The Longbow Quotes

“Introduced by Edward I, ‘Commissions of Array’ initiated the recruitment of archers on a grand scale. Not only were archers enlisted into his armies in quantity, they were selected for quality. Arrayers vetted not only an archer’s shooting ability but also the standard of his equipment. It was the beginnings of creating a professional army, and obligations of feudal service were increasingly sweetened with inducements of good pay.”
― Mike Loades, The Longbow

“1 June 1363, Edward III wrote to his sheriffs and commanded a … proclamation to be made that every able bodied man on feast days [including Sundays] when he has leisure shall in his sports use bows and arrows, pellets or bolts, and shall learn and practise the art of shooting, forbidding all and singular on pain of imprisonment to attend or meddle with hurling of stones, loggats, or quoits, handball, football, club ball, cambuc, cock fighting or other vain games of no value; as the people of the realm, noble and simple, used heretofore to practise the said art in their sports, whence by God’s help came forth honour to the kingdom and advantage to the king in his actions of war, and now the said art is almost wholly disused, and the people indulge in the games aforesaid and other dishonest and unthrifty games, whereby the realm is like to be kept without archers.”
― Mike Loades, The Longbow

“I do not doubt that super-heavy bows existed for a super-elite of archers and that they could be of use in sieges or at sea, but I question the suitability of anything over 140lb for land battle. Even drawing a 100lb bow remains a considerable feat, and for the men who bent these bows in battle, the work rate was phenomenal. Lactic acid builds up quickly at these weights, and in a desperate fight archers would have to push through immense walls of pain in order to keep their shafts flying.”
― Mike Loades, The Longbow