not only the opportunity but also the need to expand armies substantially. Then as early as the late 13th century, we can observe Edward I campaigning at the head of armies incorporating tens of thousands of paid archers and spearmen. This represented a major change in approaches to recruitment, organization, and above all pay.{{sfn|Keen|1999|p=148}}}}

=== Fourteenth and fifteenth centuries ===

The longbow decided many medieval battles fought by the English and Welsh, the most significant of which were the [[Battle of Crécy]] (1346) and the [[Battle of Agincourt]] (1415), during the [[Hundred Years' War]]; these followed earlier successes, notably at the [[Battle of Falkirk]] (1298) and the [[Battle of Halidon Hill]] (1333) during the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]]. They were less successful after this, with longbowmen having their lines broken at the [[Battle of Verneuil]] (1424), and being routed at the [[Battle of Patay]] (1429) when they were charged before they had set up their defences, and with the war-ending [[Battle of Castillon]] (1453) being decided by the French artillery.

Although longbows were much faster and more accurate than the [[black-powder]] weapons which replaced them, longbowmen always took a long time to train because of the years of practice necessary before a war longbow could be used effectively (examples of longbows from the ''[[Mary Rose]]'' typically had draws greater than {{convert|637|N|abbr=on|order=flip}}). In an era in which warfare was usually seasonal, and non-noble soldiers spent part of the year working at farms, the year-round training required for the effective use of the longbow was a challenge. A [[standing army]] was an expensive proposition to a medieval ruler. Mainland European armies seldom trained a significant longbow corps. Due to their specialized training, English longbowmen were sought as [[mercenaries]] in other European countries, most notably in the Italian city-states and in Spain.
The [[White Company]],{{sfn|Conan Doyle|1997|loc=}} comprising men-at-arms and longbowmen and commanded by Sir [[John Hawkwood]], is the best known English [[Free Company]] of the 14th century. The powerful Hungarian king, [[Louis the Great]], is an example of someone who used longbowmen in his Italian campaigns.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

=== Sixteenth century and later ===

Longbows remained in use until around the 16th century, when advances in [[firearms]] made gunpowder weapons a significant factor in warfare and such units as [[arquebus]]iers and [[grenadiers]] began appearing. Despite this, the English Crown made numerous efforts to continue to promote archery practice by banning other sports and fining people for not possessing bows.{{sfn|Gunn|2010|pp=53–81}} Indeed, just before the [[English Civil War]], a pamphlet by [[William Neade]] entitled ''The Double-Armed Man'' advocated that soldiers be trained in both the longbow and [[pike (weapon)|pike]]; although this advice was disregarded by other writers of the day, who accepted that firearms had supplanted the role of archery.<ref>Lawrence 2008, p. 254</ref>

At the [[Battle of Flodden]] in 1513, wind and rain may have contributed to the ineffectiveness of the English archers against the Scottish nobles in full armour who formed the front rank of their advance, but when the opportunity arose to shoot at less well protected foot soldiers, the result was devastating. Despite his armour, King [[James IV of Scotland]] received several arrow wounds in the fighting, one of which may have caused his death. Flodden was the last major British battle in which the longbow played a significant part, even if not a decisive one.<ref>Roth 2012, pp. 222–223</ref> Longbows remained the main weapon of the [[trained bands]], the home-defence militia of the Tudor period, until they were disbanded by Queen [[Elizabeth I]] in 1598.<ref>Roth 2012, pp. 207–208</ref> The last recorded use of bows in an English battle may have been a skirmish at [[Bridgnorth]], in October 1642, during the Civil War, when an impromptu town militia, armed with bows, proved effective against un-armoured musketeers.<ref>John Norton, letter dated 5 October 1642. As printed in The Garrisons of Shropshire during the Civil War, Leake and Evans publishers, Shrewsbury, 1867, page 32. "every man from 16 to 50 and upwards, gott himself into such armes as they could presently attaine, or could imagine be conduceable for the defence of the towne". "some companies of foote.. with their musketts... began to wade foarde, which being descried, we, with our bowes and arrows did so gaule them (being unarmed men) that with their utmost speed they did retreate" https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=4HBMAAAAMAAJ&rdid=book-4HBMAAAAMAAJ&rdot=1 accessed 7 August 2012</ref> Longbowmen remained a feature of the [[Cavalier|Royalist Army]], but were not used by the [[Roundheads]].

Longbows have been in continuous production and use for sport and for hunting to the present day, but since 1642 they have been a minority interest, and very few have had the high draw weights of the medieval weapons. Other differences include the use of a stiffened non-bending centre section, rather than a continuous bend.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}<!-- Both sentences -->

Serious military interest in the longbow faded after the seventeenth century but occasionally schemes to resurrect its military use were proposed. [[Benjamin Franklin]] was a proponent in the 1770s; the [[Honourable Artillery Company]] had an archer company between 1784 and 1794, and a man named Richard Mason wrote a book proposing the arming of militia with pike and longbow in 1798.{{sfn|Heath|1980|pp=208–9}}  Donald Featherstone also records a Lt. Col. Richard Lee of 44th Foot advocated the military use of the longbow in 1792.{{sfn|Featherstone|1973|p=154}} [[Winston Churchill]], in ''[[A History of the English-Speaking Peoples]]'', wrote:
<blockquote>The War Office has among its records a treatise written during the peace after Waterloo by a general officer of long experience in the Napoleonic wars recommending that muskets should be discarded in favour of the long-bow on account of its superior accuracy, rapid discharge, and effective range.<ref name=Churchill>[https://archive.org/details/TheBirthOfBritain_Churchill/page/n260/mode/1up?view=theater Churchill, Winston, ''A History of the English-Speaking Peoples'', Vol. 1, ''The Birth of Britain'', Book Two, Ch.18, p.242.]</ref></blockquote>
There is a record of the use of the longbow in action as late as [[WWII]], when [[Jack Churchill]] is credited with a longbow kill in France in 1940.{{sfn|Featherstone|1973|pp=157–158}}  The weapon was certainly considered for use by [[Commandos]] during the war but it is not known whether it was used in action.{{sfn|Heath|1980|pp=215–216}}