Editing English longbow (section)

=== Training ===

Longbows were very difficult to master because the force required to deliver an arrow through the improving [[armour]] of medieval Europe was very high by modern standards. Although the draw weight of a typical English longbow is disputed, it was at least {{convert|360|N|lb-f|lk=on|abbr=off|order=flip}} and possibly more than {{convert|600|N|lb-f|lk=off|abbr=on|order=flip}}. Considerable practice was required to produce the swift and effective combat shooting required. [[Skeleton]]s of longbow archers are recognisably affected, with enlarged left arms and often [[osteophyte]]s on left wrists, left shoulders and right fingers.<ref>Dr. A.J. Stirland. Raising the Dead: the Skeleton Crew of Henry VIII's Great Ship the Mary Rose. (Chichester 2002) As cited in {{harvnb|Strickland|Hardy|2005|p={{Page needed|date=June 2010}} }}</ref>

It was the difficulty in using the longbow that led various monarchs of England to issue instructions encouraging their ownership and practice, including the [[Assize of Arms of 1252]] and [[Edward III of England]]'s declaration of 1363:

{{quote|Whereas the people of our realm, rich and poor alike, were accustomed formerly in their games to practise archery – whence by God's help, it is well known that high honour and profit came to our realm, and no small advantage to ourselves in our warlike enterprises... that every man in the same country, if he be able-bodied, shall, upon holidays, make use, in his games, of bows and arrows... and so learn and practise archery.<ref>{{cite book | title=Readings in English Social History: From Pre-Roman Days to AD 1837 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | page=150 | year=2014 | orig-year=1st pub. 1923 | editor-last=Morgan | editor-first=R.B.| isbn=978-1-107-65556-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-hmTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 | access-date=2018-01-16}}</ref>}}

If the people practised archery, it would be that much easier for the king to recruit the proficient longbowmen he needed for his wars.{{or|date=June 2023}} Along with the improving ability of gunfire to penetrate plate armour, it was the long training needed by longbowmen that eventually led to their being replaced by [[musketeer]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Davies |first=Jonathan |date=2002 |title='A Combersome Tying Weapon in a Throng of Men': The Decline of the Longbow in Elizabethan England |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44230774 |journal=Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research |volume=80 |issue=321 |pages=16–31 |jstor=44230774 |issn=0037-9700}}</ref>