How was the longbow used?

Answer 1

English medieval bows, including longbows, were used for Archery practice, in hunting and in warfare.

Archery practice was held in almost every town and village, generally after church on Sundays but also at other times. Areas known as "butts" were reserved solely for archery practice - these had an earth bank serving to stop the arrows and initially targets consisted of garlands (rings of interwoven twigs), wands (upright twigs set in the ground) or "marks" on pieces of timber or cloth. Later modern-style round archery targets of straw were used, but not until the 13th century. Many English towns still have areas today known as "The Butts", preserving the sites of archery ranges of the middle ages.

Aristocratic noblemen used longbows in hunting deer and wild boar across areas designated as "forest" - a legal term for any kind of terrain which was out of bounds to the public and used only for hunting.

In warfare, non-noble archers would form the front rank of the army, often in blocks with armoured knights in between and behind them. As a protection against enemy cavalry, archers from the 1300s onwards often stuck sharpened stakes into the ground, slanting forwards at chest-height to a horse.

The longbow first has to be "braced", meaning that the normally loose linen string has to be fitted into the nocks or grooves at each end of the bow. To do this the archer could step through the bow and use the power of his leg muscles to bend the bow while pushing the string into place.

He would then take a sheaf of arrows (normally 24) and stick them all in the ground in front of him - the Hollywood idea of medieval archers having quivers for carrying arrows is total nonsense. The arrows would be tall enough for him to reach easily without bending or moving his feet. Young boys often had the task of carrying forward more arrows from supply carts in the rear and these would also be stuck in the ground.

Taking an arrow, the archer would await the signal for everyone to prepare - this might be a Trumpet or waving flag. He would fit the arrow to the bowstring and judge the distance to the enemy line, drawing the bowstring to his cheek or just behind his ear. All the archers would loose arrows together in a volley, immediately pulling another arrow from the ground and fitting it for the next shot.

Experience would tell the archer how high to aim for the distance required; this would get lower and lower as the enemy approached.

If enemy infantry got very close, the knights protecting the archers would move forward to engage with them before they could reach the archers, who generally had little or no armour.