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what lbs makes it a warbow insted of a longbow

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youngbowyer:
I agree Steve. Here is my new thought: A laminate bow is a "fake" warbow and a selfbow is a true warbow.

Rod:
If I was pressed and had to make a distinction, I would call anything over 100 pounds a "heavy" bow.

If it was used in warfare or for representing that historic use I might think about calling a "warbow" but probably would not....
But I might call it an "English bowe" if it was a single stave selfbow in yew, elm or ash and looked right.

IMHO a heavy laminated longbow is just that, a heavy laminated longbow.
Nothing wrong with that.

As to what poundage makes a "warbow", it seems likely that an arms race took place where the beginnings would have been with useful hunting weights and escalated from there in response to the tactical demands of the situation.

Heavy weights will have been current for as long as defensibly dressed men have been shooting arrows at each other and even before that when they were just trying to outrange each other on open ground with shafts of increasing weight.

There are cultures that use or have used weights in the 100lb range for hunting, one good example being the Liangulu elephant bow.
I once had a bloke show me one of these and asked if I could confirm that it was an old English longbow.
He got it in a house clearance and was not swayed by the wealth of Africana amongst which he found it.
It was round in section throughout, about 90" long and if it had a string on it would have pulled about 100lb with ease.
It even had the mark on the lower limb where the rawhide or sinew wrap for the stringing toehold used to be.

He asked me to make a string for it so that he could sell it as a "longbow".
I said I didn't have any giraffe sinew handy but would buy it off him at a sensible price if he was interested.
He wanted silly money for it so I let it go....

Rod.

alanesq:
The term "longbow" has been in use for some time (I was surprised myself recently to discover this)

Here is a quote From 1515 which uses it:
"Whether the Kinges subjectes, not lame nor having no lawfull impediment, and beinge within the age of XI yeares, excepte Spiritual men, Justices etc. and Barons of the Exchequer, use shoting on longe bowes, and have bowe continually in his house, to use himself and that fathers and governours of chyldren teache them to shote, and that bowes and arrowes be bought for chyldren under XVII and above VII yere, by him that has such a chylde in his house, and the Maister maye stoppe it againe of his wages, and after that age he to provideb them himselfe: and who that is founde in defaute, in not having bowes and arrowes by the space of a moneth, to forfayte xiid.. And boyers for everie bowe of ewe, to make two of Elme wiche or othere wood of meane price, and if thei be founde to doe the contrarie, to be committed to warde, by the space of viii daies or more."
- from http://www.scortonarrow.com/features/Archery_its%20the%20law.htm

So we shouldn't really call any laminated bow a longbow either (as a longbow was a self bow) ?

Rod:
I believe the first known mention is commonly accepted as being from one of the Paston letters. In any case, quite late in the story of the English bowe, but not quite as late as 1515.
I suspect the first mention of the "warbow" was equally close to being "after the event".

Rod.

alanesq:

I think Robert Hardy was the first to use the term warbow ?

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