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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CharlesRyan" data-source="post: 4920317" data-attributes="member: 5265">Hi, all--I'm not a longbow historian, but my credentials include being a perennial visitor to the Mary Rose, having sat through numerous reenactor lectures, having several times attempted (but never succeeded!) at drawing a true longbow, and having just (last week!) finished reading Bernard Cornwell's Azincourt. Here are the opinions of a well-informed amateur.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">First, the longbow (or warbow, as it was actually called back then) should be an exotic weapon. Proper use requires substantial specific training; most people--even very strong men--couldn't even properly draw a longbow. Also, the longbow isn't aimed the same way as a shorter bow or crossbow, because the string is pulled back behind the ear (instead of to the cheek).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Draw strengths vary; 100lb +/- 20lb seems to be average. (?) (Compare that to modern hunting and competition bows, which are more like 40lb - 60lb.) There were bows with draw strengths approaching 200lb found on the Mary Rose; there may be no-one alive today capable of pulling those bows. (See again my thoughts on the longbow as an exotic weapon.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A proper longbow isn't just long; it's made out a specific type of wood (yew) cut in a specific manner. (Ironically, although the English were the only society to really adopt and master the longbow, the best yew wood was imported from southern France.) Dimensionally, the longbow is as long or longer than the user is tall.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In terms of accuracy, in the hands of a skilled user the longbow was very accurate at short or moderate ranges. The necessity of a "rain of arrows" was only at more extreme ranges (around 200 yards).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">With an armor-piercing arrowhead (called a bodkin), the longbow could penetrate virtually any armor, though at range it needed a good, square hit to penetrate heavy plate.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Power and range-wise, the longbow was slightly inferior to a heavy crossbow. And a crossbow could be used with very little training. But an archer can accurately fire 12+ arrows a minute, while a crossbowman would be lucky to get off 2 shots in that time.</li> </ul>Maybe that provides a bit of context for the OP's questions!</blockquote>

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