Straight outta' Mirkwood. Baddest forest west of the Misty Mountains. They've literally got giant spiders in his hood. It don't get more gangsta' than that.
MrCorvusC Both good points, but the major distinguishing feature is actually the fact that when you stand both types of bows on the same surface, the longbow is generally taller
The French, having been beaten by the longbow, decided to respond by making their armour heavier and better. Then there was Agincourt... Of course armour was not useless. If it was, the English would have stopped wearing it at home.
+Khornedevotee If I could re write my initial comment I would add some "!" lol. I started watching his channel, more to listen, while I do busy work, but I find myself not getting anything done lol Though thanks to him my sling ability is, a thing!
+NotSoSober Gamer Or Welshmen/Scotsmen Depending on time of day and geographical location. At least according to urban legend/out of date British laws.
Because the tree is a stand, Wooden Tree. It has the power to trap anything inside of its roots. This quite contrasts the stand Long Bow, which can shoot any projectile at very high speeds over a very long range.
No shit, I never fired a bow, but I know some stats: A arrow fired from a 50 lbs bow moves at about 140 feet per second. That means that the string that imparted that motion moved to at least that speed. A string that moves at 140 feet per second and slaps on your skin, that will leave a serious mark or split your skin open. Common sense really, at least for me it seems to be ...
I know what the string will do to you. I have been shooting traditional archery for a long time. I was making a reference from the video as a joke. no need to get ticked with me.
I personally use a 53 # and have trained myself to be used to the slap so that I can give someone else my arm guard. It doesnt hurt not does it feel good.
***** Merriam-Webster dictionary: 2 fire verb : to shoot a weapon : to throw (something) with speed and force : to give life or energy to (something or someone) the freedictionary.com a. The discharge of firearms or artillery: heard the fire of cannon. b. The launching of a missile, rocket, or similar ballistic body. c. Discharged bullets or other projectiles: subjected enemy positions to heavy mortar fire; struck by rifle fire. Education: get some, son you really need it !
This is most likely totally quirky, but I don't understand how filmmakers miss such an opportunity: Imagine a historical or fantasy movie and it's the scene before the last big fight. The castle is about to get assaulted, the last stand is about to happen, the major forces are finally about to clash, whatever you like. And you get this dramatic build-up to the battle: troops are deploying, arrows are stacked, armour is put on, water is heated up to be thrown down from the battlement. And then you see a shot of some archers warming up their bows like that. Isn't that a powerful image? Isn't this foreboding a long and bloody fight? Isn't the audience immediatly going to understand that these warriors are preparing to shot their weapons very soon and very often? It REALLY goes to show that researching the material you are about to present in art form not only gives it an authentic feel, but also gets you information like this that help you in your creative efford.
wow...I never thought I'd disagree with someone about not using realism in certain stories.I agree with him-if done right it could be a powerful image. of course it isn't NECESSARY to add in-as a matter of fact its never really necessary to add too much realism to any story (just make sure everything makes sense and that it follows its rules rigidly) but It can certainly add something to the story.example:RWBY obviously isn't very realistic, but it follows its own rules quite well. hunters can survive and even heal from devastating attacks because their aura both reduces the damage they take and heals them because they have excellent control over their aura. whereas the normal bystander CAN'T because they don't have nearly as much control over it or can't use it at all.actually that was a bad example...that was more of a example about following your story's rules well...oh well I hope my general message wasn't lost anyway XD
Elves are probably holding their bows sideways because they learned from Hollywood that shooting rapid fire from the hip is way more accurate than using sights/scopes
+Balinux You've got that backwards. Shooting a bow "from the hip" gives it a _weaker_ effective draw, and massively saps the energy of the arrow. If they were really that strong, they'd just draw the normal way, in order to actually _kill things_ with their rather expensive clothyard sheaf arrows. Basically, drawing sideways like that just makes the bow less efficient, for no good reason.
Jonathan Hughes Why would it be a weaker draw, if their body is more than addapted to it? It all comes down to the bow, and how much force the arrow can take with it without snapping.
Naww what happened in runescape was EU policy. Yew was burned outside the banks in long lines of fires to keep the price high to avoid PC woodcutters being outpriced by foreign bots.
hahaha even if he said "a piece of wood under tension from roping" its still queen annes revenge. Even used for hunting works cause you could say hunting other pirates/merchants or whales (at a stretch... maybe he liked whaling lmao)
Thanks. Now I'm wondering what to use to water-proof my authenti-arrows. What do you use? Beeswax? Linseed softens shafts, and polyurethane, though excellent, is not terribly authentic.
This was very entertaining! In this age of pretty low attention span I never thought I'd spend almost 9 minutes listening to a guy in a sweater talking about long bows.
In my car tripping out thinking someones tapping the glass. I even got out of the car and looked around thinking " Alright ive had enough of this! Come out!!"
It is one of my personal bugbears when archers refer to the American flatbow as a longbow! The reason why the flatbow developed over in the states and we developed the classic D-shaped longbow is all down to the native wood found in each Country each wood lends its self to a different type of bow (or so I've come to understand)... Keep up the great work!
this gentleman is beyond amusing. The knowledge of longbows he has along with the humorous presentation is just great to experience. Love these videos and traditional bows convey art,history,sport,hobby...just awesome .
The reason you might want to warm up your bow is probably because bow's are basically huge springs. Elastic things, like springs, are just things that convert other kinds of energy, into kinetic energy, and if your bow is quite hot, then it has more energy to convert. A fun experiment, if you have a thermal camera, is to take like a slingshot, look at it with the camera, shoot it a few times, and look again. You'll notice, of course, it's quite a lot colder than it was. If you, like me, *don't* own a thermal camera, i'm pretty sure mister Sprage has a video about this on the slingshot channel.
No, I had it made for me. Yes, in war, long-distance shooting was usually at formations of troops rather than at individuals, who would be picked out at perhaps 60 yards.
30 years building and hunting with longbows. 1) To string a longbow; place the end of the bow between your legs, with the belly of the bow resting against the calf of your left leg, and the front of the bow resting against the ankle of your right leg. Flex the bow forward using your legs as a lever and string it. Much more gentle on the bow and you don't ruin the tip by digging it into the dirt. 2) Unlike compound bows, which hold the arrow in place, allowing for a vertical shooting, it's much more stable to fire a longbow with a 10-15 degree angle in it. Also reduces the contact between your hand and the arrow reducing the need for your glove. 3) When you draw your bow, you extend your bow arm and draw arm at the same time, locking them both into position. It's less wear and tear on your draw arm as you're pulling the bow away from the string, as you're pulling the string away from the bow. 4) A longbow takes greater skill to shoot than a short bow as the longer arms mean minor movements at the grip mean greater movements at the arrow point. I.E. 1 degree off on a short bow may only put a shot off by a few inches, but 1 degree on a longbow can set it off by as much as a foot or two. 5) If you can't fire your bow without hitting your forearm, it's too powerful for you. You need to practice and make your wrists stronger, or get a lighter bow.
