Medieval Living

I found an interesting post on the history of Medieval arrows and the “English” longbow. From the Sagittarius Archery Club, this untitled article gives some nice historical references regarding the history and descriptions of the English archer’s equipment. Adding to the discussion by Steven Till, the author of this document seems to concur that the Anglo and Viking armies made little use of the bow as military weapon.

In discussing the English longbow, the article indicates that the commonly held belief that it was of Welsh origins is unfounded . . . that most likely, the longbow was from Scandenavian sources. The dating of the longbow seems to be somewhere in the pre-migration peoples – Celts and Vikings. So . . . if this is the case, I am curious why the Vikings did not make use of the longbow . . . or if they did, why does it not figure more prominently in Viking legend and literature? Looks like an interesting assignment – perhaps someone already has an answer, or perhaps I have misunderstood the information . . . as quoted from the wise old owl from the Tootsie Roll Pop commercial, “Let’s find out!”

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Steven Till has a nice article about the history of Anglo-Saxon and Viking archery. I attempted to comment on it at his blog, but was caught in an anti-spam filter . . . seems that my school is a reputed source of spam in the world – hmmm. Anyway, the gist of his article was that the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings both used the bow mostly for hunting; its effectiveness in combat was minimized by the armor of their opponents. It wasn’t until the English longbow that Europeans began using the bow in combat with any degree of success. My comment to Steven was going to mostly be about the parallel development of the bow and its use in combat. For example, during the same era, the Mongolians and their use of the horsebow is well documented, as is the use of the horsebow by the Parthians throughout modern day Iran and Afghanistan. The Japanese also had some military successes with the Yumi until the arrival of the musket, which ended the use of the bow as a viable military weapon.

I enjoyed his article very much and would encourage other intersted readers to see what he has to say. Steven made a comment about the longbow being in a completely seperate discussion . . . so . . . Mr. Till? Is another article coming?

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As we prepare for summer and our archery program, I want to offer some different thoughts on being “authentic” in our archery activities. Now there is some degree of anachronism here . . . most of our archery shoots for beginners will involve rather traditional equipment: longbow or recurve bow (of manmade materials), cedar arrows with natural feather fletching and crimp-on tip, and a standard target to shoot at. However, we also want to offer some more advanced type activities which accurately reconstruct period equipment . . . bow making, arrow making and fletching, and bowsting making. Today, I’d like to offer a link to a very basic instructional site for making Medieval arrowheads. From a member of the British Federation of Historic Swordplay, is a brief instructional piece, Making Medieval Arrowheads. While rather rudimentary, I think it offers sufficient guidance for a moderately skilled craftsman to be successful at making some arrowheads. In my mind, any time I can make something rather then buy it is a good thing!!! I hope you enjoy!

Soon I hope to have photos of my “board” recurve bow that I have made – just waiting to get around to making the string and then doing a little “tillering” before I put a finish on it and test it on the archery field. I think it will be a good bow – probably between 35 and 40 pounds of pull. I’m also building some more inkle looms for some upcoming classes and fundraising activities, which are taking priority. I will see if I can take some pictures of arrowhead making also, rather then relying on drawings.

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So the homeschoolers made me spend my day in the workshop building more inkle looms. (Darn!) With eight students, it should be a nice sized class – plus moms and dads hanging around. There are now twelve completed practice inkle looms sitting on the dining room table – just a little touch up with some steel wool to polish the urethane coating. The class can grow a couple more before I either have to put a limit to the class size or dash back into the workshop to make more looms.

Although I finished the “home projects” for Betty and Melissa, I never touched the archery bow – just not enough time. Maybe tomorrow afternoon I will head back out to the shop to begin tackling this new endeavor.

We had a brief team meeting – lots on the horizon for Medieval Living! Chainmail classes and more inkle loom and tablet loom weaving classes for April. James is working on archery, arrow making/fletching for June and July. If the bow making works as I am hoping it well, we might add that to the list. Melissa is working on the tile making process so that we can hold classes in May. A fundraising yard-sale probably some time in May or early June (see the Albuquerque Craigslist for more info on that). I am also hoping to get an introduction to tapestry weaving course set up in April or May. And then most of these classes will continue on monthly basis, as long as there is interest. (I’ve already been asked about the chainmail class, so I know some people are getting anxious for some of these offerings!) We are also hoping to start some dialogue with a local charter school – some of the things they are doing with their students may partner well with what we are offering. Yeah, the plate is getting full . . . and I like it that way! We met the challenge of the inkle loom homeschoolers – who else has something to challenge us with? Bring it on!

Well yesterday I challenged the local homeschoolers to force me into the workshop this weekend . . . and . . . well . . . they did!!! Three more have signed up for the inkle loom course – and one of the parents is on a mission to add more! And quite honestly, I couldn’t be more pleased! Pleased because the number of participants is growing and pleased because the interest in the course helps to validate our mission – to teach about the crafts and trades of the Medieval era. I was a little concerned when the game night fizzled . . . I will try it again . . . maybe I just had the wrong night, location, etc., etc., etc.

I have several projects lined up for the workshop this weekend . . . first and foremost is constructing at least 6 more “practice” inkle looms. Second are some “home” projects for mother-in-law and daughter. Third is a project that I’ve never tried before . . . making a bow for archery. I’ve put out the request for donations of archery equipment, but I really do think it is prudent that I learn how to make my own equipment. There are various websites out there that show how to make wood bows. One tutorial that I found is part of a archery forum – written by some person named “4est trekker”, the series of posts describes how to make a very nice bow from materials from the local hardware store (i.e., Lowes, Home Depot). The gentleman writing the account makes a very interesting statement about the ease/difficulty in making a bow:

“I give bowmaking seminars for the students in the traditional archery class I instruct at the high school where I teach. Now, if a bunch of inner city kids can build a bow, then you can too. ”

There you have it! Not only do I have a gauntlet thrown down for making more looms, some guy I’ve never even heard of before has thrown one down for me to make a bow! Well the looms come first, but if there is enough time in the weekend, I hope to have my first archery bow under my belt!!!

Just a quick note – my son-in-law, James, ordered some new arrows and they arrived promptly as requested. However . . . the delivery person placed the parcel just inside the fence, perhaps thinking it was safe there – out of sight. Well it wasn’t safe from the sight of one of James’ inquisitive puppies . . . inquisitive enough to want to know what treasures were inside the package. When James came home there were at least a half dozen arrows strewn around the property, each one thoroughly tasted and chewed upon . . .enough as to make them completely useless for anything other then kindling for the fireplace! I am sure there is some cute moral to the story . . . just haven’t figured out what it is!

While I have been working on the development and construction of looms for my weaving classes, my son-in-law, James, has been had at work planning the summer’s archery activities. At this point, it looks as though we will have two different levels of archery shoot with the longbow: a beginner’s level shoot and an advanced shoot. Additionally, we will offer a course on arrow making (fletching), and we are contemplating a course for longbow making. Another advanced program being contemplated is crossbow course.

It will definitely be a busy summer if we have four our five different courses several times throughout the summer! And we have also discussed the prospects of some archery competitions as students develop their skill levels – should be fun! I need to get back out on the archery field myself, or I will probably be left behind by eager students. I’ve already had people express serious interest in sighing up their children for archery . . . I am really looking forward to the summer!

And for those who are brave and like to try doing things on there own, here are a couple of online references for making your own bow! From Pete Ward, an avid bowyer and hunter from somewhere in Alberta, Canada, are a slew of references for building bows and fletching arrows, just to name a few. What a great resource!