From: owner-gm7thsea@darkedge.com on behalf of Sean Holland
[CapitalistRunningDog@netscape.net]
Sent: Friday, September 03, 1999 9:15 AM
Subject: Re: [7th Sea RPG GM] Long Bows

> >   Of course, in reality the Long bow is truly a myth.  English bows were
not of significantly different size (and hence not of significantly greater
power) than continental bows.  What made the English bow so dangerous is that
they employed it in much greater numbers than any continental adversary.  This
was largely due to the archery traditions of British (and particularly Welsh)
Yeomanry who did not  require much additional training in the use of a bow and
so could be recruited and deployed in large numbers directly from the
populace.
>  > Before everyone starts jumping up and down and yelling - Valamir is 
absolutely 100% correct.  There is a lot of argument about what were the most
powerful bows of the time.  Most empirical evidence points to the Ottoman
horse bow (believe it or not) that was approx. 1/2 the size of the English
long bow  Probably due to it being IIRC a composite recurve design.


  Before I critique Valamir's argument, I will second the fact that the
Turkish horse bow was likely the most power bow in Europe in that era, and
yes, it was due to it being of superb recurved construction.

  Now, to the fist part, the bow itself.  Nonsense, the English/Welsh Long Bow
made of Yew was a superior self bow (a self bow being a bow constructed from a
single piece of wood) with pulls upwards of 100 pound being common.  A long
bow will usually have more power than a short bow, but the material that it is
constructed from makes a huge difference.  The English/Welsh bowyers were
better and willing to use the more expensive (and usually imported) Yew to
make the long bow.
  Second, training, many (many) laws were passed and regulations imposed to
encourage the use of the bow.  Including at sometimes the banning of all
sports other than archery on Sundays!  The English longbowman was made.  It
takes years or practice to use a bow well, especially a powerful one like the
English long bow.
  Third, national traditions, the French choose to rely upon shock (hand to
hand) tactics rather than missile troops during this period.  As well they
should have, the French knight was at least the best equipped knight in Europe
at this time (as to training, that is harder to say) and there were a lot of
French knights.  The Italians preferred the crossbow as it was easier to use
and better suited to sieges (Italian mercenary crossbowmen fought for the
French against the British during the 100 Year War).

  So, I am arguing that, yes, the English long bow is an exceptional weapon. 
Any bow with a pull of 100+ pounds in going to be exceptional whoever (Turk,
Welsh or Samurai) uses it and if used in great numbers will have an effect on
the battlefield.
  Historically, the English kept using the long bow up through the reign of
Henry the VIII. By the Elizabethan period it had pretty much vanished,
replaced by the firearm.

 Thanks for reading.  Valamir, I am willing to discuss this further if you
wish.  I can cite my sources if you would like.

 -Sean

"May St. Serpentine be with you on your journey, no matter what its duration
or ultimate destination."

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