My uncle, Don Warren, passed away last year. He loved archery and was the Canadian Champion many times in both indoor and outdoor national events and was on the Canadian world championship team at the World Championships in Grenoble and Canberra in the 70s. For some reason, I was thinking about him today and missing him and the two other uncles I lost in less than a year’s time, and thought I’d see just what I could find about the history of the bow and arrow. This is a very interesting and informative documentary, and it’s so well done. Thank you for posting it!
I have shoot achery since the age of four. My parents started an archery club called The St.Johns Bowmen. This was started just after the end of ww2 and at the time archery equipment was not available. My father, a master carpenter and joiner therefore set to work and made all the bows and arrows from books he went looking for. We only had longbows so for us children he just reduces the size and draw length.. It became the biggest archer club in tbe area that covered Essex, Suffolf and Norfolk . I joined the forces but was allowed to carry on my practice in my free time. I then moved to Australia and not long after found a club to join. It ment learning all the new rules etc, but was not long till i became a modern archer and a master bowman. My famiky still practice the art back in the U.K.. It is a good sport to be involved in because the compotition is really a question of improving ones own score all the time, so there is much more of a social aspect to the sport and one that even young children can take part in. This video was both informative and very interesting, and i enjoyed watching it, thanks a lot for the time and effort taken to make it.. Thevonly thing that gave rise for concern is that for ladies to shoot it is advisable to bear a chest guard as protection from the bowstring, andvi noticed thar in thevold er clubs mentioned, that thisvwas a missing item much needed aas much then as it is today, even well built men can also find this item more than useful.
Absolutely wonderful. Not just the informative and historical aspects but genuinely entertaining and amazingly well produced! Thank you so much for this
I've been a traditional archery enthusiast ever since my uncle displayed his self longbow when I was in highschool. This was an excellent watch! Thanks.
The absolute BEST documentary on English Archery I have EVER seen...!! Well dramatized and very easy to follow with great interest and historical accuracy.
I’m from Tennessee and German/Scottish heritage. Archery was always the first method one most learn before ever pulling a trigger! My first 10 deer were all harvested with the bow.
In 2000, a 6000 year old bow was found in 'Rotton Bottom' (ancient bog above the valley floor) in Glen Carrifran just north of Moffat Scotland. The upper limb was broken down from the nock about 6 inches. It is now the property of the National Museum in Edinburgh, although it was displayed, its in storage at the moment. Now the oldest bow found in GB. JWLH FSA Scot.
That so much of this documentary is out of date 25 years later is impressive, not sad. That we know so much more now about things that happened nearly a thousand years ago, than we did just a few decades past, is inspiring.
Professor Loades; I first saw you in the television series Brother Cadfael as the local sheriff. Since then you have shown me a lot about hand weapons, chivalry and medieval warfare. Many thanks, I never could have written the stories I have without your priceless exhibitions.
That's an excellent historical documentary. I was a longbow man in my middle years but then gave up the sport, due to shortage of time. Returning to it, after my retirement, I took up the lighter flat bow style of composite, laminate bow which are made by a number of excellent English manufacturers, including one in Sherwood Forest itself. I shoot both a 26 llbs lightweight flat bow and a far more powerful double recurve, one piece 34 llbs laminate bow, that has a remarkably flat, powerful trajectory. I look forward to my excellent local archery club reopening, after this last lockdown, due to our government's strange panicky over-reaction to the Covid virus.
Nice touch with the clergymen getting the recruit archers to keep track of who was to join the King's army. Few people outside of the Church could read and write.
The most interesting video on TH-cam, that I’ve seen. It’s a shame that more enthusiast-produced footage isn’t available, instead we get clickbait junk, or if even vaguely controversial it’s censored by the Guugle mavens.
I remember when tv was still watchable because of Mike Loades on history. Now all they want to do is put on BS. Thanks Mike for making a TH-cam channel, wish I found it sooner.
