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Longbow : A Social and Military History

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Robert Hardy's "Longbow" is written with passion and verve. As a result, it is a delight to read. An erudite man, Hardy is sometimes rather intricate in his writing style. But the elegant phrasing Mr. Hardy favors is nonetheless precise and well-crafted. Once the ear becomes accustomed to the music of his language, it becomes a source of delight in itself.

Hardy cannot be faulted on the research for this book. An acknowledged expert on the origins and use of the longbow, he has traced the weapon from prehistory and documents its use in the hunt, as a weapon of war, and in sport. However, much of the book concerns the longbow in the great medieval battles of Agincourt and Crecy, in which Welsh bowmen proved the superiority of the yew bow in combat. But this is more than a simple recitation of the facts of the battles. Hardy has also looked at the men who wielded the longbow, how they were trained, how they lived, and how they were supplied. Such information makes history come alive.

The latest edition of the book includes new information on the archeological finds associated with the Mary Rose, a warship dating from Henry VIII's time, which went down in the Solent in the sixteenth century. Excavated during the 80's, the longbows recovered from the wreck revised many of the notions held about this weapon and its making. One interesting finding was that the draw weights for some of the Mary Rose bows were roughly twice that estimated for similar bows of the time in earlier research. Robert Hardy served as a consultant on this project and brings this first-hand knowledge to bear very effectively in his book.

The book's usefulness is evident when you cruise the Internet and look at the number of archery web sites which quote the book or recommend it as a reference. Invariably, it is cited as a first-rate resource for those interested in the history/making of these weapons. But even for those of us who are simple armchair historians it is a wonderfully intelligent and fullbodied read.

A wonderful book. You may remember Mr Hardy as 'Seigfried' in the show 'All Creatures Great and Small'. Well he can write up a storm and enthrall you while educating you in medieval history, metallurgy, and the glories of the Longbow.

This is a book to cherish. You will never think of armour as lumps of silly iron again, and he brings the Longbow to life. If you can read, you will enjoy this - and there's some great pictures too!

I read this book for a graduate course in medieval history.
Robert Hardy's book Longbow A Social and Military History. This is the third edition printed in 1993. It is enlarged to include information on the archery equipment found on the archaeological dive from the ship, "The Mary Rose;" a warship from the Reign of the English King, Henry VIII. Besides being a famous British actor, Mr. Hardy is an acknowledged expert on the longbow, including how it is manufactured. He is a longtime member of the Royal Toxophilite Society, which is the society for archery enthusiasts. In his book, Hardy has meticulously researched the history of the longbow, from ancient history through its greatest impact in warfare during the Hundred Years' War; specifically, the battles of Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt. Hardy even has chapters devoted to the longbow's use in hunting and as a modern day sporting weapon. In addition, his book includes a very scientific and technical appendix on all manners pertaining to the physics and ballistics of the bow and arrow, including their material and design, as well as the ballistic effects of arrows on armor.

Bows fall into two classifications-composite and wooden. Composite bows are made of wood and other organic components, such as horn or sinew. Since composite bows are short, the other organic materials used to construct them increase the bow's power. Composite bows were used primarily in Africa and Asia, and were most likely manufactured in reaction to the scarcity of wood in these areas. The longbow, as defined by the British Longbow Society, is no less then five feet long, for arrows of up to twenty-six inches in length, and no less then five foot six inches in length for arrows of over twenty-six inches long. It is a D sectioned wooden spring and not flat, and the limbs are to be made of wood and the bow is to be convex. The very best bows are made from Yew wood. This describes the sixteenth century bows found on the Mary Rose and from all historical indications, those that were in use during the Hundred Years' War.

