The Archers Word

English longbow - item

 

The English longbow, also called the Welsh bow, was a very powerful weapon used by the English (and the Welsh) during medieval times. Its dimension ranges about 6 feet (1.8 meters) and they were used both for hunting and wars.

 

The war bows could reach to bowstrengths up to 185 lbs (820 N) or higher, but only few modern bowmen today are able to use those bows accuratly and consistent, indicating that the archers using these bows at their times required a tough training in order to use them. 

 

Hunting bows had a far lower poundage, around 60 lbs or lower, which is the typical poundage used also for modern longbow replicas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main difference between a longbow and a flatbow, is the cross section. The longbow has typically a D-shaped crosssection, while the flatbow, as the name already indicates, has a flat or rectangular crosssection. The main advantage of the D-shaped crosssection is that out of one tree, more longbows can be created than flatbows, or else said, less wood was wasted with longbows. 

 

The (wood) material used was usually yew, as well as ash and elm, although other woods have also been used successfully. The stronger bows used even a combination of woods, so that the tensile side had a different material than the compressive side.