The people who run science and history TV channels always seem to make the mistake of believing that by dumbing down their content, they'll reach a larger audience. What they never learn is that by doing that, all they're going to achieve is to drive away their audience of smart, curious people. Dumb people aren't going to take an interest in science or history no matter how dumbed-down the content is.
I'm from Oregon and am glad to hear the state mentioned in relation to yew. When Sir Francis Drake made his notable circumnavigation of the globe he stopped in Oregon and harvested 1200 yew wood staves, which he presented to the Queen when he arrived in England. We also have Port Orford cedar, a wood ideal for arrows. I love to shoot my own wooden arrows from a fine yew wood bow.
I own the DVD for this documentary. "Weapons That Made Britain" is another one of my favorite docu-series. I appreciate Mike Loades knowledge and enthusiasm for medieval weaponry and history.
Wonderful and insightful video! I loved every moment. Would love to see you delve more into the rest of the world and thier usage and ways of archery in another video please and thank you.
I got a longbow for my 15th birthday and immediately fell in love with it. I had been shooting a compound bow for a year and would wind up taking my first deer with a compound around my 16th birthday. But when I decided to get some good traditional hunting arrows and a lock on quiver and finally try to hunt with the longbow at around 17 I think, I had no idea how obsessed I’d become. The first hunt I missed a doe, she was at about 20 yards maybe a little less and it was a PERFECT shot!! Just a smidge high I mean the damn fletchings must’ve touched her back as the arrow passed over and I was hopelessly hooked on traditional archery man I mean I’ve literally never picked up a compound bow again. I had killed more than a few deer with that ole compound in those couple years and a pretty nice buck, a good little eight point but I went like 3 years without a kill when I switched over to the longbow. First animal I got was a rabbit at about 15 yards and lemme freakin tell you, you’d of thought I’d just shot a damn Pope & Young record buck as excited as I was when I got that rabbit. I’d eaten plenty of em up to that point but that one tasted better than all the rest. I think around my 22nd, maybe 23 birthday I finally got a deer with it and THAT was a feeling un like any other I’d ever experienced while taking deer. At that point in my life I’d shot quite a few with a rifle, let’s say like 6 or 7 I think but I can’t describe the feeling of taking one with that longbow. In the last couple years I’ve really been interested in primitive archery and have several books on the subject, Traditional Bowyers Bible, Bows & Arrows of the Native Americans ( it describes in detail the making of these bows and arrows and stone/trade points) and one on flint knapping. I’ve been making primitive arrows for a while and make some very decent ones, favorite is the Cherokee Two fletch. One of these days I’ll take a deer with a completely primitive bow and arrow I’ve made.
Despite a few inaccuracies, it's still much more informative than most modern history documentaries and of course, delightfully well presented. The broad perspective and rich treatment of the subject was a pleasure to watch. Here are a few small niggles that I noticed as a casual enthusiast, for anyone who's interested: 7:56 and 14:03 This is kind of correct in the context of early medieval Scandinavia. Most of the Scandinavian finds from this era are yew, but in Britain, it seems to have been a different story. Despite the later fame of yew in association with English longbows, English elm was in fact superior to English yew; roughly equivalent to good continental yew, so it's not quite so clear cut. Long story short, these categories of tree are very close and it comes down to the individual specimen and cut. "English elms" ( _Ulmus_ _minor_ _Atinia_ , not wych elms, which also occur in England) have an advantage in this regard, as they are all genetically identical - they're clones of a tree that was brought by the Romans to aid their attempts at viticulture, which, serendipitously, turned out to be very suitable for the climate and particularly good for bow making. Of course, environmental differences result in very different trees, regardless of genetics, but having such a consistently good baseline may be why elm was more highly regarded in Britain than it seems to have been in other parts of Europe in this period. Other bow woods have been more popular at other times and in other places, despite access to yew. The Scythians, for instance, seem to have preferred tamarisk wood for their self bows (it was also well thought of in ancient Egypt). These timbers are all very different and have different pros and cons, but in the end, result in similarly excellent bows. 9:10 Strongbow (and his father) were named for their castle in a bend of the river Wye, not for anything to do with archery. He was described by the contemporary Giraldus Cambrensis (who would have known him personally and indeed, very well) as being of effeminate stature, but exceptionally courageous; to be admired for joining his generals in their determination to lead from the front against almost impossible odds, despite his bodily fragility. I don't know of any special reason to believe that the archers brought on that campaign were Welsh, rather than Cambro-Norman. In the principal source, they're described both as Welsh and as English, suggesting simply that they came from the English part of Wales, as did the marcher lords who undertook the expedition (and are also referred to in both ways). 