During the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), the French feared the archers of the English armies the most. In battles like Crécy in 1356 or Azincourt in 1415, they proved that the fear was justified. Although it is no longer possible to reconstruct exactly how archers were trained, numerous illustrations from various sources provide information about their clothing, equipment and armour. However, due to the deterioration of the oldest finds of bows, arrow shafts and arm guards, a large part of today's knowledge had to be researched in a roundabout way.
The bow - the foundation of equipment
The in the Middle Ages The bows used are called (English) longbows “. Yew wood is ideal for production, and as a result traders imported it from all over Europe, preferably from Spain and later from Italy (Venice). The bows would be optimal if they are a hand's breadth longer than the shooter is tall. But due to the large-scale production, the bow makers apparently standardized them to between 5'7" and 6'2" (about 170-190cm). However, the bows from the "Mary Rose", an English warship that sank in 1545, are around three to four inches longer.
A bow is shaped so that the back is on the outside and the stomach is on the inside, the longitudinal cut forms a "D". The archers must have been very strong, because the draw weight for drawing a bow was between 80 and 120 lb (British pounds, 1 lb =453 g), while today it is between 40 and 60 lb.
To protect the bows from the weather, they were waxed or oiled; in addition, the archers transport them in linen covers. These weapons were very popular because they were very effective and cheap to manufacture. The craftsman turned the tendons from hemp threads and strengthened them in the middle by additional wrapping. The bows were cared for with wax, oil or a special glue against moisture. In the event that the string became unusable, the shooters wore spare strings under their helmets, there they were protected from external influences.
The archer's arrows
The arrow shafts consisted of different woods. The ones from the "Mary Rose" are about 30 inches (70 - 80 cm) long. So that the string could be held securely, the arrow maker sawed a slit across the grain of the arrowhead. Then he glued feathers - often from geese, peacocks, swans or ostriches - and wrapped them with thin hemp threads. Probably the most common tip was narrow, long, sharpened and had a barb.
All archers were equipped with a "sheaf" (bundle) of 24 arrows, which were replenished from the transport wagons that sometimes accompanied the fighters in battles. If the fight was interrupted, the shooters would pick up the arrows and, if necessary, replace the tips. Researchers also found leather forearm protectors in the "Mary Rose". with hallmarks. The fighters could do this with a leather strap and fix it with a buckle.
Incidentally, there is no evidence that the archers wore anything to protect their fingers or hands. From this it can be concluded that they must have had an enormous amount of calluses. If you take a closer look at the illustrations, you can see that the shooters only pulled the string with their index and middle fingers, not with three fingers like today. The French threatened the archers with severing these two fingers so that they could no longer draw a bow. Because of this, the English presented their index and middle fingers to the French to provoke them. Even today, this is perceived as a serious insult. Next time you order two beers, don't demonstrate the number with your fingers, it might go wrong!
Clothes and Armor - Distinguishing Features
To protect themselves, most archers wore a gambeson . This was originally knee-length and had padded sleeves that narrowed towards the wrist. For better freedom of movement, skirts were shorter and sleeves were either thinner or detachable. After a while, the focus was on incorporating shoulder pads or reinforcements on the forearms. In the beginning, the quilting seams ran vertically, over time horizontal quilting seams and rhombic patterns were added. In addition, the archers wore a mail shirt under or over the gambeson. In the 15th century, some upgraded to breast armor or Brigantines around.
The footwear was made up of shoes or boots made of leather in many variations. The headgear was either a bascinet of metal with a chainmail (aventail) neckguard, or a conical helmet of one piece of metal, or of several layers of iron, horn, or whalebone. Since the 1450s, archers mostly carried Schaller without a visor. The hairstyles were mostly very short. On the march or in the camp, for example, they wore Gugeln , hats or fur hats on their heads. You could usually identify who belonged to which county or city by the various sewn-on badges. From the middle of the 15th century, archers could usually be recognized by a white, sleeveless vest with a large, red St. George's Cross on the front and back.
Equipment and Armament - What a Rifleman Carried
In a noble household, all followers received weapons, armor, and equipment from their lords, and available resources from the city or county they served. The equipment consisted of a bow, a "sheaf of arrows" (two dozen arrows n), a sword, one or more knives and sometimes also a buckler , a small buckler. Individual extras were, for example, a hood, repair kit, crosses or a water bottle.
It also made sense to prepare for close combat if the enemy closed up too quickly. Some archers fought with a battle-axe, mace, or falchion instead of a sword. If the county or city did not provide horses, the riflemen fought on foot. Most of the armor was transported in numerous wagons or on pack horses. Some possessions were the spoils of looting, others passed through inheritance from generation to generation.
The end of the bow as a weapon
When it was the first firearms existed, the bow was no longer effective enough and as a result it was replaced. Also, it took years to become a good archer, while it only took a few months to become a gunner, arquebusier, or musketeer. The use of the bow was then mainly limited to sporting activities and was used for leisure activities, as we still know it today.