Longbowman

Longbowman » England Arrow rain The Bow Made from one piece of wood (the String loops fitted in the Arrows The rate of shooting could reach up to twelve arrows a minute. Wounding and terrifying the enemy's horses or forcing them to retreat through fear of death would be enough for victory. horn tipped nock. A wide variety of arrows were used by the english longbowman, with different length, fletchings (a) General purpose; best was yew) with 1,80m lenght. The strings were made of hemp and treated with wax to resist wet and moysture. The bow was usually kept unstrung. The rounded belly is (b) Armour-piercing bodkin type; heartwood, which performs (c) Mail-piercing bodkin; better under compression. (usually of goose or swan feathers) (d) Hunting (used against unprotected horse). design and illustration. Antonio Barizon wargraphic.com and multipurpose heads. (a) (d) (b) (c) The flat back is sapwood, better under tension. Reloading In a battle, the bowman would equip himself with about 60 arrows. Defenses Training Shooting a longbow was a specialized skill so boys started to learn from the age of seven. The skill required Light infantry The archers were armed with daggers, axes and hammers, fighting also as a light infantry. When the arrows had reduced the enemy to a chaos of fleeing soldiers, the archers would rush forward to slaughter. Armour piercing The range of a longbow is up to 365m, but killing range was Protection Bracer Armour was not the primary concern of the archer; flexibility and mobility Generally made of leather and horn, it serves two purposes: to protect the forearm from the string and to ensure that any loose fabric is kept away from the path pf the string. Extremely vulnerable to close combat, the archers depended upon the armored men-at-arms to defend them, as well as on The arrows were stuffed in his belt or little more than half of that. were. The equipment were supplied by the employer and used to be a padded jerkin or brigandine, and an open-faced helmet. physical strenght to the point of deforming the arms and shoulders. At close range, arrows could pierce the best armour. stuck into the ground to be accessed at maximum speed, having the advantage of soiling the points and thus infecting any wounds caused. natural or artificial obstacles like rivers, hedges, ditches or sharpened stakes