26:25 Of course, great strides have been made in understanding the properties of medieval arrows and armour. The best plate piercing arrows are no longer categorised as "bodkin arrows" and we know that some earlier steel was far superior to wrought iron, little difference that this makes to the general picture. 32:26 Well, as Turks go, the Ottomans probably have a better reputation than the Seljuqs and perhaps the best reputation of any archers, among historical archery enthusiasts. To general history enthusiasts, the most enduring fame may go to the Parthians. Lastly, to the general public, the Mongols must be the best known by far. 44:08 The first major gunpowder battle of Her Majesty, the England, perhaps, but there had, of course, been many major battles recorded in China (though not in the Queen's English, so I can certainly see some merit in disregarding it)!
Thanks for the wonderful video, and a huge thanks for not ruining it with crappy background music. I don't know why some people are compelled to add annoying background music throughout their videos.
That Little Tune is very similar to the music in Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead, with Richard Dreyfuss as lead Player. Historically from the same time as Archery is King.
as someone who liked to read from multiple sources about the subject,there are some overexeggerations in this video, like agincourt was more like 1:2, 1:3 army ratio size (nobody really knows exact figures), not 1:8, 1:10 like he claims, also, quality breast plate armor is really not gonna be pierced by arrows from any bow (doesnt mean it can't hurt). i'm not an expert but that seems to be most credible information i have found.
I enjoyed this outstanding walk through the history of England archery. This is my 63rd year shooting the longbow and building arrows. Thank you for the trip.🎯
What luck to find this channel! Did a quick search of your name after the wonderful wired video about medieval weapons in games. Thanks for sharing this production and your passion and knowledge in general :D
The popularity of archery is astounding and increasing exponentially. Grew up with recurves in 50s, Dad was an archer. Target. All compounds now. Point of pride: The compound was invented (or perfected or commercialized??) by Wilbur Holless Allen in the small town of Billings, just down the road from where I live in the Missouri Ozarks.
It's nice to see Ray Mears, he knows his shizzle. The information in this movie contained a lot of things i didn't know. So interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Chain mail armors and scale armors were weak against arrows if used alone. For this reason, chain mail armors and scale armors were used in combination with shields. However, keeping shields up for hours was tiring, and some open body parts were less protected against arrows. Armies using these armors were particularly vulnerable to arrow attacks from the flanks and rear. Also, the use of two-handed weapons made it almost impossible to hold a shield. With these weak armors, you wouldn't want to use a two-handed weapon when you're under a shower of arrows. Despite better protection, manipulating a one-handed spear was more difficult than two-handed one. For this reason, such weakly armored infantry preferred the strategy of laying down their shields and raising their longer near them shortly before the enemy cavalry engaged their charge. Another method was piles driven into the ground. However, this second method resulted in fewer maneuvering options. Moreover, dropping shields was a particularly bad solution against mounted archers. The phalanx is almost the only example where very long spears are used with a shield. Soldiers in the phalanx order used the shield by putting their forearms in a cuff. So they could use the long sarissas partially with two hands. However, they used sarissas one-handed in the first line for better protection with shields, especially when there was a threat of enemy archers. Moreover, the maneuverability of the extremely long sarissas was limited due to the shield. This issue was fixed by having 3 line soldiers point their sarissas at the enemy. Thus, the enemy that the first line missed could be speared by the other line. When this organization was disrupted due to terrain conditions or lack of discipline, especially