MattMexor No you're absolutely right, and I was trying to explain the right point in the wrong way. I started off trying to explain it as sway and control and it got away from me. A short bow is far less susceptible to sway at the tips while a long bow, because of length and weight, tends to exaggerate that sway. If that's not clear I can only recommend shooting both and feeling the difference for yourself. Another factor is that a long bow also generally has a longer draw length to it meaning longer arrows. Longer arrows can also add to the exaggerated sway. That's why most trick shooters opt for short recurves.
Thank you, Mister. Veeery, veeery much!!! For sharing knowledge and passion with us, who, as well, might have a great deal of passion, but not as much knowledge (I am speaking just for myself, at this point). Very helpful and educative. Wish you all the best, and keep up the good work.
Medieval pictures show draws to various places, not all of which could have been correct (some are weirdly high), but as far back as the ear is not uncommon, and is used by people today. Many pictures show bare-handed archers, that's true, but I have shot without a tab and quickly skinned my fingers. With much-calloused hands, things would be different. I may mention the leaning-in technique in a future video. Guards are pictured in medieval drawings.
Any such laws would be local bye-laws (there may have been such a statute in Chester), and would not now be enforceable, as national law would override them. TRiG.
I pull to near my ear, and sight along the arrow. The two do not contradict. One quickly gets a feel for where the arrow is pointing, even though one's eye is not directly behind the arrow.
It was, but in combination with other factors, and a penetration isn't the only way the arrow can work. It can concuss, drain morale, break up formations, slow a charge. Advancing against a hail of arrows is difficult even if none of them penetrates.
Another great video. The reason for warming up the bow before you shoot it is so it doesnt break if you draw it fully when its cold. A bit like when you do stretches before exercise. Love the cricket jumper!
The hip firing with Hollywood about bows is the same way with guns. It gets on my nerves. You have very interesting videos and I enjoy watching them. I hope you keep it up!
Karasu Not sideways though. I don't know why but people who make movies seem to think it looks really cool to shoot things with your weapon sideways. Though it should be said that some gun experts agree that there are circumstances where shooting your gun sideways may be beneficial, but they are almost always where accuracy doesn't matter (like firing a gun with rapid fire and a lot of recoil into a crowd)
If you are hunting and don't need the full power of the bow, you might decide to hold the bow horizontal to avoid the limbs striking tree branches. I've done this when hunting in Australia. It is one of the times that 'instinctive aiming' has an advantage over relying on sights.
-I suspect there's some requirement for all experimental archaeologists to stake a claim to the origin of the phrase "rule of thumb." I've heard so many.
"This is a long bow, they're long" Now my keyboard has got a beautifull mixture of coffee and saliva thoroughly tucked down between its buttons.. But a good morning laugh non the less! I salute you sir...
Hollywood has gotten better at realism but still the film comes first... My theory is film is widescreen, so holding a bow horizontally looks better because it fills the screen. Youve gotta think like a director. Everything is about visuals and framing.
Right. Thanks for that. Informative. I have a 50 lb draw bow for practice in technique, but understand the war bows would be 100 to 120 or 130 pounds around Ajincourt...
Bruce Burns I'm fifteen and I have a 50 pound ash longbow. Archiologists found deformations in the shoulders as well because at that time you would start archery at 8 years old
I read a novel about a medieval archer. I'm not claiming that everything in all novels is accurate or anything but in the book, he described why English archers need so much training. Pick the bow up and draw it aiming down the arrow like a recurve bow. Now you're at half draw. With a full draw, you can't really see. It takes instinct and intuition and all that. I'm just reporting what the novel says. I'm no expert. Now discuss. All the people who think I'm a complete idiot on one side and all the people who think I'm totally right on the other.
No you're right. For a warbow you draw back to your shoulder and immediately release, meaning you don't really aim. Your muscle memory and years of practice is what allows you to hit things reliably.
If you're shooting relatively flat, you can aim using the arrow and the alignment of the string just fine. Shooting at a high trajectory is subject the same issues whether you're using a recurve or a longbow (in my limited experience of shooting the two)
That would make an amount of sense, but it's not what's shown. Spreading your entire wingspan to draw the bow would be very odd, and in the tight longbow formations... It doesn't sound too plausible. Also I think that'd have to be an insanely long bow. Longer than what we know of.
The Armored Idiot Well, I didn't mean that you had to straighten out both arms like a bird if that's what you mean. It just requires a fuller draw. I guess that he meant one needed to move his head slightly out of the way for a full draw and you couldn't aim down the arrow like any modern archer would understand. The novel did go on to describe how if the enemy would get close enough he didn't need to draw it like that and he could take them out with what he called "half draw". I guess the full draw was for the enemies in the distant battlefield.
The simplest way to string a longbow without using a stringer is to step through the bow with your left foot (so your leg is between the limb and the string) then hook the bottom horn behind your right foot, then grip the upper limb with your left hand and lean into it, so your're bending the bow pretty much using your weight and leg strength (which is much greater than arm strength). This bends it enough to slip the top loop up the limb and into the nock. You then try to extricate yourself without tripping over, or you'll look a bit of a tit.
***** That is a way to string a low power bow, and btw a good way to twist the limbs on a modern recurce bow. Try to string a 120lbs bow that way and the people around you will have something to laugh about. I shoot Fita-Recurve, english longbow and traditional korean bow. The korean bow has 50lbs and i string it like you mentioned, because thats kind of the way it is traditionally strung. My Fita bow is always strung with a stringer cord, to keep the carbon lims from twisting. My longbow has 80lbs, and I tried the method lindybeige pointed out and to string it locked in my legs, both methods do not really work.
***** I've made bows for customers who were way too heavy for me to draw, including a monster of a self bow (no lamination, no backing, just a single piece of wood) that was 175 lbs at 27 inches (he had short arms). The best way I've found with no bow stringer (the monster bow another way) is to put a cloth on the ground, place the bow in a sideways position with a good stiff arm on the upper tip, and driving your knee into the handle, using my whole body to bend the bow. Three points of contact with the knee at center, and a huge mechanical advantage. No limb twist but not the way to string the recurve. Ugg, the video is still going on and he's talking about wrist slap from the string: Properly weighted arrows and good form will fix that. I brace my flatbows at a mere 4 inches and never get wrist slap.