Hardy opens his book with an informative history of the bow and arrow. In researching the early history of the bow, archaeologists have found arrowheads in Northern Africa from 50,000 years ago. They have also discovered cave paintings depicting men using several different shapes of bows while engaged in hunting. The Romans used short composite bows with their cavalry forces, since longbows were too cumbersome to use on horseback. Most of the Roman army's mounted bowmen where from Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The Germanic tribes that the Romans found themselves fighting so often, used longbows against them to a devastating effect, which was reminiscent of the battle of Crecy from the Hundred Years' War. In 354 C. E., the Germanic shower of arrows prevented the Romans from crossing the Rhine River and thus, halted their expansion on the European continent. The oldest bow found in Britain is from Somerset. Radiocarbon dating shows it to be from 2,690 B.C.E. The bow was made of Yew wood and was over six feet long.

Hardy next turns his attention to the more detailed study of the longbow's genesis and development in Britain. It is definitively impossible to know when the longbow first came into existence in Britain. However, history does record several historical periods when we know that the longbow, or a weapon similar to it, was used and introduced by invaders of the British Isles. There is evidence that shows that the Germanic longbow made its way into Britain with the invasion of the Saxons in the fifth century. Viking law, from mid-tenth century, required that while aboard ship, fighting men must be equipped with bows and arrows as an addition to their other usual weapons that they employed in their raiding parties. One can still read Viking Sagas of the era extolling the use of bows and arrows as weapons. In 1055, Welsh bowmen while firing from hidden positions on mountain ridges, cut down the Earl of Hereford's Saxon cavalry with devastating effect. This action would be a great lesson lost on King Harold eleven years later, in his defeat at the battle of Hastings. King Harold did have some longbow men in the battle, if one takes the Bayeux Tapestry to be a true pictorial history of the Norman Conquest. Unfortunately, for the Anglo-Saxon army of King Harold, he had to travel very quickly over 250 miles south to engage the invading Normans, which prevented him from taking many archers on foot. In fact, the Bayeux Tapestry is famous for its depiction of King Harold being fatally shot in the eye by a Norman arrow, and thus, changing the course of British history forever.

Chapters three through six of Hardy's book cover Britain's celebrated history of the longbow, and are the chapters most germane to our course of study. It is during the fourteenth century in Britain that the longbow gains its reputation as a force multiplier in battle. In military terminology, a force multiplier denotes a factor, in this case, the longbow providing a technological factor, dramatically increasing the combat capability of a military force. In keeping with the theme of our course in comparing fourteenth century events to modern times, one can easily equate the importance of the longbow to fourteenth century warfare in the same way that one can compare the importance that the machine gun had on early twentieth century warfare-specifically during World War I. The longbow provided the English armies of Edward I, through the end of the Hundred Years' War, a distinct and singular advantage over the French armies and their cavalry forces.

Despite all of the early history of the longbow in Britain, it is Edward I who is the real progenitor of the longbow, as used in battle. Edward I keenly learned the tactics and logistics that were necessary to employ with great success the longbow on the battlefields of Wales and Scotland. He realized that the longbow was less expensive and awkward to use in battle then the crossbow, and with a moderate amount of practice, his Welsh bowmen could shoot more arrows in a given time then cross bowmen could. He worked hard at building a national army. In 1298, at the battle of Falkirk, most of his longbow men were Welsh. By 1346, most longbow men were English. They were well trained, well paid, and could be counted by the thousands. Longbow men where deemed so important to the army that they were given pardons for all types of offenses, including murder, in order to go off to France to fight. Their pay was comparable to that of master craftsmen. During the reign of Edward II, English military prowess was in decline. Although Edward II continued many of the recruiting and logistical policies of his father, his tactical decisions, and those of his commanders, were sorely lacking. He suffered an embarrassing defeat at the battle of Bannockburn at the hands of Robert the Bruce of Scotland. However, the lessons his son, Edward III, learned from that defeat put the British army in good stead for fighting in the Hundred Years' War. Those lessons, learned and used in such future battles as Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, were insuring good organization before battle and good discipline of soldiers during the fight. In addition, cavalry without longbow support was useless against enemy spearmen. Conversely, longbow men who were isolated on the battlefield without support, would easily fall prey to enemy cavalry attack.

