The incredible history of the Medieval longbow

Before it reached the height of its fame at battles such as Crécy and Agincourt, the longbow had already developed over centuries of slow improvements.

Archaeological discoveries and references in legal records and military accounts, suggest that longbows were in use in Wales well before the English adopted them widely.

King Edward I’s wars against the Welsh in the late 13th century showed the weapon’s use on the battlefield to the English.

Welsh archers used powerful self-bows made from yew or elm, capable of sending arrows great distances with enough force to injure or kill a mounted knight.

Gerald of Wales had earlier noted the strength of Welsh bows in the 12th century, showing they had existed in the region for a long time.

When Edward saw how well they worked, he began to employ Welsh archers in his campaigns in Scotland and France. 

By the 14th century, the English crown encouraged archery across the kingdom. In 1363, Edward III issued an order for all able-bodied men to practise archery every Sunday and on holidays.

Towns and villages designated areas for shooting ranges and sheriffs were instructed to ensure compliance.

Although carrying out these laws varied, the emphasis on practice trained many skilled archers, many of whom entered military service during the long wars with France.

In 1511, Henry VIII reinforced the rule with another Archery Law, further requiring practice and limiting other pastimes like gambling and football.

Longbowmen became the core of English armies and formed tight formations at the rear of infantry lines, launching large numbers of arrows that broke up enemy lines before hand-to-hand fighting began. 

Technical characteristics of the longbow made it distinct from other weapons of the time that fired arrows.

A typical longbow reached between 1.8 and 2 metres in length and was usually made from a single piece of yew.

Bowyers preferred yew for its combination of a hard outer layer and a flexible inner core, which gave the bow both strength and flexibility.

Draw weights often exceeded 100 pounds, and in some cases, reached over 160 pounds. This demanded considerable physical strength from the archer.

A trained longbowman could shoot 10 to 12 arrows per minute, a rate of fire that greatly exceeded the loading speed of crossbows and early firearms, though crossbows could be more accurate and required far less training.

English arrows, which were called bodkin or broadhead based on the head design, were often made from ash or birch and tipped with iron points.

While broadhead arrows were mainly used for hunting, bodkin points were preferred in battle.

These arrows could pierce padded gambesons, mail hauberks, and in some cases dent or get through less well-crafted plate armour, when fired at close range, though the best-quality plate often withstood arrow strikes. 

The Battle of Crécy in 1346 became the first major test of the longbow in open-field battle on the Continent.

Edward III’s army, composed largely of infantry and archers, faced a much larger French force, heavily reliant on cavalry.

English longbowmen positioned on rising ground loosed wave after wave of arrows into the advancing French knights.

Horses panicked under fire, chaotic charges faltered, and the French fell into confusion.

Some later accounts describe archers who planted sharpened wooden stakes in front of them as a method to deter cavalry charges, but the evidence for their specific use at Crécy is uncertain and better documented at later battles.

By day’s end, thousands of French soldiers had been killed or captured, and the longbow had proved its value in a pitched battle.

A generation later, in 1415, Henry V’s army at Agincourt relied again on longbowmen to repel French assaults across a narrow, muddy field.

English arrows thinned the French ranks long before they reached the English lines.

The confined terrain increased the harm, and the longbow helped secure another famous victory. 

Longbow warfare did not rely solely on arrows shot at a distance. Archers often carried mallets or daggers to finish wounded enemies after the enemy line broke.

They worked in coordination with infantry, and sometimes even used their bows as clubs in close quarters.

Most archers were drawn from the yeoman class, free men who balanced military service with agricultural life, and whose status grew in parallel with their military value.

Longbowmen were useful in siege warfare, forest skirmishes, and garrison duty. In some cases, longbowmen operated as scouts or messengers due to their mobility and knowledge of terrain.

Chroniclers such as Jean Froissart described the destruction their volleys caused, with arrows that had become stuck firmly in men and horses and that could scarcely be removed. 

By the late 15th century, however, the longbow began to lose its dominance on the battlefield.

Gunpowder weapons, such as handguns and cannons, became more widespread, and they required less training to use effectively.

Crossbows also remained popular on the Continent due to their simple design and short learning curve.

Even so, longbowmen appeared as late as the Battle of Flodden in 1513, where English archers under the Earl of Surrey participated in the campaign that led to a crushing defeat of the Scottish army led by King James IV, who was killed in the fighting.

However, infantry armed with pikes and bills played a greater role in the close fighting.

Despite this continued usefulness, the cost and time required to train effective longbowmen eventually limited their usefulness in a changing military environment. 

By the 16th century, archery training fell, and the longbow shifted from a weapon of war to a reminder of England’s past.

Nevertheless, it had a lasting impact on both military history and how people saw England.

Archery competitions continued in peacetime as popular sports, often run by local guilds or royal societies such as the Worshipful Company of Bowyers and the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers.

The longbow featured in literature and in folklore, and it remained a popular legend.

Stories of Robin Hood, which began to circulate in oral tradition by the 14th century and were recorded in ballads by the 15th, helped keep the image of the skilled English archer as a symbol of independence and defiance. 

In later centuries, historians and early history enthusiasts viewed the longbow as a uniquely English achievement.

Writers in the 18th and 19th centuries praised the bravery of the bowmen of Agincourt and saw in the longbow a connection to an ideal past of free yeomen and loyal service to the crown.

Museums across Britain today keep longbows recovered from shipwrecks, battlefields, and private collections, which offer real reminders of a weapon that changed the face of medieval warfare.