By Mark Stretton Editors Note: This article was reproduced with the kind permission of its author, Mark Stretton. It is an extract from his forthcoming book full of details which will be announced soon There must have been a time when the simple skills of archery were unknown to our early humanoid ancestors, and yet […]
Making a Heavy Whitewood Longbow
by Jaro Petrina Altough there are numerous written accounts on the procurement and usage of non-yew bows in medieval england – no original examples exist today. We do not know if the shape and dimensions of such a bow differed from the yew bow, to utilise the best properties of the wood, and neither do […]
EWBS Tudor Livery Arrow
The Shaft Although many types of wood where employed to make MR arrow shafts, aspen or poplar were the most common (much to Ascham’s chagrin as he preferred ash for war arrows). Therefore, poplar was used for the exemplar. However, a variety of indigenous hardwoods were obviously acceptable, as shown by the wide range found […]
The case for the use of blunt arrow-heads in the medieval period
by Mark Wheatley and Ian Coote With Mark ‘Pudd’ Wheatley’s permission, the following article outlines his research into blunt arrow heads used in the medieval period. While it is fair to say that Mark is not the first individual to discuss their use, nevertheless it is his new ideas on their use, application and design […]
The EWBS Quarter Pound Arrow
Construction and specifications, by Jeremy Spencer The EWBS Quarter Pound Arrow is a representation of a heavy military arrow used to penetrate armour. It is similar to those that were shot during the Hundred Years War. Minimum weight 1/4lb (113.4g) Nock: A horn reinforced self-nock (reinforcement approximately 2”). A slot depth of around ¼” is […]
Guide to Properties and Seasoning of the Lesser known Longbow Woods
All parameters are rated from 1-9 SG – indicates known density, or its spread. Usually a more dense sample is the better bowwood. Tension – tension strength of unbroken back ring. Compression – compression strength. For the purpose of this treatise, everything from 6 up is longbow wood. Response – indicates hysteresis or „spongines“ of […]
Weapon of War
The English War Bow was the weapon used to great effect by the armies of the English Plantagenet and Tudor kings. In the hands of English and Welsh archers it came to dominate the European battlefield for most of the late medieval age and defined some of the greatest achievements in England’s military history. It […]
What was the ‘Standard Arrow’ contest ?
During the reign of Henry VIII, when the practice of archery had begun to decline, contests were held on Finsbury Fields in London, in which wrestling and archery featured. In 1521, it was proclaimed that for the first time archery should take pride of place as the first of these events, and that contests for […]
A personal study of reproducing a Tudor verdigris compound for arrow protection Will Sherman
In modern archery, the fletchings of arrows can be attached using numerous high-strength adhesives such as cyanoacrylate glues (superglue) or fletching tape and the need for binding them in place is removed. In the Middle Ages however, fletchings were attached either by wax or glue made from natural components and as such were likely to […]