Is great to hear some sense talked about longbows! Incidentally, I remember reading some time ago that longbows were about strength, not accuracy. The weights were such that an archer could not hold it back enough for an accurate shot. It was draw and fire as fast as was possible, to get the heavy bodkin-pointed arrows into massed troops on the battlefield, to create as much mayhem as possible.
The warming the bow thing is something reported, but I do not know of any scientific test to see how much difference it makes. I suspect, though, that a useful side-effect is that it warms up the archer, so he is likely to perform better.
It always bugged me that in the rangers apprentice book they supposedly shoot their longbows from horseback and string them very quickly in very confined spaces.
A properly trained full time archer probably could string the bow really fast if they absolutely needed to, and it's not impossible to fire a longbow from horse back. If you're firing the bow say right handed like most people, that would just mean you're stuck shooting straight ahead of you and to the left as far as you could turn, you lose the ability to shoot to the right or further cause the lower limb of the bow is generally stuck on the saddle. Recurves and shorter bows are better on horse back because the shorter limbs make it so you can shoot at more angles then a longbow. Or you could just go the Japanese way and basically make it so a horse archers horse's saddle has little platforms you can stand on so you can literally stand up on your horse xD
A long bow on a horse back is hard but not impossible, but the methods he showed for stringing your bow are both, well used especially for really heavy bows but usually you would flip your bow so the back of the bow is against your foot, and pull at the handle and slit the noose upwards whilst pulling the tip of the bow downwards, as if you are pulling the bow but from the wrong side as to say. that is done, if skilled, within a few seconds and doesn't really need much space.
can't say much about the rangers and what it says in the book as I've never read it but personally it only takes me a few seconds to string my main 60lb bow and only a little longer to string my old 80lb bow (mostly because it's wood and I don't want it to suddenly shatter in my hands) and that's without the use of bow stringers or other aids the one time I did get to string a reconstruction welsh longbow (around 140-150lb) it took me a good 30 seconds but mostly because I didn't want to risk breaking it by forcing the bow (did that once the first time I strung an old wood self bow) but yeah stringing a bow quickly is quiet easily done
I'm surprised you didn't touch on the English national offensive finger gesture. From what I understand it was born during the time of the hundred years war when the english longbowmen were so effective at killing french people that the French threatened to cut the index and middle fingers from every English prisoner they captured. And so the English, being the English, found no small bit of joy in taunting the French with their own threat by bearing their bow fingers after a volley. Does that sound about right?
I am unaware of the truth of it. That's why I didn't insist that it was the truth. I have learned that someone disagrees with what I thought I knew, therefore I have more research to do.
If you're interested, you might want to read this, and the associated links the author provides: bshistorian.wordpress.com/2007/07/02/two-fingers-up-to-english-history/
Yes, a modern bow with all the high-tech trimmings is easier to shoot accurately, but is a longbow any more difficult to shoot than, say, an ancient style composite recurved shortbow?
About that sideways way of holding the bow: Yes, full-on horizontal is pretty crappy. But among the Native longbowmen of the Eastern/Southeastern Woodlands (Seminole, Muskogee, Iroquois, Cherokee and the like) The bow was canted at an angle. Sort of a 45 degree thing. Not sure why, having not really tested it, but it is something to wonder about.
I'll tell you why: it helps with aiming. It keeps an arrow between your bow-holding hand and the wood of the bow in a natural v-nook made by the 45-degree angle you're holding the bow at. You can move the bow around and aim better, without needing to look straight down the bow. If you need to make snap movements, like pivoting to hit fleeing prey, it really helps.
I've only ever seen tribal hunters do this and I suspect (in this case) it is because they are smaller, lighter bows and depend on poison to down their prey (poison for hog or deer sized prey, but no need for rodents, reptiles and marsupials). I can't imagine hunters using too big a bow, moving through brush and forested areas would just be comical!
Another thing about doing instinctive archery and shooting it at an angle, it keeps the bow out of your vision so you have a better line of sight on the target and around it.
There are several efficient archery stances and hand positions, different combinations have different merits. The method you showed here is certainly the best for firing arrows long distances or accurately, and it fits the longbow best, but there are much faster methods which still retain enough power to be useful. I've experimented with some of the hand positions used in movies and some allow the archer to fire quite rapidly while still maintaining accuracy. These methods are better suited for shorter bows, of course. The most efficient method I've found is to bend one's back outwards just a bit and rest the arrow on the outside of the bow. It feels slightly awkward at first, but I can fire 4 times as many arrows like this, and I've been using the traditional method for years.
I understand where you come from and why you don't accept the wiki definition...but your definition at 0:45 "piece of wood taller than its user"...so if a really tall person stands besides your bow...it stops being a longbow?
+Alonso de Hojeda Bows are custom made for the user, well at least wooden ones and you shouldn't let a taller person use your custom made wooden bow because he has a longer arm, ergo a longer draw and he might just break your bow in a thousand pieces. Wooden bows aren't transferable goods, they fall in the category of "user fitted weapons" like a plate armor for example.
Zamolxes77 I have my doubt whether in the era they were custom made...or mass produced. When you equip an army...you cannot really meet each soldier :) I may be wrong of course.
Alonso de Hojeda Its middle ages, nothing is mass produced. Except maybe arrows. We have the original roster of Henry the 5th Army just before they sailed into France. Look it up, is a very interesting document that contains every single name of every soldier that sailed with Henry, their signature and how much they were paid. Is suggested that archers provide their own gear and is one of the 1st documents that suggests England was moving away towards a more modern contractual system, over France who relied on their feudal levies. Mercs usually provide their own gear. The 1st signs of mass production and the equipment of a professional army by the state is in 17th century, exception off course the roman legion.
+Alonso de Hojeda No, because the fool next to you isn't using it. I have a bow that, for my 5'2" sister, is a long bow. But me, with my 6'3" frame, were to use it, it would just be a regular bow. I wouldn't call it short, as a five foot six bow is not inconsequential.
Lindybeige my friend I appreciate your videos. I have watched most and I am Happy you included archery so well into your channel. Keep on with what you do I will be liking and subscribing along the way.
Native Americans tended to use lighter (40 - 50 lbs) bows, held mostly horizontally, with a chest draw instead of a cheek draw. This was convenient because they were using two-fletch arrows, instead of the typical European three-fletch. On Native American bows, you can sometimes find a nock in the middle of the bow to assist in keeping the arrow on the right part of the bow body. This seems like it might be less accurate until you realise that it virtually eliminates paradox and what little remains will be an up-down wiggle instead of side-to-side.
Basically during a medieval battle like Azincourt, you just needed to be strong enough to draw a bow to fit in. Henry V:s army was 5/6 peasants with longbows with a commander doing all the thinking, measuring and ordering. The only skill you had to have, as an archer, during such a battle was to angle the bow accordingly, draw it and release when ordered. Nice vid! I prefer Hungarian-type recurve bows but am interested in history and medieval archery specifically. Cheers!
