A Few Points on English Longbows

At the time when I created my video 'Crafting an English Longbow' I will admit that I was less informed about the style of bow than I probably should have been. However, as the video began to receive a considerable amount of traffic, there is no limit to the number of people who were eager to jump out and claim that, amongst other things and said in a variety of ways, this is not an English longbow.

Here is a quick summary of the mistaken points people commonly claim make a longbow 'English' and evidence that refutes them:

-English Longbows are made solely of yew. This is not correct. Not even close. English longbows were made from a variety of heartwoods including elm, ash, oak, hazel, laburnum and yes, yew. In fact, according to the master historian Edward Oakeshott, the Welsh (who actually originated the design later adapted by England) never used yew. Instead, they used elm. Regardless of what materials were traditionally used, a modern interpretation of the design is not inherently limited to the historic materials. Like the bowyers of old, I used what materials were available to me. I had oak, so I used oak. Some people use osage orange because it is an outstanding wood for bow staves. Does that mean osage can never become an 'English' longbow? No. The other qualities of the bow are far more important as to its classification than the wood.

-English Longbows had draw weights exclusively above usually 100lb or more. Similar to the materials, there were common draw weights of bows made for use in war, but rarely is the weight used in any definition of English longbows. Mine was not made to be used against armoured men at extraordinary distances, so the test was considerably lower. While the war bows were usually in the 100~120lb test range, that does not mean every English longbow ever made was in that range. Most people who present this argument fail to understand that firing a bow of that weight takes considerable strength and training. If English longbows are only over 100lb test (which is extraordinarily arbitrary if you think about it for any amount of time), what are training bows that have the same dimensions, shape, and wood characteristics? Certainly bows used by children could not then be English. Function determines form.

-Your bow is not English because it is not a D shape (this is actually correct, but...). This is the most preposterous one, because the bow I made was in fact a D cross section. This is historically what they would have been, or in extreme cases, even circular. This is perhaps one of the most defining characteristics of an English longbow. It stems from the massive quantity of bows demanded by the English army and conservation of material. Cutting a tree into several D shaped staves, where the ')' part of the D is towards the inside and the 'I' part towards the outside allows the bowyer to produce a far greater number of bows from the same material (assuming a similar power required for the bow) as would a 'flat' bow where the cross section is rectangular []. At their peak, England produced so many thousands of bows that their resources were depleted and any merchant bringing goods into the kingdom was required by law to produce staves with their shipments. Concerns of material also forced the English to begin using other woods, as all their yew was dangerously depleted (going back to the first point).

-English Longbows were never backed. I am not entirely certain what this even means. When they were made with yew, the wood itself acts as a natural lamination between the harder heartwood and softer sapwood. The heartwood gives the bow its power, while the sapwood keeps it from splintering during use. Traditional bows were self bows, meaning they had no recurve/decurve in them, and made from a single piece of wood. Placing a backing of linen or silk or anything that does not add to the weight of the draw is there for one of two reasons. First, for aesthetics, usually with some thin veneer. Second, and more importantly, to counteract the quality of the stave. I used oak on the bow in the video because the stave was from a hardware store, not a bowyer. The linen I backed it with is there to, should the wood break, prevent it from splintering into  hundreds of pieces and embedding itself in my arms/hands/face. In my opinion, this is completely justifiable, if not Traditional. (but that was not the purpose of the project). Curiously, traditional English longbows could have been laminated, as the technique actually began in the 18th century when archery began to shift out of practise in war in favour of recreational sport. When laminated English longbows (again, material is far less important in the classification than other qualities of construction ie. length and shape), a wide variety of woods became popular. Some of these included Rosewood, Lemonwood, Snakewood (Brosimum guianense), Bloodwood (Brosimum rubescens), Purple Heart, Greenheart, Ipe, and Osage orange for the core and belly woods, while Hickory, Yew, Maple and Bamboo were used for backings.

-A few final points. English Longbows were usually between 6 and 7 feet long, although they were built specifically for one individual to shoot. The bowyer would measure draw length and height of the archer and fit the stave to them for a specific draw weight (or close to a weight since the other dimensions are more important in effective shooting). Common target ranges were upwards of 250 yards, which is quite far by modern archery standards (and even for the precision of modern firearms). Finished bows were generally coated with a concoction of fine tallow, resin, and wax. This protects them both from the the environment and stops the wood from losing/gaining moisture. Moisture content in bows is extremely important, as overly damp wood will take an enormous amount of set (permanent bend from being strung/shot, which impairs performance) or too dry, which will cause the wood to splinter.

Hopefully this quells the misguided comments people seem willing to make without taking the effort to do a quick check of their information.

Oh, and the term 'English Longbow' is a modern classification. They were never referred that way at the time of their hayday.