Main Discussion Area > English Warbow
what lbs makes it a warbow insted of a longbow
sagitarius boemoru:
Unlike with bows there is clear line of pedigree which can be traced type by type and that is the arrowheads. It doesnt need much to get idea how an arrow looked liked if you have arrowhead and how both bow and arrow looked like too be shot effectivelly. That is not saying that they too could have using ineffective combination of both, but nobody who would have would stayed along too long.
Jaro
triton:
--- Quote from: ryanfromcanada on March 14, 2009, 07:15:40 pm ---
--- Quote from: triton on March 14, 2009, 05:31:05 am ---
--- Quote from: ryanfromcanada on March 14, 2009, 01:41:27 am ---could a war bow not be a a crossbow. i know not in the sense that you guys mean but hey its a stick with a string that was pointed at people to make them dead so dosn't that constitute as a warbow
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>:D :'( :-* :-\ :-* NO :-\ :-*
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>:D >:D >:D hahaha i meant it a little tounge in check .
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never seen you post in this section and you never know who drops in for a wind up :D
bow-toxo:
--- Quote from: Rod on March 12, 2009, 07:46:11 am ---
Looking at warbow cultures where there is a written record, we only have information where archery was an activity of the literate classes, which lets out the post Roman european bow until Gaston Phoebus' "Livre de Chasse" or Ascham.
Where the literature is extensive the median for infantry bows appears to be in the 120lb to 150lb range, somewhat less for the smaller cavalry bows, from 90lb to 120lb.
Rod.
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A 'warbow' is of course a longbow, just an especially strong one. Besides those you mention we do have one earlier reference, "The Book of Roi Modus" written before the Hundred Years War, that gives the measurements of the "English bow" and its arrows, clearly a longbow. Like other mediaeval writings it gives no details on draw weight which makes me curious to know where your information on draw weights comes from. We can of course estimate Tudor bow strengths from the laws that specify distances to be shot by nearly all adult males. Archers were the general population, not a chosen elite few. Toward the end of the Hundred Years War the ten archers for every man-at-arms were not a select few.
outcaste:
--- Quote from: AD on March 14, 2009, 04:48:38 pm ---I thought one limiting factor to manufacturing bows of heavy draw weight was the strength of the hemp or linen used to make bowstrings?
Given the high probability of standardisation of hundreds of thousands of pieces of equipment - any archer would have to use any bow be it 'white' or 'painted', and any bow would have to be pretty much compatible with the huge stock of arrows and bowstrings...there was likely a 'standard' bow weight, which probably increased as armour thickness increased.
However we know that the arrow nocks were 1/8th inch and could therefore only take a bowstring of maximum diameter 1/8 inch.
Archers used their bows for practice and then battle.
The capability and longevity of the hemp/linen bowstring would have been an important factor, and defined a practical maximum limit to bow draw weight.
Any research been done on this?
Hi,
Interesting point, but you must also factor in the dimensions and wood quality of the bows together with the average draw length of the arrows.
Alistaie
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AD:
The argumment has been quite persuasively explained by Pip Bickerstaffe in one of his books.
The bows could have been made very heavy, the soldiers could have been able to wield them, but the weak link in the chain is the bowstring, limited to 1/8th inch diameter.
If I remember aright, his limited research came up with an estimate of about 100lbs @ 30" as an approximate standard for a war bow. I suppose depending on your build, you'd be pulling 90-110 lbs, enough to reach the enemy at distance.
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