This post will focus mostly on the bow and arrow from the time of the Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, and Normans. The English longbow is a completely separate discussion.
The Anglo-Saxons primarily used the bow for hunting. It is less frequently mentioned as being employed during battle, though according to one source, the Anglo-Saxons used bows at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. It seems odd, however, that the Anglo-Saxons would use bows at Stamford Bridge but not at Hastings only two weeks later. There are no literary accounts that mention the Anglo-Saxons using bows at Hastings, but we cannot state absolutely that they did not use them, for there is one solitary Anglo-Saxon archer depicted at Hastings on the Bayeux Tapestry. We know for a fact that the Norman army did use the bow heavily at Hastings. After all, it was an arrow that struck King Harold Godwinson in the eye.
Among the Vikings, the bow was used more frequently in battle than among the Anglo-Saxons, but still, it was not one of their primary weapons. The Vikings preferred the spear to the bow.
Bows during that period ranged in length from 66″ to 76″. They were constructed primarily of yew, elm or ash. The bow tapered toward the tips of the bow, and along the D-shaped section of the weapon, the grip was left bare. No leather or cloth or anything. Also, the “knocking point” of the arrow had nothing to protect the bowstave, such as a piece of horn as found on later period bows. The bowstring was often made from hemp. Demonstrations of replica bows prove the weapon had a draw weight of 50lbs to 70lbs.
While these types of bows were very effective against an unarmored man, they had more difficulty punching through armor or shields in battle. Based on demonstrations, mail armor will protect its wearer from a broadhead arrow, and while a bodkin arrow can break through the mail rings, a shield made of lime or linden wood 1cm thick would stop all arrows.
Arrow heads were typically made of iron, and the arrow shafts were made from ash, willow, aspen or pine. The feathers were goose or swan feathers, with four or three flights per shaft.
Main sources:
“Bows and Arrows.” Regia Anglorum. http://www.regia.org/warfare/bow.htm (retrieved March 11, 2010).
Bradbury, Jim. The Medieval Arhcer. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge. 1985.
Interesting post about the arrows and bows of the medieval times. Movies that uses bows and arrows made it seem like they are most effective form of weapon, but given the fact that during medieval times, those who goes to battle are always armored will obviously not be easily swayed by these weapons.
The nobility, especially the French, hated archers. They felt like a battle should be decided by knights charging one another across an open field. Archers were used in supporting fire at the beginning of a fight, but then the outcome was decided by the best horsemen. This method of fighting was the preferred form among the nobility and effective until the longbowmen appeared on the battlefield and made the knight obsolete.
When you have thousands of archers who can fire armor piercing rounds at 12 arrows a minute per each bowmen, there’s not much a line of charging horsemen can do against that.
But until the longbow became a staple for the English, the common bow and arrow was not used as the primary weapon on the battlefield, and the knights in their armor ruled the day.
I have a question , When was the first use of the nocking point on the bow string ?
Hi Kevin, that’s a very good question, and I’m not certain of the answer since I’m not an archery expert. Hopefully someone else can come along and answer that.
There is a resource you might comb through to help locate the origin of the nocking point: https://www.archerylibrary.com/
Specifically this page in the second paragraph talks about the English bowmen wrapping the strings at the nocking point, so they appear to be present at the time the English longbow was in use.
https://www.archerylibrary.com/books/english_bowman/html/125.html
Thank You for your responce and that info .
I had become curious about that after seeing a nocking point on a bow string in The Game of Thrones.
I will check those 2 sites Thanks again .
who invented the bow in medieval times