Roman Legionnaires could easily push sarissas aside or up and enter close combat with their large shields, and armies in the phalanx order were losing the war. Since effective armor technology against arrows was not developed in the early period, many armies could not stand against armies consisting mostly of heavy and light horse archers, such as the Huns, Turks and Mongols. Lamellar armors and Laminar armors, which were more common especially in the east, were slightly more resistant to arrows. But it was still far from being a good solution. In the 1300s, after the Mongol invasion, armors containing plate pieces similar to lamellar armor began to come to the fore. This increased the protection of soldiers against enemy archers. During this period, especially mail and plate armors and brigandine armors became popular. Especially mirror armor was found in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. These armors had some arrow-resistant parts. But also, battleaxes, maces, war hammers and polaxes could be effective against these armors. The expensiveness of full plate armor limited its use outside of elite soldiers. Ironically, in the 1400s, when armor technology was well developed, the Ottoman army began to use firearms widely, and they gained the upper hand against the heavily armored armies in Europe. After the Ottoman Empire, the use of muskets became widespread in other armies. The use of armor parts other than the arrow-resistant plate body armor gradually decreased.
Robin Hood.... There is only one answer: when legend collides with truth, print the legend. The narrator was right. Robin is in fact in the heart of all archers.
I bought and read your "Warbows" book Mike. I must say, that I was partially disappointed. The information that I found was fine. It was what I didn't find that I was missing. I had been expecting more information about draw-weights of various bows and data detailing the energy, momentum, range and penetrative force, of various weights of ancient and medieval projectiles at various distances. I thought you might discuss the interaction between various projectile weapons and their targets like, how effective a long bow with a type 16 head was vs. a particular kind of armor. I had hoped that you would explain more about the tactical use of these weapons throughout the ages. What I did find I liked, but I think there is room for a sequel. There are certainly plenty of enthusiasts these days and guys like Tod Cutler and Matt Easton are getting the jump on you. It would be nice to see you all get together, get some funding and produce an exhaustive and definitive work on the subject. It starts with not having any real data about the ranges and wounding power of these weapons. Much has been written, but can we really trust any of it? Don't you think we need some modern data points with good documentation of all the parameters? Sure, we might not be able to recreate all the materials, processes and conditions, but we can at least get some new data points out there. Some of the old data have magical Welsh longbows shooting through panzers a 1000 yards. There are many myths, beliefs and legends about what happened at iconic battles such as Agincourt. Much has been written, but how much of it has really been exhaustively fact-checked by controlled or at least systematic tests? What do we really know about these weapons and there impact on the battlefield? If such research were to be done and such a book were to be produced, it would be good to see your contribution to it.
There's a wonderful zen moment I found while roving in a potter's field. If the mind can be present at the moment of release, miraculous accuracy may follow. May sound easy but not for me. What's all too often easy is anticipation of the future or dwelling in the past though only a split second, enough to send the arrow amiss. An added benefit is a growing feeling of peace. In this graveyard, graves only marked by ditches where the coffins collapsed, I came across the supernatural though I don't believe. Bizarre coincidences of losing and finding arrows...and then, after a couple of "warnings" to leave that I ignored, my arrow exploded in mid air. I really liked shooting at natural targets like a leaf, dead trees or a distant hill. Great workout with variation, The ultimate is mounted archery. I had been on horses a handful of times and never felt steady until I let go the reins, knocked the arrow without looking and released into the target. Testosterone boost big time! My pet peeve when watching skilled archers is that so many haven't taken the little time to learn to draw, nock and shoot without looking at the arrow. Once learned, the speed of fire is increased and the steadiness of focus is not interrupted.
A great account on the history of archery. What I was missing is the story of the Mongolian, Hun and native North American tribes, namely the Comanches and of course, Lars Andersen, the most outstanding archer in my mind, and mounted archers like Lajos of Hungary.
