Longbow
Specifications
- Type
- Ranged Weapon
- Origin
- Wales / England
- Era
- 12th–16th century
- Notable Users
- English and Welsh archers
- Epoch
- Middle Ages
History
The English longbow is a simple self-bow of yew, typically 1.8–2 meters long, with draw weights of 100–180 pounds. In the hands of trained archers, it could loose 10–12 arrows per minute at ranges exceeding 250 meters. The longbow dominated English warfare for three centuries: at Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and Agincourt (1415), English longbowmen annihilated French armies many times their size. The weapon required years of training from childhood, and English law mandated archery practice on Sundays. Skeletons of longbowmen show deformed bones from the extreme physical demands.
Significance
The longbow proved that massed, disciplined ranged fire could destroy heavy cavalry charges — a lesson that would be relearned with every new projectile weapon from the crossbow to the machine gun. Agincourt remains the archetype of firepower defeating armor.
More from the Middle Ages
18 weapons
54 Weapons. Five Epochs. One Poster.
The Longbow is one of 19 weapons from the Middle Ages featured on the poster.
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