Some long bow history

Few archery bows have the same inspiring history as the English longbow.

If you decided to ask a professional exactly what makes a long-bow English, you probably wouldn't hear a definitive answer. Historians seem to roughly agree that unless the archery bow is at least Four foot in length, it can't be called an English longbow. A large number of English long-bows were actually so long that they surpassed the archer in height. The long bow was England's national weapon of choice for quite a few centuries back in the days.

The thing that distinguished the English long-bow from any other weapons was the fact it was very cheap, and that meant that absolutely everyone could afford it.. In spite of what a great many may possibly believe, the English long-bow was an enormously strong piece of weaponry with great penetrative capabilities; you'll find reports related to the killing of Simon de Skeltington back in the 14th century which describe the injury he had experienced from a 5 feet long bow as being 2,9 in . long, Two inches wide and seven inches deep.

Estimations vary, however it's typically acknowledged that these long-bows had a draw weight within the range of 104 and 130 lbs .. Imagine the shape bow-men in those days needed to be in if they desired to shoot these bows properly. If you have ever asked yourself how long lasting the long bow must've been back then, then I suppose you have got the answer now - a fragile construction wouldn't ever be capable of tolerating 130 lbs of draw weight, let alone do so over the course of hundreds and maybe thousands of arrows shot.

The long bow was also very effective at sniping down targets from afar, even from ranges of 235 meters and more. Unfortunately, I think it's unlikely that we will ever get to put our hands on a real English longbow ever again. It is impossible to find one these days, not even in history museums.

There are, luckily, a number of Renaissance long bows still in existance today. These specific archery bows are just as long as what the common English longbow was, and they're all a one piece.