One curious fact has puzzled me is that while, like the drum, the bow is common in Papua/New Guinea, it never crossed over the water into Indigenous Australia. Archery is the national sport of Bhutan. Perhaps the Kalahari San people should also get a mention
The time-consuming and expensive training required to wield the longbow proved to be England's Achilles' heel in the Hundred Years' War, especially after the disastrous English defeat at Patay on June 18, 1429. However, the final nail in the coffin was the development of field artillery, which was used to great effect by the French in sieges and battles at the end of the Hundred Years' War.
Great video. As a middle age guy(pun intended) i think archery is a great sport. It keeps you out doors, it keeps you moving(drawing the bow string, walking back and forth to reteave arrows) and it is something that is never truly mastered. Its also a sport that can be taken well into old age. The one negitive i would say about this video is they were wrong about the origins of archery, or atleast with the time frame. A cave painting in centeral africa shows men hunting with bows, and it was dated to 80,000 years ago(a more recent discovery than the relise of this video. Men, women, boys, girls.....even handycaped people in some cases can enjoy this sport. As an american, i love my guns. That will always be my first love.......but archery is coming up a VERY close second. I would urge almost anyone to give it a shot.
Highest of Kudos to the portraying platoon of soldiers. Settings shots from the well chosen authentic country side as well. Bound to receive a few next world rounds of thanks in forms of both back pats & beverage's from those who'd lived these legends 39:50 972 yards 3' = 2,916' divided by 5,280' per mile = 0.55 of a mile. 40:03 Quite an insurance that the receiving enemy would play hell shooting you're short arrows back @ you. 42:40 Tickled to recall how a couple of metal shop seniors made a crossbow from a boat trailer leaf spring that would easily pass welding rods through a stop sign. 44:26 The sight of the ramrod tickles me even further when recalling jungle training @ Ft. Sherman Panama back in '73; where they forbade us from using sections of our cleaning rods being propelled by our M-16's blanks, against their menacing howler monkey packs that would nightly raid each ruck sack while sleeping in our hammocks. 52:00 - 54:50 Now that is a truly manly game of golf. Truth is an arrow and the gate is narrow that is passes through He unreleased His power at an unknown hour that no one knew ~Bob Dylan song ''When He Returns'' album: ''Slow Train Coming''(1979)
Good lord! I would not have recognised him if you had not commented. Haha. He has eaten a few Dear since this was made. But what a fantastic film. Sheer quality.
@@gibsonscornershop Yes to my eternal shame and embarrassment, there was a mistake and the list of names I gave to the editor, which did include Ray's, was not properly checked and by the time we noticed it was far too late to do anything about it.
My uncle was a member of the Royal Toxophilite Society & I remember shooting at Dunstable sometime in the first half of the 70's as a kid. I was given a suitable sized bow & I can remember the formality & totally embarrassing myself by forgetting the rules and ambling off downrange causing all sorts of shouts, whistles & a right bollocking from my uncle! I still blush thinking about it! Ok, I was in single digits but as an only child I had no concept of childhood. I still kick myself! At the Royal Tock's too! 😳
An excellent video I've enjoyed greatly over the years. Wondered if it would come out on DVD, though even that is dated now. The VHS is one of the few videos I've kept.
Great documentary covering most of the use of bows. I'm a field archer myself and have a modern inline recurve bow and a more modern Mongolian horse bow. Love shooting my bows. Hopefully the club can reopen soon 🤞
They're everywhere right lol! Every culture had some sort of "fire arrow" an arrow with a charcoal piece in it to light wood aflame would still count as a fire arrow.
