Welsh and Irish longbows

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:26:26 PM12/10/10

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Let's get back to the main issue. This has been raised several times but
never answered clearly here. When we are talking about the Welsh and
Irish longbows, are we talking about the D section longbows only or about
the longbows of any cross-section profile?

BTW let's keep it as simple as possible. please.
Cf. http://www.greenhollowbowmen.co.uk/longbow.htm

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:28:37 PM12/10/10

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D section longbows or longbows of any cross-section profile?

Craig: "When was this question previously asked?"

See. #55, #56, #57, #58, and #60.

Craig: "The main question in this thread has been the length of Irish,
Welsh and indeed Scottish bows, a question I believe has been answered.
However to answer your question, I believe the majority of correspondents
in this thread do not care as to the question of section,
a long bow is a bow that is man height or longer a short bow is shorter."

Is that why several people raised "this question"?
Do we agree on what it means for a bow to be "man height or longer"?
Were there any female archers?
How old do you have to be to be called a man?

What does it mean for the question of "the length of Irish,
Welsh and indeed Scottish bows" to have "been answered"?
Does that mean the majority of them were long bows?
Or just the majority of bows we know of?

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:30:02 PM12/10/10

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Craig, we can raise an issue by making a statement.
If you don't think so, kindly realize that I just did.

It is helpful to ask why we ask certain questions.
I'm not sure why you need to insist that
certain people mainly used certain kind of bow
when we don't have sufficient evidence.
Are you trying to learn something, to teach use something,
or to make us agree with whatever you say?

Do we really agreed that
the longbow as defined by Kfoushr "was most probably invented
by the Germanic people of Southern Scandinavia at around the turn of the
eras"?
Wouldn't it be much more agreeable to say that
as far as we can tell, certain people often used certain kind of bow?

I mainly make flat selfbows out of white oak, maple, or birch staves.
But as a poor shot, I make them "almost center shot" with arrow shelf.
Do you think I would ever make English style longbows
out of those white-wood staves?

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:31:28 PM12/10/10

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If the Welsh bows were "nothing much to look at,"
how long do you think they could be?

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:32:56 PM12/10/10

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Is it generally accepted that the Welsh bow (at the time concerned)
was not backed by anything?

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:34:23 PM12/10/10

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Jur de Stoute wrote:Timo and Jorgumund, Geraldus clearly states no
sapwood/whitewood.

It appears that he would have mentioned it
if the Welsh bows were backed with sinew or anything.
What would be the minimum length of an unbacked wych elm bow
that can kill a man in a combat situation?
Assuming that the bow is held by the hand ;-) and has no riser,
what would be the maximum circumference of the bow in the middle?

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:35:32 PM12/10/10

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Even though I'm not against pursuing knowledge for the sake of knowledge,
it would be helpful if we know why we want to know the "normal" length of
the Welsh bow.
I personally like to know the best way to make a whitewood selfbow
that is as short as possible but can shoot at least 180 yards.

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:36:46 PM12/10/10

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To me, the more interesting question would be
the usual cross-section profile and size of the Welsh bow.
With that information I don't have to reinvent the wheel
and adjust the length of bow to my need.

scp

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Dec 10, 2010, 5:39:45 PM12/10/10

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Whitewood selfbows need to be longish
if they are not to be backed but to be strong and powerful.
Or widish.

Is it true that D-section bows are more accurate than flat bows?
Probably because they are usually longer?