Main Discussion Area > English Warbow
data on the Mary Rose bows/arrows
ratty:
--- Quote from: triton on January 02, 2009, 10:57:05 am ---I'm going to give the fella a chance to recover from the holiday but I have a contact in Poland that can supply long strand raw hemp. I'm keen to give it a go. There's also some obscure reference to strings being whipped for their entire length (perhaps with silk) to add strength.
--- End quote ---
excellent :-)
i will be interseted to hear your results.
are you going to try the hemp string on your 110# lam warbow ?
bow-toxo:
--- Quote from: ratty on January 01, 2009, 05:02:04 pm ---i don't believe ascham's books are the be all and end of military archery. infact i believe them to be more about pastime shooting.
i think this quote is good
A few points concerning your belief versus facts. Henry VIII promoted and legally required archery practice for war, not pastime.
Ascham refers to shooting at the butts as well as 'prick' [clout] shooting. Nearly alll able bodied Englishmen were required to shoot at the butts from the ages of 16 to 60 as required by law to prepare archers for war, not pastime..
Ascham wrote 'Toxophilus' at the request and patronage of Henry VIII to instruct in archery as practice for war, not pastime.
All archers were required to practice at the butts as above mentioned . There were not special butts for the regular archers and other special butts for pastime shooters.
this tells me hemp seems to be more used than silk at this time.
Hemp came into common use in the late Middle Ages, not so long before Aascham;r time.I recently made up a hemp string of 20 pound hemp, three strands of 3 strings each, total 180 pounds, just about 1/8" thick. Coarse stuff but OK.
the first book of the school of shooting by Roger Ascham.
this tells me they are shooting lighter bows than they would at war.or not drawing there bows to there full potential . what do you think?
They were using fully drawn arrows of Mary Rose length and shorter bows that had to cast the distances required by law, but I would guess they would have been of lighter draw weight, especially for the teen agers.
--- End quote ---
ratty:
--- Quote from: bow-toxo on January 02, 2009, 11:55:01 pm ---
--- Quote from: ratty on January 01, 2009, 05:02:04 pm ---i don't believe ascham's books are the be all and end of military archery. infact i believe them to be more about pastime shooting.
i think this quote is good
A few points concerning your belief versus facts. Henry VIII promoted and legally required archery practice for war, not pastime.
Ascham refers to shooting at the butts as well as 'prick' [clout] shooting. Nearly alll able bodied Englishmen were required to shoot at the butts from the ages of 16 to 60 as required by law to prepare archers for war, not pastime..
Ascham wrote 'Toxophilus' at the request and patronage of Henry VIII to instruct in archery as practice for war, not pastime.
All archers were required to practice at the butts as above mentioned . There were not special butts for the regular archers and other special butts for pastime shooters.
this tells me hemp seems to be more used than silk at this time.
Hemp came into common use in the late Middle Ages, not so long before Aascham;r time.I recently made up a hemp string of 20 pound hemp, three strands of 3 strings each, total 180 pounds, just about 1/8" thick. Coarse stuff but OK.
the first book of the school of shooting by Roger Ascham.
this tells me they are shooting lighter bows than they would at war.or not drawing there bows to there full potential . what do you think?
They were using fully drawn arrows of Mary Rose length and shorter bows that had to cast the distances required by law, but I would guess they would have been of lighter draw weight, especially for the teen agers.
--- End quote ---
--- End quote ---
the opening words od the book.
TOXOPHILUS,
The School of Shooting
contained in two
books.
To all Gentlemen and yeoman of England,
pleasant for their pastime to read,
and profitable for their use
to follow, both in war
and peace.
how many peasants could read at this time ? (not many i'm sure. which says to me that the book was aimed toward wealther people of the time)
--- Quote ---pleasant for their pastime to read,
--- End quote ---
this tells me that the book was for people that enjoyed shooting and not aimed at people that were forced to shoot by law.
with in saying this i do realise it was compulsary to practice with a bow for war and peace but not everyone shooting would have come anywhere near being a warbow archer,very few would have shown exceptional skill and strength.so it was encouraged as a competative sport with rewards to encourage people away from probably playing football or dice.
triton:
since the invention of the printing press in 1440, literacy boomed in England, especially in the cities. by the 16thC even women were learning to read :o
I think the language needs to be thought about as a lot different to current literary works. This phrase "pleasant for their pastime to read", I believe these days that would translate to "a nice bedtime read" or "easy to read" rather than being a heavyweight tome.
To be taken more seriously than the witterings of a dandy in my opinion. But so much of his works are taken out of context or ignored entirely, so what does it matter? may as well put it out of reach and make it up as we go along to suit our own ends ;)
ratty:
thanks mike :)
i think dandy's appeared around 1795 - 1820 . i believe it was a fashion of clothing .
i think around the time of ascham 1500ish the first books written in english and not latin were appearing. which may have helped the written word extend to a larger audience :-)
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