Crécy is emblematic of the successes that the British enjoyed at the battles of Poitiers and Agincourt. It was the sight of the first major battle of The Hundred Years' War and was a rousing success for the invading British army of Edward III and his sixteen-year-old son, Edward, also known as the Black Prince. Edward III had 12,000 men arrayed against a French force of between 30,000 to 40,000 combatants. Although heavily outnumbered, Edward's longbow men were the force multiplier that garnered a stunning victory for the British over the French. The record shows that the English longbow men were capable of firing ten arrows in a minute. Most estimates of the longbow tactics used in the battle, state that the over one-half million arrows fired by the British, easily cut down the French armored cavalry. The longbow, and the brilliant way in which it was employed, were responsible for the lopsided casualty figures of the battle. Although casualty figures are somewhat unreliable, most sources put the French losses at one-third of the French nobility-about 12,000 men in all, against the British losses of 150 to 1,000 total. In the battle, longbow men comprised anywhere from between five to one, upwards to three to one, of the English invading force. Hardy states in his book, and I quote, "They were some of the finest, most highly trained and militarily efficient troops that any nation ever put into the field of battle." So, why did the French when seeing the efficient destructive power of the longbow, not learn from the advantage it could afford them and emulate the English? Hardy postulates a few reasons, such as, the French culture of class snobbery made it difficult for the nobles to accept peasants as equals on the battlefield. In addition, cavalry and chivalry were too hard for French nobles to give up. Another reason was that the French King did not have the power to field a national army in the same way that his English counterparts did. French kings had to rely on their nobles and Italian mercenaries to prosecute their wars during this time; thus, they could not enforce regular training regimens, nor standardized battlefield logistics and tactics. In fact, the longbow reigned supreme on the battlefield until the mid-sixteenth century. By this time, other technologies such as better-tempered armor, cannon, and musketry, overtook the effectiveness of the longbow.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Hardy's book to any serious student of medieval history. Longbow A Social and Military History, is an excellent introductory work for understanding the significance that the weapon had during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It is well written and appointed with plenty of illustrations. The book is a very enjoyable read for anyone with even a casual interest in the longbow or the Hundred Years' War.

Recommended reading for those interested in medieval history, and military history.

Robert Hardy is most well known for his role as Siegfried Farnon on the long running BBC series "All Creatures Great and Small."
However most people are not aware he is an experienced in the sport of archery. Due to the love of the sport and the longbow Hardy has written "Longbow: A Social and Military History." The book takes you through the complete history of the longbow which is fascinating for those who love medevial history. Hardy also includes a section on how to craft your own longbow.
This book is a must read for everyone who loves the sport of archery.

The contents of this exhaustive history of the longbow are outstanding. Research and illustrations are top notch, as is the wealth of information provided by the authors on the use of archery as a weapon down through the years precding firearms. I would have liked to have seen some discussion on how it must have been making the successful transition from practicing against stationary targets in the butts versus shooting at live combatants moving, riding, running and trying their best to kill the archer with their own weapons. MY CHIEF COMPLAINT is that the book is printed in some strange typeface I have never seen before. It is very thin and very light, making it extremely difficult to focus on and read. I own thousands of books and have collected them for 40 years but have never encountered this typeface in a modern book before. So beware buyer, the contents are excellent IF you can read the typeface!

LONGBOW: A SOCIAL AND MILITARY HISTORY follows the evolution of the longbow: a 6-foot weapon with a long-reaching history from ancient to more modern times in Britain. It became the most important weapon in the English military arsenal and won many battles: black and white illustrations throughout chart its progress and evolution.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Hardy's book is an excellent source of information about the medieval English longbow. I've personally only seen one better--"The Great Warbow"--and Hardy is co-author of it.

Don't underestimate Hardy, an actor, for his knowledge. He is an authority on the longbow and has the writing ability to communicate effectively the value and power of the weapon in the context of its times. While much of the book will be valued by historians, later sections will also interest modern archery enthusiasts. A masterful work.

For anyone interested in the history of the elegant and decptively simple longbow, this is THE book to read. Highly recommended!

I was excited to get this book as I have been wanting it for some time. The book is everything and more than I was expecting. If your interested in the history of the longbow, this one is for you.