RISE OF THE LONGBOW
The origins of the longbow are unclear. Otzi the Iceman, discovered on the Austrian border and dating from 5,300 years ago, had something very similar to a longbow in his grave. In the British Isles, it is often considered to have originated in Wales. By the 4th century, it had become closely associated with English armies, and became the new superweapon on the European battlefield.
Many nations preferred the crossbow. It was much easier to learn to use, had a range of around 3o0 yards, and could shoot two to three bolts a minute. In comparison, using the longbow took years to perfect.
However, since every Englishman could use one, archers were relatively cheap to employ. A bowshot was a genuine medieval measure of distance, set at around 204 yards. Some modern replica longbows have fired up to 450 yards. It could pierce mail armour at around 100 yards, and archers were expected to shoot eight to ten arrows a minute. 5,000 archers could therefore fire up to 50,000 arrows a minute.
Edward I (r. 1272-1307) ordered the construction of archery butts, ranges for practising, across England. His grandson Edward III (r. 1327-77), at the height of the Hundred Years’ War with France, ordered every Englishman to practice on a Sunday after church.
The English army developed a tactic that seemed simple, but proved devastatingly effective, particularly against larger forces.
The first major use of it came at the Battle of Dupplin Moor in August 1332, the opening engagement of the Second War for Scottish Independence. An English army outnumbered ten to one fought with a centre of dismounted men-at-arms flanked by archers. As the Scots poured forward, their numbers worked against them and the trapped men were picked off by archers. The tactic was repeated in France at Crecy (1346), Poitiers (1356) and Agincourt (1415). Once they finished shooting, archers employed daggers or mallets to deliver the coup de grâce – killing blows, often through the helmet visors of the wounded.
For a century, this simple formula dominated battlefields. The French answer was to invest heavily in gunpowder weapons, which saw them defeat the English and drive them out of France after the Battle of Castillon in July 1453.
Source ~ The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds introduced by Dan Snow