Longbow

A longbow is a type of bow that is tall (roughly equal to or greater than the height of a person), is not significantly recurved and has relatively narrow limbs, that are circular or D-shaped in cross section. Organizations which run archery competitions have set out formal definitions for the various classes; many definitions of the longbow (see links section) would exclude some medieval examples, materials, and techniques of use. By most modern definitions, the English Longbow is made so that its thickness is at least 5/8 of its width, and is widest at the handle. Longbows have been used for hunting and warfare, by many cultures around the world, a famous example being the English Longbow, during the Middle Ages.

Traditional longbows are self bows, made from a single natural piece of wood, and have been used for hundreds or thousands of years, for hunting and warfare by, among others, the ancient Nubians. Kurds, Arabs, Native American, tribes such as the Cherokee, South American tribes like the Bari,African tribes such as the Bassa, and Europeans since Neolithic times. As a hunting weapon, longbows are simple, reliable and capable of taking game as large as African Elephants. As a weapon of war the longbow has been instrumental to several cultures. World wide the average power for bows of all designs is about 50 pounds (220 newtons) at 28 inches (70 cm) of draw which is suitable for most hunting applications. Bows for warfare tend to be much more powerful, with the most powerful bows being the English longbow and the African elephant bow, both of which topped the 200-pound (900 N) mark. Many men in medieval England were capable of shooting bows from 150-200 pounds (670–900 N) - deformed skeletons of archers have been studied, revealing spur like growths on their bones where the over-developed muscles pulled. However, these men did train weekly from a very young age and their lives depended on being able to use such powerful bows (The Age of Chivalry (1963)). There are modern day examples of men who are quite capable of shooting these bows so we know it is possible. Mark Stretton currently holds the world record for shooting a 200 pound (900 N) longbow.

In ancient Japan, very distinctive long bamboo and wood laminated bows, known as Yumi, became important to mounted samurai warfare. Modern Japanese archery (called kyudo or kyujutsu) still uses this style of bow. Modern yumi can be made of fibreglass or carbon-fibre, as well as of the traditional wood/bamboo laminate. Yumi are recurved bows, and have the unusual characteristic of being off-centre. That is, the lower arm of the bow is shorter than the upper arm; this is useful when the bow is used from horseback, so that the archer can turn without the bottom of the bow hitting the horse.

In the Middle Ages the English were famous for their very heavy, long-ranged English Longbows, used to great effect against the French in the Hundred Years' War (notably at the battles of Crecy (1346), Poitiers (1356) and Agincourt (1415)).

Although firearme supplanted bows in warfare, wooden or fibreglass laminated longbows continue to be used by traditional archers and some tribal societies, for recreation and hunting. A longbow has practical advantages compared to a modern recurve or compound bow; it is usually lighter, quicker to prepare for shooting, and shoots more quietly. However, other things being equal, the modern bow will shoot a faster arrow more accurately than the longbow.

Design and construction

Because the longbow can be made from a single piece of wood, it can be crafted relatively easily and quickly. Amateur bowyers today can craft a longbow in about ten to twenty hours, while highly skilled bowyers, such as those who produced medieval English Longbows, can craft wooden longbows in just a few hours.

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One of the simpler longbow designs is known as the self bow. By definition, a self bow is made from a single piece of wood. Truly traditional English longbows are self bows, made from yew wood. The bowstave is cut from the radius of the tree so that the sapwood (on the outside of the tree) becomes the back in woods such as Hickory and Ash. The heartwood becomes the belly in some bows. Yew sapwood is good only in tension, while the heartwood is good in compression. However, one must make compromises when making a yew longbow, as it is difficult to find perfect unblemished yew. In other desirable woods such as Osage Orange and Mulberry the sapwood is almost useless and is normally removed entirely.

Longbows, because of their narrow limbs and rounded cross-section (which does not spread out stress within the wood as evenly as a flatbow’s rectangular cross section), need to be either less powerful, longer or of more elastic wood than an equivalent flatbow. In Europe the latter approach was used, with yew being the wood of choice, because of its high compressive strength, light weight and elasticity. Yew is the only widespread European timber that will make good self longbows, and has been the main wood used in European bows since Neolithic times. Commoner and cheaper hard woods, like elm, oak, ash, hazel or maple are good for flatbows. A narrow longbow with high draw-weight can be made from these woods, but it is likely to take a permanent bend (known as "set" or "following the string") and would likely be outshot by an equivalent made of yew.

Wooden laminated longbows can be made by gluing together two or more different pieces of wood. Usually this is done to take advantage of the inherent properties of different woods: some woods can better withstand compression while others are better at withstanding tension. Examples include hickory and lemonwood or bamboo and yew longbows: hickory or bamboo is used on the back of the bow (the part facing away from the archer when shooting) and so is in tension, while the belly (the part facing the archer when shooting) is made of lemonwood or yew and undergoes compression . Traditionally made Japanese Yumi are also laminated long bows, made from strips of wood: the core of the bow is bamboo, the back and belly are bamboo or hardwood and hardwood strips are laminated to the bows sides to prevent twisting.

Today, good laminated longbows may be made of wood or can be purchased commercially. Any wooden bow must have gentle treatment and be protected from excessive damp or dryness. Wooden bows may shoot as well as fibreglass, but they are more easily dented or broken by abuse. Bows made of modern materials can be left strung for longer amounts of time than wood bows. Wooden bows should be unstrung immediately after use to avoid large amounts of set.