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How or why did the English become a bow culture?

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SimonUK:
I read somewhere that the Welsh bows were knobly, showing that they knew how to follow the grain and leave extra wood on where required. The pre-Roman tribes of Britain were known for their craftsmanship so I wouldn't be surprised if their decendants, the Welsh, could develop good bows.

Loki:

--- Quote ---Egads, sorry about bringing in those Celts.
--- End quote ---
LOL,its one of those common misconceptions what tourism takes advantage of,gets my goat a bit  ;D.


--- Quote ---You can thank those Norse for tiring out Harlod, and after all, if it wasn't for William, England would still maybe be a Germanic country
--- End quote ---
We still are a Germanic people for the most part,the Norman Conquerors made very little impact on the gene pool of England,there a study going on at the moment by Oxford univerity which is recording all the DNA types native to Briton which is disproving a lot of theories  ;D.
Its very hard to determine which people exactly you are descended from because the Angle-Saxons,Danish Viking's and the Normans all come from the same place (whats now Denmark),therefore the DNA is the same.
The South West of England and the West tips of Wales are mostly native Briton,the South East and Midlands are Saxon,the North East is Danish viking and the North west of Scotland are Norwegian Viking according to the study  ;D.

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/e-h/face.html

Loki:

--- Quote ---The pre-Roman tribes of Britain were known for their craftsmanship so I wouldn't be surprised if their decendants, the Welsh, could develop good bows.
--- End quote ---
Indeed,the Iron age tribes of Britain were famous metal workers i dont see why they wouldnt have similar skill's in woodworking,they literaly worshiped wood!the Saxon invaders were a rough bunch but after a couple of hundred years of living with the Native British,they produce pieces like what we see from thr Sutton Hoo buriel.
Battersea shield (Brythonic) 100BC and a recreation of the Sutton Hoo helm from the 7thCE (Saxon).


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SimonUK:
Nice pictures Loki. That sheild is a very good example of 'celtic' art - swirls, spirals and vague trumpet shapes, very beautiful indeed. Many people think celtic art is the classic irish interwoven pattern ('knotwork') seen in the Book of Kells, but I think that is actually norse/germanic in origin - the irish must have adopted it during contact with the vikings or angosaxons around that time.

Loki:

--- Quote ---That sheild is a very good example of 'celtic' art - swirls, spirals and vague trumpet shapes, very beautiful indeed
--- End quote ---

Yes its very beautiful but it isnt 'Celtic',the Brythonic people had a similar style to the Celtic finds found at La Tene (Switzerland) but there not the same.


--- Quote ---Many people think celtic art is the classic irish interwoven pattern ('knotwork') seen in the Book of Kells, but I think that is actually norse/germanic in origin - the irish must have adopted it during contact with the vikings or angosaxons around that time.
--- End quote ---
The Knotwork of Ireland and Scotland is Pictish,the Picts were very different to the 'Celts' (Celtii are from Switzerland),they originated in Ireland but they migrated to Scotland,wiping out the native Scotti tribe of the Caledone's and building there Brock's,only the Picts lived in Brock's there's no other examples of them any where else in Europe.
Thats not to say that there's no Norse influence's in the book of Kell's,the Book of Kells wasnt written in Ireland it was wrote by a single a munk on Iona (west coast of Scotland) ,its a striking example of Insular art and so is the Lindisfarne Gospel,they date from around the same time but Lindisfarne is on the North East coast of England.However the Norse influence came from the Saxon's (Saxons in northern England were the last ones to give up the old God's),it cant have been influenced by the Vikings because they were fiercly Pagan and they were burning every Monastry they could find at the time both these Gospels were written.


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