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Mary Rose 'Marks'

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meanewood:
I think its pretty much accepted that the marks on the 'Mary Rose' bows were makers marks and maybe some are done by the archer to identify his bow.

The thing I find unusual is there does not seem to be a mark to indicate where to shoot the arrow from, commonly known as the arrow pass!

Why would that be the case when it literally takes a minute or two to do so?

Some of the bows didn't even have makers marks to use as a reference.

Without any mark, anywhere, were they just guessing where the center was?

Del the cat:
On such a long bow with unmatched randomly supplied arrows just feeling the balance of the bow in the hand would probably be good enough.
Did they have a nocking point on the string (even just a wear mark would suffice), that would automatically define the arrow pass on the bow.
Surely a more pertinent question is... did they even bother which limb was uppermost.
Someone once asked me:-
Why do you always answer a question with another question?"
I said...
"Why not?" ;)
Del

sleek:
I am certain string wear and never taking the string off the bow, and the wear marks on the arrow side made id eazy enough.

WillS:
You're assuming the strings were kept on the bows and that each bow had one string - dangerous!

I've always thought the "bowyer's" marks were actually draw weight identification.  They're all so similar but for an extra mark it would make more sense.  Three pricks, or 5 or 7 etc instead of lots of unique identifying symbols.  Only a small amount have an actual symbol - a circle with a symbol inside it, for example - but the majority have a set of triangular pricks arranged in a certain shape, and I think the number of pricks correlates to the power of the bow.  That would make the fact that each chest contained bows with different (but very similar) marks all the more reasonable.  Otherwise you'd expect one bowyer's guild to complete a chest of bows, and ergo each chest would have a load of bows with the same bowyer's guild mark on them, which isn't the case at all.

It's almost impossible to confirm though, because we don't actually know the draw weights of them.

Oh, and if you make your arrows properly, and don't bind them with great thick linen like the reenactors do, and the bindings are seated in a traditional wax and resin compound you very rarely get any sort of wear mark from use. 

jaxenro:
How important is it? My understanding, flawed as it is, is they relied on the mass effect of thousands of arrows shot into a relatively confined area for effect and not so much individual accuracy? Kind of like the muskets that replaced them it was the mass effect shooting at a formed body of enemy troops that caused mayhem not individual accuracy?

So as long as you could get a heavy arrow launched in the correct general direction with sufficient velocity next to hundreds of your mates you were good to go.

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