In modern usage a long bow is one where the string only touches the bow at the nocks, as compared to a recurve bow where the string touches the curved limbs until drawn. Long bows are longer so as to store the same amount of energy as a shorter recurve bow, both limited by the archer's strength and draw length. Recurves were developed in Asia for use on horseback, something for which long bows are ill suited. The use of different hand positions on the string is called 'string walking'. I am not aware of historical use of that technique because it reduces arrow velocity, but it is possible.
I live in america too, and i have three bows, two are recurve and one is a compound bow. I grew up using it, as i lived near a indian reserve for awhile, and bows are significant for them.
If you look at the Bayeux Tapestry they are firing from the hip. Lars Andersen also fires accurately from the hip. Anyway I love your videos! Very informative! Especially your bit on Ironclad- that gave me a laugh
Longbows these days are defined not by their size, but by their lack of recurves. If the string doesn't rest on the limb, its a longbow. -friendly American longbowman
Why use two when you can easily use three? It is true, though, that while many medieval pictures are ambiguous, some do seem to show two fingered use. Those same pictures, however, contain many inaccuracies, so it is difficult to know what to take seriously. I shall try two-fingered use and see if I can spot an advantage.
The longbow apparently originated in the Welsh border country, the men of Gwent used elm longbows which didn't have the range of a yew bow but had tremendous power over their shorter range. Gerald Cambrensis tells some interesting stories about the Welsh bowmen.
When I bought my longbow, I was taught a technique to string it by placing one foot under the bow and the other inside, allowing the bow to be bent against the leg with one hand and strung with the other. It's quick and doesn't require a secondary device.
Well, every bow has its drawbacks...
+Richard Smith Badum dum. Thank you, I'll be here all week.
With 2 drums and a cymbal
nice 1
I see what you did there...
Clearly funny for its target audience.
ahah fantastic an English man teaching long bows in a cricket sweater ahahahah Lindybeige you are great :D :D
Love your vids man
Two of the coolest history Wizs coming together. This is the crossover that all the noble ones have been waiting for.
jumper
Ankur Nandi 4 years ago...
.0
Maybe they hold the bow sideways because they're gangsta.
Straight outta' Mirkwood.
Baddest forest west of the Misty Mountains. They've literally got giant spiders in his hood. It don't get more gangsta' than that.
+Valchrist1313 Mirkwood is east of the Misty Mountains.
+Salsajoe Bro Not when you're stuck upside down in a web
+Stu MacDonald OG Legolas
WE WUZ ELVEZ N SHIEET
one thing that distinguishes long bows from shorter ones, is that they are longer...
I would also add that short bows are generally shorter than longbows.
godsfuneral
Another thing worth mentioning is difference in length is main distinction between short and long bow.
MrCorvusC Both good points, but the major distinguishing feature is actually the fact that when you stand both types of bows on the same surface, the longbow is generally taller
***** Jesus jumping Christ.
***** Definitely not in skinny jeans...
The French, having been beaten by the longbow, decided to respond by making their armour heavier and better. Then there was Agincourt...
Of course armour was not useless. If it was, the English would have stopped wearing it at home.
The law required them to practice every week.
Holding the bow sideways, just like Ye Olde Gangsta.
sunburstbasser Gangsterre
+sunburstbasser actually lol'd in real life :D
Ye old thug lyfe
Vile beggar
ye olde crip
I wish Mr.Lindybeige could be my teacher. This guy is terribly interesting. Thanks for all your great videos.
+CrazyCamo Yes and he is terribly entertaining and funny too. :D ''HA! Pancies!'' xD
+Khornedevotee If I could re write my initial comment I would add some "!" lol. I started watching his channel, more to listen, while I do busy work, but I find myself not getting anything done lol Though thanks to him my sling ability is, a thing!
+Khornedevotee Imagine a history lesson:
Nr Nelson was a hero! HE STUFFED THE FRENCH! (french kids start crying...)
He is our teacher, we just didnt have to go to school to see him. This channel is basically a free college history course.
I love his language. Not formal, not hard, just like an old neighbor telling you a fun tale.
The best definition of a longbow: a long bow used to kill Frenchmen
+NotSoSober Gamer Or Welshmen/Scotsmen Depending on time of day and geographical location. At least according to urban legend/out of date British laws.
@The_Jaguar_ Knight Shots fired! Lol.
made in Wales.
davebuchan81 Literally!
"This one is made out of ash." I wasn't aware that medieval bow-makers were that good at glueing things back together!
You deserve an award
Ashwood bro, ashwood
To which I'd add that they were even better at convincing you to let yourself be made into a bow.
+Uber_Crowbar They were also apparently made of you.
HA..........HA.......SO.........FUNNY........
0:43 "Longbow: A piece of wood that is taller than its user."
That would be a "tree". :-P
Because the tree is a stand, Wooden Tree. It has the power to trap anything inside of its roots. This quite contrasts the stand Long Bow, which can shoot any projectile at very high speeds over a very long range.
Ah, yes. The tree. My favorite tool. I use them often.
it only takes one slap to decide that an arm guard is in need
No shit, I never fired a bow, but I know some stats: A arrow fired from a 50 lbs bow moves at about 140 feet per second. That means that the string that imparted that motion moved to at least that speed. A string that moves at 140 feet per second and slaps on your skin, that will leave a serious mark or split your skin open. Common sense really, at least for me it seems to be ...
I know what the string will do to you. I have been shooting traditional archery for a long time. I was making a reference from the video as a joke. no need to get ticked with me.
I have a 60 pound bow and it slaps my forearm all day long but I think it doesn't hurt that much. It feels kind of good actually.
I personally use a 53 # and have trained myself to be used to the slap so that I can give someone else my arm guard. It doesnt hurt not does it feel good.
*****
Merriam-Webster dictionary:
2 fire verb
: to shoot a weapon
: to throw (something) with speed and force
: to give life or energy to (something or someone)
the freedictionary.com
a. The discharge of firearms or artillery: heard the fire of cannon.
b. The launching of a missile, rocket, or similar ballistic body.
c. Discharged bullets or other projectiles: subjected enemy positions to heavy mortar fire; struck by rifle fire.
Education: get some, son you really need it !
This is most likely totally quirky, but I don't understand how filmmakers miss such an opportunity:
Imagine a historical or fantasy movie and it's the scene before the last big fight. The castle is about to get assaulted, the last stand is about to happen, the major forces are finally about to clash, whatever you like. And you get this dramatic build-up to the battle: troops are deploying, arrows are stacked, armour is put on, water is heated up to be thrown down from the battlement. And then you see a shot of some archers warming up their bows like that. Isn't that a powerful image? Isn't this foreboding a long and bloody fight? Isn't the audience immediatly going to understand that these warriors are preparing to shot their weapons very soon and very often?
