Editing English longbow (section)

=== 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}}