Longbow: A Social and Military History by Robert Hardy. I just finished it, and it is a fascinating read, recommended by the good folks at Traditional Archery Society. The author was one of Britain's great actors. For those who watched All Creatures Great and Small on PBS, he played the veterinarian Siegfried Farnon. He was also a world authority on the English longbow. I bought the latest edition (1993) on Amazon. It is out of print but there seem to be lots of copies available.
He goes through the history of the longbow, going back to prehistoric cave drawings and working through up to the present. Emphasis is on the English using it for war, as at Agincourt, Crecy etc. But then he continues on with field archery in Britain, the American archery of the Thompson brothers, Pope & Young with Ishi, Howard Hill, and hunting with the bow. There is even a section on making your own bow and arrows, the types of wood to use, etc.
The book finishes off with a discussion of the bows found on the Mary Rose, Henry the VIII's warship which went down during a confrontation with the French. The first edition of this book was published in 1976 and was a reference used by the archeologists working on the Mary Rose. They then contacted Mr. Hardy and he became involved with their work.
It is not necessarily the easiest book to read, but for those interested in archery it is definitely worth while. I learned a lot from reading it and recommend it wholeheartedly.
~Kees~
Topic: The History of the Longbow (Read 1811 times)