It REALLY goes to show that researching the material you are about to present in art form not only gives it an authentic feel, but also gets you information like this that help you in your creative efford.
wow...I never thought I'd disagree with someone about not using realism in certain stories.I agree with him-if done right it could be a powerful image. of course it isn't NECESSARY to add in-as a matter of fact its never really necessary to add too much realism to any story (just make sure everything makes sense and that it follows its rules rigidly) but It can certainly add something to the story.example:RWBY obviously isn't very realistic, but it follows its own rules quite well. hunters can survive and even heal from devastating attacks because their aura both reduces the damage they take and heals them because they have excellent control over their aura. whereas the normal bystander CAN'T because they don't have nearly as much control over it or can't use it at all.actually that was a bad example...that was more of a example about following your story's rules well...oh well I hope my general message wasn't lost anyway XD
Elves are probably holding their bows sideways because they learned from Hollywood that shooting rapid fire from the hip is way more accurate than using sights/scopes
It's also a lot more gangsta.
That's important to elves.
+HATECELL Or because they've been training for a thousand years and draw strenght isn't an issue for them anymore.
+Balinux
You've got that backwards. Shooting a bow "from the hip" gives it a _weaker_ effective draw, and massively saps the energy of the arrow. If they were really that strong, they'd just draw the normal way, in order to actually _kill things_ with their rather expensive clothyard sheaf arrows.
Basically, drawing sideways like that just makes the bow less efficient, for no good reason.
Jonathan Hughes
Why would it be a weaker draw, if their body is more than addapted to it? It all comes down to the bow, and how much force the arrow can take with it without snapping.
Balinux The body doesn't decide the draw, the bow does. Training is irrelevant if you can only draw the bow back two inches.
Obviously dark elves use the horizontal grip ...
Bruh
If runescape has taught me anything, it's the fact that yew will always be very expensive.
Naww what happened in runescape was EU policy. Yew was burned outside the banks in long lines of fires to keep the price high to avoid PC woodcutters being outpriced by foreign bots.
It that true? I just thought they were grinding their firemaking skill
IRL yew is harvested for a chemotherapy drug called taxol.
Magic shortbow is the best
Dark bow masterrace
Crystal bow m8
Steel Say that to my dragon arrow fueled special attack
its all about the oak bow guys what are you saying?
These guys don't know what they're talking about. It's chaos short bow all the way, just make sure you have enough humanity.
By your definition 0:42 The Queen Anne's Revenge is also a longbow
Yes, by those exact words, but not in the context. I think instead of 'piece of wood' he should have said 'bow'
I guess the bow was kind of long...
hahaha even if he said "a piece of wood under tension from roping" its still queen annes revenge. Even used for hunting works cause you could say hunting other pirates/merchants or whales (at a stretch... maybe he liked whaling lmao)
Nice profile picture
@@benmasta5814 ok
Thanks. Now I'm wondering what to use to water-proof my authenti-arrows. What do you use? Beeswax? Linseed softens shafts, and polyurethane, though excellent, is not terribly authentic.
This was very entertaining! In this age of pretty low attention span I never thought I'd spend almost 9 minutes listening to a guy in a sweater talking about long bows.
In the nineties, yes I did.
"This is a longbow, They're long."
Best Lindybeige fact ever
anyone else looked around them when they heard the nocking sound in the vid? sounds like someone is tapping overear headphones
Yeah I was thinking either a roommate was having sex in a shitty bed or another one was knocking on my walls to make me turn the sound down at 4 PM.
In my car tripping out thinking someones tapping the glass. I even got out of the car and looked around thinking " Alright ive had enough of this! Come out!!"
@@Electric_snot this^ thought I was going mad.
@@Electric_snot holy shit me too
I suppose a "nocking sound" [sic] is appropriate for a video about bows, though :P
It is one of my personal bugbears when archers refer to the American flatbow as a longbow! The reason why the flatbow developed over in the states and we developed the classic D-shaped longbow is all down to the native wood found in each Country each wood lends its self to a different type of bow (or so I've come to understand)... Keep up the great work!
this gentleman is beyond amusing. The knowledge of longbows he has along with the humorous presentation is just great to experience. Love these videos and traditional bows convey art,history,sport,hobby...just awesome
.
wow you could really feel the extra englishness
Sounds like a commercial for an OE 800
The reason you might want to warm up your bow is probably because bow's are basically huge springs.
Elastic things, like springs, are just things that convert other kinds of energy, into kinetic energy, and if your bow is quite hot, then it has more energy to convert. A fun experiment, if you have a thermal camera, is to take like a slingshot, look at it with the camera, shoot it a few times, and look again. You'll notice, of course, it's quite a lot colder than it was. If you, like me, *don't* own a thermal camera, i'm pretty sure mister Sprage has a video about this on the slingshot channel.
No, I had it made for me. Yes, in war, long-distance shooting was usually at formations of troops rather than at individuals, who would be picked out at perhaps 60 yards.
The microphone cable slapping the tripod?
30 years building and hunting with longbows.
1) To string a longbow; place the end of the bow between your legs, with the belly of the bow resting against the calf of your left leg, and the front of the bow resting against the ankle of your right leg. Flex the bow forward using your legs as a lever and string it. Much more gentle on the bow and you don't ruin the tip by digging it into the dirt.
2) Unlike compound bows, which hold the arrow in place, allowing for a vertical shooting, it's much more stable to fire a longbow with a 10-15 degree angle in it. Also reduces the contact between your hand and the arrow reducing the need for your glove.
3) When you draw your bow, you extend your bow arm and draw arm at the same time, locking them both into position. It's less wear and tear on your draw arm as you're pulling the bow away from the string, as you're pulling the string away from the bow.
4) A longbow takes greater skill to shoot than a short bow as the longer arms mean minor movements at the grip mean greater movements at the arrow point. I.E. 1 degree off on a short bow may only put a shot off by a few inches, but 1 degree on a longbow can set it off by as much as a foot or two.
5) If you can't fire your bow without hitting your forearm, it's too powerful for you. You need to practice and make your wrists stronger, or get a lighter bow.
MattMexor
No you're absolutely right, and I was trying to explain the right point in the wrong way. I started off trying to explain it as sway and control and it got away from me. A short bow is far less susceptible to sway at the tips while a long bow, because of length and weight, tends to exaggerate that sway. If that's not clear I can only recommend shooting both and feeling the difference for yourself.
