History of archery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archery, the sport or skill of shooting with a bow and arrows has been traced back to the years of the caveman. It would have been these early people, the first man known to have roamed the earth, who would have needed to excel in his archery technique as a basic survival skill. Since this early time, modern man has perfected the bow and arrows but the basic use has not changed. The skill of archery is known as one of the first skills developed by man to provide him with food for his family, with the means to defend himself against invaders, and the way to prove his skill to others as a sport, one of the earliest games discovered.
The earliest concrete evidence of archery dates back 5,000 years. The bow probably originated for use in hunting and was then adopted as a tool. Bows eventually replaced the atlatl, as the predominant means for launching projectiles. Classical civilizations, notably the Persian Empire, Ancient Macedonians, Nubians, Greeks, Parthians, Indians, Chinese, and Koreans, fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Arrows proved exceptionally destructive against massed formations and the use of archers often proved decisive. Archers sometimes rode on horseback and came to be horse achers, combining range with speed. Apollo, Odysseus and other mythological characters are often depicted with a bow. The phrase "a parting shot" comes from the Parthian shot, a technique employed by the Parthians, with the riders turning in the saddle to shoot as they rode away from the enemy.
During the Middle Ages, archery in warfare was not as widespread and dominant, in Western Europe, as many of the popular myths indicate. Archers were quite often the lowest paid soldiers in an army or were taken from the peasants. This was due to the cheap nature of the bow and arrow, as compared to the expense needed to equip a professional soldier with good armour and a sword. The bow was seldom used to decide battles and was looked as a weapon of the lower class or as a toy, by the royalty. However, the Vikings used archery effectively, and the Muslims used archery in their numerous raiding expeditions all over the Western European coast line.
By the time of the Hundred Years' War, the English had learned how to make and store large amounts of archery as an instrument of dominance in warfare. "They would form lines with arrows stuck in the ground in front of them so they could fire and reload quickly. They would fire continuously, and if they had multiple rows they would fire in a round. This would create a rain of arrows which would terrify the enemy, that is why the longbow is now called the machine gun of the Middle Ages. In combat, they would often shoot two arrows, one on a high in the air and one just slightly lower. These two arrows would hit the enemy at the same time from two different angles, making it difficult for them to defend themelves.The invention of the tip of the arrow or the bodkin point also gave arrows better penetrative power" (Wikipedia Encyclopedia 3). Archers came from farming families, and were known as yeomen who were trained from childhood. Every boy was given a bow of his own height and was required to train with it. Tournaments were sponsored by the wealthy to encourage accucracy.
The crossbow, the bow that is now used by modern hunters, dates from classical times and became quite popular during the Middle Ages. Because of the difficulty in learning how to use the longbow, it took many years to train a longbowman. But a man with a crossbow could become proficient with remarkably little training. "The crossbow had about the same power and range as a longbow. Its major drawback however was that it took a long time to reload. The renowned armour-piercing power of the crossbow caused fear amongst the well-armoured nobility and it was banned by the Second Council of the Lateran, at least between Christians, although to little avail" (Wikipedia Encyclopedia 3).
"The invention of firearms rendered bows obsolete in warfare. Although bows had a longer range and could shoot much more frequently than the earliest guns, guns could penetrate most armour and required minimal training. Later development gradually gave firearms advantages over bows in range, accuracy and eventually in reload time. An illustration of the declining popularity of the bow could be seen in the various edicts promulgated by 16th-century English monarchs, to make archery a mandatory practice for all men of fighting age, including Henry VIII's famous ban on the practice of all sports other than archery, on Sundays" (Wikipedia Encyclopedia 4).
