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If
your idea of being an archer is picking up a longbow and loosing a few
arrows and saying you are an archer, then you would have the wrong idea
of what being a household archer is all about. As a group we try to
portray to the best of our ability the skill of the longbowman and are
proud of our medieval ancestors who wreaked havoc on battlefields for
maybe 150 years.
To
do this we train regularly throughout the year and it does not stop at
the end of a re-enactment season, we train over winter as well. This
involves;
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·
Training
on flu-flu’s to ascertain your accuracy, and
when this is
up to standard
you then progress to
‘lives’.
·
Taught
what you should know on the safety aspect, this being very
important because this is after all a lethal weapon.
·
Care
of your bow and if you want to know, a little of its history
(selected recommended books).
·
We
watch and give advice on shooting until it is decided you are
ready for your safety test. Not everyone passes first time and
they are told what they failed on.
At
this point you are allowed on the archery line for demonstrations,
and expected to be capable of 12 arrows per minute. For those who
would like to do archery in a re-enactment battle there is further
training involving distance accuracy, and shooting at people. You
are after all putting yourself in a dangerous environment and
shooting at other people. Safety is essential and you are
representing the group, but accidents happen and there is a
possibility that at some point you could get injured.
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(Training
is given to any member of the group who wants to learn how to shoot the
longbow)
The
French:
Most
people know a little of ‘The Hundred Years War’ and the victories
such as Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt victories where thousands of
Frenchmen were killed with the help of the English longbowmen. It is
also as important to remember though battles such as Castillon and
Formigny, by this time the French had worked out their tactics on how to
beat the armies sent against them. The end result being the right to
rule France by an English monarch was over.
The
Wars of The Roses:
Being
a Yorkist supporter (and I could be wrong about this) caused by weak
Lancastrian king and his French wife losing the war against France, and
powerful English lords manipulating the monarch (HenryVI). In
this period it was not all fighting, the sad part being it was
Englishmen against Englishmen and both sides knew what was coming as
they lined up against each other. We know about battles such as Towton/
Barnet, Tewkesbury and Bosworth, but we have to also remember Stoke
Field 1487 the last battle of the war. By this time
the handguns and artillery were taking over the battlefields and
the longbowmen and their skills were in decline.
On
a personal note, I find shooting the longbow be it re-enactment or
pleasure very rewarding and relaxing. It is you and this bent piece of
wood against the elements.
Master
Gordon Shaw- Sgt of Archers, Sir Thomas Burgh’s Retinue
Recommended
Reading:
Longbow
Robert Hardy
The
English Longbowman
Osprey
Crispin’s
Day
Rosemary Hawley Jarman
The
Wars of The Roses
John Gillingham
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