Another factor is that a long bow also generally has a longer draw length to it meaning longer arrows. Longer arrows can also add to the exaggerated sway. That's why most trick shooters opt for short recurves.
+antagonizerr eXCELLENT POSTS
+MRWDL800 HEHE I'M RUINING YOUR SCHOLARLY DISPLAY WITH CAPS LOCK. RARRR INTERNET
I'd love to try roving one day.
Yes, I only meant holding it so sideways that you can't draw it properly.
I am using an excellent mic, it just happens to be rocking back and forth when the floor shakes.
Swear to god, with ending notes like that you and Tear of Grace might just be friends
1:21 invisible demon appears and taps the camera
awmygawd you right
freaked me out wearing headphones lol
Thank you, Mister. Veeery, veeery much!!!
For sharing knowledge and passion with us, who, as well, might have a great deal of passion, but not as much knowledge (I am speaking just for myself, at this point). Very helpful and educative.
Wish you all the best, and keep up the good work.
Medieval pictures show draws to various places, not all of which could have been correct (some are weirdly high), but as far back as the ear is not uncommon, and is used by people today. Many pictures show bare-handed archers, that's true, but I have shot without a tab and quickly skinned my fingers. With much-calloused hands, things would be different. I may mention the leaning-in technique in a future video. Guards are pictured in medieval drawings.
This is how we shoot bows in the hood
In the wood*
Is it still legal to kill a welshman on a sunday after church with a longbow as archery practice ?
there was an old law dating back from king ??? and he put the welsh on a curfew as folklore goes you can whack one and preferabley ian watkins
+BRICKBAT we can shoot pure blooded Scotsmen in York from the wall after midnight have to be a pure blooded Yorkshireman
Any such laws would be local bye-laws (there may have been such a statute in Chester), and would not now be enforceable, as national law would override them.
TRiG.
Thank you
I hope it is still legal. Sundays are so boring.
I have scars on the top of my left hand from shooting a bow so much when I was younger. It made me smile and look at my hand when you mentioned that.
I pull to near my ear, and sight along the arrow. The two do not contradict. One quickly gets a feel for where the arrow is pointing, even though one's eye is not directly behind the arrow.
question: what is the sound that a long bow makes when shooting an arrow:
Lindybeige: KA-TWANGGGGG
Curious, what's the draw weight of this bow?
It was, but in combination with other factors, and a penetration isn't the only way the arrow can work. It can concuss, drain morale, break up formations, slow a charge. Advancing against a hail of arrows is difficult even if none of them penetrates.
Another great video. The reason for warming up the bow before you shoot it is so it doesnt break if you draw it fully when its cold. A bit like when you do stretches before exercise. Love the cricket jumper!
The hip firing with Hollywood about bows is the same way with guns. It gets on my nerves. You have very interesting videos and I enjoy watching them. I hope you keep it up!
Differently from bows, though, Guns can be shot from the hip with accuracy. Although it would have to be a very, very skilled individual.
Maybe a short bow or if your coming out of brush you'd have it that way the switch to the normal style before firing.
Karasu Not sideways though. I don't know why but people who make movies seem to think it looks really cool to shoot things with your weapon sideways.
Though it should be said that some gun experts agree that there are circumstances where shooting your gun sideways may be beneficial, but they are almost always where accuracy doesn't matter (like firing a gun with rapid fire and a lot of recoil into a crowd)
If you are hunting and don't need the full power of the bow, you might decide to hold the bow horizontal to avoid the limbs striking tree branches. I've done this when hunting in Australia. It is one of the times that 'instinctive aiming' has an advantage over relying on sights.
-I suspect there's some requirement for all experimental archaeologists to stake a claim to the origin of the phrase "rule of thumb." I've heard so many.
After viewing about eight of your videos I have come to the conclusion that I could listen to you talk about anything. Good job. Carry on !
"This is a long bow, they're long"
Now my keyboard has got a beautifull mixture of coffee and saliva thoroughly tucked down between its buttons..
But a good morning laugh non the less!
I salute you sir...
Hollywood has gotten better at realism but still the film comes first... My theory is film is widescreen, so holding a bow horizontally looks better because it fills the screen. Youve gotta think like a director. Everything is about visuals and framing.
Probably even simpler than that. A horizontal bow doesn't block the actor's face.
Right. Thanks for that. Informative. I have a 50 lb draw bow for practice in technique, but understand the war bows would be 100 to 120 or 130 pounds around Ajincourt...
I`be heard of 184 pounds bows wath fo you think of that?
I think about the spinal deformities discovered in the skeletons of English longbowman pulled from the wreck of a fifteenth century galley.
Bruce Burns quite interesting lad
Bruce Burns I'm fifteen and I have a 50 pound ash longbow. Archiologists found deformations in the shoulders as well because at that time you would start archery at 8 years old
death thenks guys
This channel is great, been watching loads of your videos lately.
"Katwang" is a very accurate sound effect. The passion in its delivery was also majestic.
I read a novel about a medieval archer. I'm not claiming that everything in all novels is accurate or anything but in the book, he described why English archers need so much training. Pick the bow up and draw it aiming down the arrow like a recurve bow. Now you're at half draw. With a full draw, you can't really see. It takes instinct and intuition and all that. I'm just reporting what the novel says. I'm no expert. Now discuss. All the people who think I'm a complete idiot on one side and all the people who think I'm totally right on the other.
No you're right. For a warbow you draw back to your shoulder and immediately release, meaning you don't really aim. Your muscle memory and years of practice is what allows you to hit things reliably.
If you're shooting relatively flat, you can aim using the arrow and the alignment of the string just fine. Shooting at a high trajectory is subject the same issues whether you're using a recurve or a longbow (in my limited experience of shooting the two)
That would make an amount of sense, but it's not what's shown. Spreading your entire wingspan to draw the bow would be very odd, and in the tight longbow formations... It doesn't sound too plausible. Also I think that'd have to be an insanely long bow. Longer than what we know of.
The Armored Idiot Well, I didn't mean that you had to straighten out both arms like a bird if that's what you mean. It just requires a fuller draw. I guess that he meant one needed to move his head slightly out of the way for a full draw and you couldn't aim down the arrow like any modern archer would understand.
The novel did go on to describe how if the enemy would get close enough he didn't need to draw it like that and he could take them out with what he called "half draw". I guess the full draw was for the enemies in the distant battlefield.
+Paul TheSkeptic Ah. That sounds like an interesting book. Do you remember what it was called?
The simplest way to string a longbow without using a stringer is to step through the bow with your left foot (so your leg is between the limb and the string) then hook the bottom horn behind your right foot, then grip the upper limb with your left hand and lean into it, so your're bending the bow pretty much using your weight and leg strength (which is much greater than arm strength). This bends it enough to slip the top loop up the limb and into the nock.