I have to point out that some of the ways i have seen deployed to actually string a long bow. In fact there was a common way to do it that does not damage the string knock or the string, and also takes up any difference it the strands of material to make a bowstring which in itself is an art.The string the bow the lower end of the bow already in the knock at the lower limb, This end is trapped using the side of the shoe while the bow is pulled with the laft hand and the top end of the string is pushed and slid up the upper limb while also pushing thatblimb away from you. Putting ones foot between the bow and tbe string and pulling the top limb toward you put a lot more strain on the lower limb. To string a recurve bow, one uses a barstard string whitch is a stringbwith two loops, usually with a hook to create the loop which is placed about a quarter way down from the end of each limb the bow as a whole is pulled up while the loose loop pof the string is placed in it knock. This applies equal force to seah end of the bow, most importantly, a bow is never loosed without and arrow, and the collective power overstreses the bow and it will explode, something i have seen happen and is exsteemly dangerous with very sharp bits of the bow flying in all directions.
Thank you for the video. As a fun exercise would have liked to see more detail of the whistling arrow ... remember Robin Hood used it to signal into his base camp when problems got in their vicinity. Did not know the citizens actually lived within the King's forest.
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
My uncle, Don Warren, passed away last year. He loved archery and was the Canadian Champion many times in both indoor and outdoor national events and was on the Canadian world championship team at the World Championships in Grenoble and Canberra in the 70s. For some reason, I was thinking about him today and missing him and the two other uncles I lost in less than a year’s time, and thought I’d see just what I could find about the history of the bow and arrow. This is a very interesting and informative documentary, and it’s so well done. Thank you for posting it!
Stacy Groscup, Fred Bear.
👍👍😁
start using his bow
Wow the informative content here is better than some documentaries these days on the History Channel
History does documentaries?
@@entropy11 lol right
They confused field with 3d. In field you shoot at round targets, in 3d you shot at foam animals.. And they said instinctive... Shame
Agreed!
Q
Wow. Weird to think I was only 2 when this came out. And here I am 26 years later finally watching this. I miss documentaries like this.
This is the type of film we would watch when we had a
substitute teacher, that did not know anything, at school. Ahhhh....memories.
As an archer and enthusiast, this is probably the most accurate and concise video on archery I have ever seen! Fantastic work!
It's great to be Scottish Mr Robertson. 😁
😂😂😂😂😂😂
I have shoot achery since the age of four.
My parents started an archery club called The St.Johns Bowmen.
This was started just after the end of ww2 and at the time archery equipment was not available.
My father, a master carpenter and joiner therefore set to work and made all the bows and arrows from books he went looking for.
We only had longbows so for us children he just reduces the size and draw length..
It became the biggest archer club in tbe area that covered Essex, Suffolf and Norfolk .
I joined the forces but was allowed to carry on my practice in my free time.
I then moved to Australia and not long after found a club to join.
It ment learning all the new rules etc, but was not long till i became a modern archer and a master bowman.
My famiky still practice the art back in the U.K..
It is a good sport to be involved in because the compotition is really a question of improving ones own score all the time, so there is much more of a social aspect to the sport and one that even young children can take part in.
This video was both informative and very interesting, and i enjoyed watching it, thanks a lot for the time and effort taken to make it..
Thevonly thing that gave rise for concern is that for ladies to shoot it is advisable to bear a chest guard as protection from the bowstring, andvi noticed thar in thevold er clubs mentioned, that thisvwas a missing item much needed aas much then as it is today, even well built men can also find this item more than useful.
Absolutely wonderful. Not just the informative and historical aspects but genuinely entertaining and amazingly well produced! Thank you so much for this
I've been a traditional archery enthusiast ever since my uncle displayed his self longbow when I was in highschool. This was an excellent watch! Thanks.
The absolute BEST documentary on English Archery I have EVER seen...!! Well dramatized and very easy to follow with great interest and historical accuracy.
I’m from Tennessee and German/Scottish heritage. Archery was always the first method one most learn before ever pulling a trigger! My first 10 deer were all harvested with the bow.
I'm surprised to hear that there are still people in the US who hunt with bows, thank you for sharing.
