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Scottish bows?

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Gimlis Ghost:

--- Quote from: Chumash on March 01, 2022, 07:15:33 pm ---May be that is a so called "burgundybow"?

This two bows are shown in  a museum of munich and they are dated 1700...

--- End quote ---

It very well might be.
Though the one pictured seems of better craftsmanship, as one would expect of it belonging to a wealthy gentleman.

In reading of French archery I ran across a number of drawings of French bowmen armed with bows very similar to the one pictured in the OP.
They varied in length from hunting size to long bow length and apparently were of a lighter draw weight than the English long bow, intended more for close and medium range accuracy than for long range arrow storms.

bownarra:
I used to live a few miles from wemyss.....the days of my mis-spent youth haha....

Gimlis Ghost:
I got to thinking about the vulnerability to moisture of the glues used for Medieval compound bows.
One account of a record long range shot by an English archer using a Turkish bow mentioned that the bow was very old and before shooting with it the owner had spent some time rehydrating the bow and drawing it progressively till certain it wouldn't fail.
This suggests the bow had been stored in a dry environment, perhaps a collection in a building that was well heated in the winter or whenever rain was a problem.
Ordinarily very cold winter air has less moisture than warm air, only when ice and snow melt would moisture laden air be a problem.
In spring and summer torential rains would drive up humidity.

Composite crossbow prods appear to have failed only if exposed to extended rain without an effective case or covering, which was not feasible when going into battle, and even then accounts say that they lost power and range not that they failed completely.
The English Bowmen had effective bow cases to protect their bows and self bows were less affected by moisture as long as bow strings were kept dry. Spare strings have been mentioned as well.

Companies of Arab archers were hired as mercenaries in a number of European conflicts. They apparently knew how to avoid moisture damage to their bows.
Composite horn hunting bows used in northern climes such as parts of Russia are known from archaeological finds.
These were found to be tightly wrapped with thin bark which may have kept out moisture to some extent.
The Esikimo also used powerful composite bows of very different construction , mainly because proper bow woods were not to be found that far north.

Steel bows were mentioned earlier.
Steel isn't very efficient for bows of heavier draw weights, as the diminish returns of heavy draw steel crossbows has proven, but seems to work well for lighter target and hunting bows. The quality of the steel is a factor but various methods of improving the cast, such as grooved or hollowed limbs, are displayed in surviving examples.
The Indian steel bows kept in aresenals were inferior in cast even to self wood bows but could be stored for decades without degradation. Composite and to a lesser extent self bows require good storage conditions and hands on inspection and upkeep to remain trustworthy battle weapons when stored for extended periods.
I have seen an Indian war bow described as being made from whale bone, possibly Baleen as used in corset stays, and steel, but haven't found any information on details of construction.

bownarra:
Well different collagen based glues have very different properties depending on what they are made from.
Yellow croaker fish bladder glue resists the ingress of moisture very well indeed. In fact I once saoked a twisted hornbow to get the horn and sinew off to be re-used. That bow had been glued entirely with croaker bladder glue, even underwater in a bath the sinew took over a week to full release. The horn core joint however lasted for over 2 weeks....
On the other end of the spectrum hide glue doesn't like wet/humid climates and excels in very dry arid climates.
I tend to make my hornbows with yellow croaker glue. I've shot for three days in poring rain, no drying period and didn't even notice a difference in the bow.
It is entirely possible/plausable that hornbows (taken in battle?) made it back to the UK and were shot and used once here. The storage wouldn't have to have been anything special for the bow to survive and be useable. My best flight bow has done just over 600 yards and it just sits in my room.
You are correct about cold air/ r.h. levels etc BUT here in the UK we have a very humid climate. In fact because it never gets very cold here (maritime climate) and the humidity levels rise in the autumn, stay high through the winter and into spring. Right now in my workshop it is 80% r.h. and it won't drop below 60% until we get some hot days. Summer is definately the lowest r.h. althought it is rare to have any periods below 50 r.h.
Crossbow or handbow a hornbow when properly coated, with leather , painted with oil based paints will last for many years in this climate. What I was getting at is that for the majority of clansmen a hornbow makes no sense, only somebody very important would've had one. The yew recurve on the other hand is relatively easy to make, shoots very well, materials are easily available (Scotland and northern England are full of yew) and is unaffected by the climate (yew excels in the humid conditions).

Gimlis Ghost:

--- Quote ---What I was getting at is that for the majority of clansmen a hornbow makes no sense, only somebody very important would've had one. The yew recurve on the other hand is relatively easy to make, shoots very well, materials are easily available (Scotland and northern England are full of yew) and is unaffected by the climate (yew excels in the humid conditions).
--- End quote ---

I agree. A few wealthy archery enthusiast may well have paid a pretty penny for an imported bow, quite possibly a war relic from eastern campaigns.

Archers weren't much used by the Irish but I've seen illustrations in old manuscripts showing individual Irish warriors with very deeply recurved short bows, much like a cupid bow. The time frame for these appears to have been during or shortly after the Roman occupation when Roman auxillaries including the Samartians and other Asian cataphracts and archers were present.
Also during pre Roman times the British Isles were visited by Greek Merchant ships, who often carried Scythian mercenary archers for protection from pirates.

Theres a legend of Scythian mercenaries ariving late for a battle in which the entire male population of the kingdown that hired them had been killed. The King of the winning side made a deal with them to replace the dead men and become husbands and fathers to the surviving families. This was believed to be the origin of the right of inheritance being by the female lines of ancient Scots families. Not sure when that changed if ever.

If any of that is true it may have had an influence on the later development of recurved self bows, the art of composite bows being lost but the general shape remembered.
The Long Bow seems to have been adapted from the bows used by first Viking then Norman invaders.

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