You then try to extricate yourself without tripping over, or you'll look a bit of a tit.
***** That is a way to string a low power bow, and btw a good way to twist the limbs on a modern recurce bow.
Try to string a 120lbs bow that way and the people around you will have something to laugh about.
I shoot Fita-Recurve, english longbow and traditional korean bow.
The korean bow has 50lbs and i string it like you mentioned, because thats kind of the way it is traditionally strung.
My Fita bow is always strung with a stringer cord, to keep the carbon lims from twisting.
My longbow has 80lbs, and I tried the method lindybeige pointed out and to string it locked in my legs, both methods do not really work.
bansheemopar Well, I've done exactly that with my dad's 70-80lb longbow. Worked just fine. Much less fiddly than using a stringer.
***** I've made bows for customers who were way too heavy for me to draw, including a monster of a self bow (no lamination, no backing, just a single piece of wood) that was 175 lbs at 27 inches (he had short arms). The best way I've found with no bow stringer (the monster bow another way) is to put a cloth on the ground, place the bow in a sideways position with a good stiff arm on the upper tip, and driving your knee into the handle, using my whole body to bend the bow. Three points of contact with the knee at center, and a huge mechanical advantage. No limb twist but not the way to string the recurve. Ugg, the video is still going on and he's talking about wrist slap from the string: Properly weighted arrows and good form will fix that. I brace my flatbows at a mere 4 inches and never get wrist slap.
Too bad you can't use the same method so reliably with recurves, risers get in the way
Just wait until he becomes an Elite Longbowman
Is great to hear some sense talked about longbows! Incidentally, I remember reading some time ago that longbows were about strength, not accuracy. The weights were such that an archer could not hold it back enough for an accurate shot. It was draw and fire as fast as was possible, to get the heavy bodkin-pointed arrows into massed troops on the battlefield, to create as much mayhem as possible.
How tall is Lindy?
A little bit shorter than a longbow.
I think I read somewhere that he was 6' 3", but don't quote me on it.
everybody to quote The Red Army Lives On...Lindy is "6'3"!
@memmett9 & @Michael Mathes
But quite a bit taller than a shortbow.
i feel like lloyd doesnt have AC so he can buy this type of stuff, and that's why he wears like 90 layers
I have been told a few times not to use the legs method, precisely because it can damage the lower limb.
The warming the bow thing is something reported, but I do not know of any scientific test to see how much difference it makes. I suspect, though, that a useful side-effect is that it warms up the archer, so he is likely to perform better.
It always bugged me that in the rangers apprentice book they supposedly shoot their longbows from horseback and string them very quickly in very confined spaces.
If memory serves weren't the bows the rangers used some kind of recurve variant?
A Cooliohenderson The young trainees had recurves but after they become full rangers they get longbows.
A properly trained full time archer probably could string the bow really fast if they absolutely needed to, and it's not impossible to fire a longbow from horse back. If you're firing the bow say right handed like most people, that would just mean you're stuck shooting straight ahead of you and to the left as far as you could turn, you lose the ability to shoot to the right or further cause the lower limb of the bow is generally stuck on the saddle. Recurves and shorter bows are better on horse back because the shorter limbs make it so you can shoot at more angles then a longbow. Or you could just go the Japanese way and basically make it so a horse archers horse's saddle has little platforms you can stand on so you can literally stand up on your horse xD
A long bow on a horse back is hard but not impossible, but the methods he showed for stringing your bow are both, well used especially for really heavy bows but usually you would flip your bow so the back of the bow is against your foot, and pull at the handle and slit the noose upwards whilst pulling the tip of the bow downwards, as if you are pulling the bow but from the wrong side as to say. that is done, if skilled, within a few seconds and doesn't really need much space.
can't say much about the rangers and what it says in the book as I've never read it but personally it only takes me a few seconds to string my main 60lb bow and only a little longer to string my old 80lb bow (mostly because it's wood and I don't want it to suddenly shatter in my hands) and that's without the use of bow stringers or other aids the one time I did get to string a reconstruction welsh longbow (around 140-150lb) it took me a good 30 seconds but mostly because I didn't want to risk breaking it by forcing the bow (did that once the first time I strung an old wood self bow) but yeah stringing a bow quickly is quiet easily done
I'm surprised you didn't touch on the English national offensive finger gesture. From what I understand it was born during the time of the hundred years war when the english longbowmen were so effective at killing french people that the French threatened to cut the index and middle fingers from every English prisoner they captured. And so the English, being the English, found no small bit of joy in taunting the French with their own threat by bearing their bow fingers after a volley. Does that sound about right?
GasMaskTrenchCoat Except for the part that it's not true.
I am unaware of the truth of it. That's why I didn't insist that it was the truth. I have learned that someone disagrees with what I thought I knew, therefore I have more research to do.
If you're interested, you might want to read this, and the associated links the author provides:
bshistorian.wordpress.com/2007/07/02/two-fingers-up-to-english-history/
Matt D Every day I learn something is a good day. Thanks for the material.
Now that's what I call nailing down the essentials!... Good work!
Yes, a modern bow with all the high-tech trimmings is easier to shoot accurately, but is a longbow any more difficult to shoot than, say, an ancient style composite recurved shortbow?
About that sideways way of holding the bow: Yes, full-on horizontal is pretty crappy. But among the Native longbowmen of the Eastern/Southeastern Woodlands (Seminole, Muskogee, Iroquois, Cherokee and the like) The bow was canted at an angle. Sort of a 45 degree thing. Not sure why, having not really tested it, but it is something to wonder about.
I'll tell you why: it helps with aiming.
It keeps an arrow between your bow-holding hand and the wood of the bow in a natural v-nook made by the 45-degree angle you're holding the bow at. You can move the bow around and aim better, without needing to look straight down the bow. If you need to make snap movements, like pivoting to hit fleeing prey, it really helps.
FlintTD Cool! I figured as much, but I wasn't really sure. Thanks!
I've only ever seen tribal hunters do this and I suspect (in this case) it is because they are smaller, lighter bows and depend on poison to down their prey (poison for hog or deer sized prey, but no need for rodents, reptiles and marsupials). I can't imagine hunters using too big a bow, moving through brush and forested areas would just be comical!
Another thing about doing instinctive archery and shooting it at an angle, it keeps the bow out of your vision so you have a better line of sight on the target and around it.
The Welsh versions were vastly superior to your peasants bows
Ps I know there basically the same
There are several efficient archery stances and hand positions, different combinations have different merits. The method you showed here is certainly the best for firing arrows long distances or accurately, and it fits the longbow best, but there are much faster methods which still retain enough power to be useful. I've experimented with some of the hand positions used in movies and some allow the archer to fire quite rapidly while still maintaining accuracy. These methods are better suited for shorter bows, of course. The most efficient method I've found is to bend one's back outwards just a bit and rest the arrow on the outside of the bow. It feels slightly awkward at first, but I can fire 4 times as many arrows like this, and I've been using the traditional method for years.
"Hold the bow sideways like this, Twang!" rabbit dies brutally for humorous effect.
I understand where you come from and why you don't accept the wiki definition...but your definition at 0:45 "piece of wood taller than its user"...so if a really tall person stands besides your bow...it stops being a longbow?
+Alonso de Hojeda Bows are custom made for the user, well at least wooden ones and you shouldn't let a taller person use your custom made wooden bow because he has a longer arm, ergo a longer draw and he might just break your bow in a thousand pieces. Wooden bows aren't transferable goods, they fall in the category of "user fitted weapons" like a plate armor for example.
Zamolxes77
I have my doubt whether in the era they were custom made...or mass produced. When you equip an army...you cannot really meet each soldier :) I may be wrong of course.
Alonso de Hojeda Its middle ages, nothing is mass produced. Except maybe arrows. We have the original roster of Henry the 5th Army just before they sailed into France. Look it up, is a very interesting document that contains every single name of every soldier that sailed with Henry, their signature and how much they were paid. Is suggested that archers provide their own gear and is one of the 1st documents that suggests England was moving away towards a more modern contractual system, over France who relied on their feudal levies. Mercs usually provide their own gear.
The 1st signs of mass production and the equipment of a professional army by the state is in 17th century, exception off course the roman legion.
Thanks for the detailed comment, I will defeinitely look up the document.
+Alonso de Hojeda No, because the fool next to you isn't using it. I have a bow that, for my 5'2" sister, is a long bow. But me, with my 6'3" frame, were to use it, it would just be a regular bow. I wouldn't call it short, as a five foot six bow is not inconsequential.
@Lindybeige Cricket 'sweater'? Surely jumper if you are trying to maximise Englishness.
He also uses inches which I found a bit American
Inches are used in Britain still - we've got a mixed metric-imperial system. As Bryce says we invented them.
+Aaron Ritchie we invented imperial. the metric system is french in origin
lewis powell Yeah I was meaning we invented inches, I am tres aware the French invented le metric system. Sorry it wasn't very clear how I typed it.
State of Dekay hence imperial . we still use it for axton of stuff mainly in building work .
"For extra Englishness." Love it.
Your posts are so useful for my writing, thank you, oh and your accent is awesome as well. :D
Drinking game: Watch his videos and take a shot every time he says "buy in large".
I'm pretty sure it's "by" not "buy".
by and large www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20and%20large
I really need to learn to read....
"buy in large"? lmao fuck sake
***** lol no."by and large". Basically meaning the same as "generally speaking".
congrats on 60.000 subs!
WHAT...IS....THIS, a new lindybeige weapon video? The gods have smiled upon us this day!!
Lindybeige my friend I appreciate your videos. I have watched most and I am
Happy you included archery so well into your channel.
Keep on with what you do I will be liking and subscribing along the way.
Native Americans tended to use lighter (40 - 50 lbs) bows, held mostly horizontally, with a chest draw instead of a cheek draw. This was convenient because they were using two-fletch arrows, instead of the typical European three-fletch. On Native American bows, you can sometimes find a nock in the middle of the bow to assist in keeping the arrow on the right part of the bow body. This seems like it might be less accurate until you realise that it virtually eliminates paradox and what little remains will be an up-down wiggle instead of side-to-side.
Basically during a medieval battle like Azincourt, you just needed to be strong enough to draw a bow to fit in. Henry V:s army was 5/6 peasants with longbows with a commander doing all the thinking, measuring and ordering.
The only skill you had to have, as an archer, during such a battle was to angle the bow accordingly, draw it and release when ordered.
Nice vid! I prefer Hungarian-type recurve bows but am interested in history and medieval archery specifically. Cheers!
Actually, I have seen a quiverload in a belt. The user pulled them downwards out of his belt point-first.
the best sweater's on youtube by far!
Why can’t we have history teachers like this guy
In modern usage a long bow is one where the string only touches the bow at the nocks, as compared to a recurve bow where the string touches the curved limbs until drawn. Long bows are longer so as to store the same amount of energy as a shorter recurve bow, both limited by the archer's strength and draw length. Recurves were developed in Asia for use on horseback, something for which long bows are ill suited. The use of different hand positions on the string is called 'string walking'. I am not aware of historical use of that technique because it reduces arrow velocity, but it is possible.
Despite the fact that I know full well that Lloyd would never dry-fire a longbow, I still feel incredibly nervous every time he holds it at full draw.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about the Longbows. It was very interesting.
No, we used imported yew for a long time for warbows.
Legolas scoffs at you, skillless human!
I live in america too, and i have three bows, two are recurve and one is a compound bow. I grew up using it, as i lived near a indian reserve for awhile, and bows are significant for them.
If you look at the Bayeux Tapestry they are firing from the hip. Lars Andersen also fires accurately from the hip. Anyway I love your videos! Very informative! Especially your bit on Ironclad- that gave me a laugh
Longbows these days are defined not by their size, but by their lack of recurves. If the string doesn't rest on the limb, its a longbow.
-friendly American longbowman
Bravo, another bullseye for our historian, Sir Lindford Beige.
Why use two when you can easily use three? It is true, though, that while many medieval pictures are ambiguous, some do seem to show two fingered use. Those same pictures, however, contain many inaccuracies, so it is difficult to know what to take seriously. I shall try two-fingered use and see if I can spot an advantage.
Apparently, the longbowmen were so badass they wore armour not to protect themselves from their enemies, but rather from their very own bows.
The longbow apparently originated in the Welsh border country, the men of Gwent used elm longbows which didn't have the range of a yew bow but had tremendous power over their shorter range. Gerald Cambrensis tells some interesting stories about the Welsh bowmen.
I may do a vid on why one replaced the other. 45 lbs.
Dang you know you've gone down a rabbit hole when you get recommended an 8 year old Lindybeige video.
props to the mentioned extra English-ness. I enjoy your videos very much. best regards from across the pond!
ahhh the Welsh powerful longbow :D pierces armour with the right arrow and spot . love your videos
I'm glad you did not fall to the classic misstake of actually moving your arm while having the bow drawn.
Great video! Cheers.
When I bought my longbow, I was taught a technique to string it by placing one foot under the bow and the other inside, allowing the bow to be bent against the leg with one hand and strung with the other. It's quick and doesn't require a secondary device.
i enjoy your videos. a Renaissance man indeed.