In 2000, a 6000 year old bow was found in 'Rotton Bottom' (ancient bog above the valley floor) in Glen Carrifran just north of Moffat Scotland. The upper limb was broken down from the nock about 6 inches. It is now the property of the National Museum in Edinburgh, although it was displayed, its in storage at the moment. Now the oldest bow found in GB. JWLH FSA Scot.
What a fantastic documentary, nothing dated here. Could watch this and many more like for hours and hours
I love these documentaries with lots of detailed information and barely any music. Thank you.
That so much of this documentary is out of date 25 years later is impressive, not sad. That we know so much more now about things that happened nearly a thousand years ago, than we did just a few decades past, is inspiring.
Indeed!
Lovely simple and direct documentary sans dramatic frills or ponderous music. Thank you!
I purchased this video over 20 years ago . And I layed down the compound bow and picked up the long bow . Much FUN !
Warbows was a great book and I highly recommend it for those who are interested in the history of archery
Professor Loades; I first saw you in the television series Brother Cadfael as the local sheriff. Since then you have shown me a lot about hand weapons, chivalry and medieval warfare. Many thanks, I never could have written the stories I have without your priceless exhibitions.
He wasn't in Cadfael 😂
That's an excellent historical documentary. I was a longbow man in my middle years but then gave up the sport, due to shortage of time. Returning to it, after my retirement, I took up the lighter flat bow style of composite, laminate bow which are made by a number of excellent English manufacturers, including one in Sherwood Forest itself. I shoot both a 26 llbs lightweight flat bow and a far more powerful double recurve, one piece 34 llbs laminate bow, that has a remarkably flat, powerful trajectory. I look forward to my excellent local archery club reopening, after this last lockdown, due to our government's strange panicky over-reaction to the Covid virus.
Nice touch with the clergymen getting the recruit archers to keep track of who was to join the King's army. Few people outside of the Church could read and write.
The most interesting video on TH-cam, that I’ve seen. It’s a shame that more enthusiast-produced footage isn’t available, instead we get clickbait junk, or if even vaguely controversial it’s censored by the Guugle mavens.
I remember when tv was still watchable because of Mike Loades on history. Now all they want to do is put on BS. Thanks Mike for making a TH-cam channel, wish I found it sooner.
The people who run science and history TV channels always seem to make the mistake of believing that by dumbing down their content, they'll reach a larger audience. What they never learn is that by doing that, all they're going to achieve is to drive away their audience of smart, curious people. Dumb people aren't going to take an interest in science or history no matter how dumbed-down the content is.
I'm from Oregon and am glad to hear the state mentioned in relation to yew. When Sir Francis Drake made his notable circumnavigation of the globe he stopped in Oregon and harvested 1200 yew wood staves, which he presented to the Queen when he arrived in England. We also have Port Orford cedar, a wood ideal for arrows. I love to shoot my own wooden arrows from a fine yew wood bow.
Someday someone will be doing documentaries on these old documentaries. Mike Loades' films will be the headliner.
I own the DVD for this documentary. "Weapons That Made Britain" is another one of my favorite docu-series. I appreciate Mike Loades knowledge and enthusiasm for medieval weaponry and history.
Thanks Mike. I'm new to your content but I can say I'm already a huge fan. War Bows was an absolute blast to read.
Why thank you VERY most kindly with sharing this excellent filming with us Mr. Loads.
You are very young in this!
Wow, that's a very young Ray Mears! Excellent video, thanks for uploading.
I remember my chilhood watching the Ray Mears tv show. Wonderful...!!!
There is a few new videos of Ray with bows on the history channel he's a lot younger here
Haven't seen this in a while, but the love and dedication for the subject still shines through, just quality 🏹
Fantastic well researched documentary, we will spread the word.
Thank you for making this available.
Delightful documentary. Thanks for the upload.
Wonderful and insightful video! I loved every moment. Would love to see you delve more into the rest of the world and thier usage and ways of archery in another video please and thank you.
Still have the VHS cassette ..lol ... not seen this footage for over 20yrs, good to see it again
I got a longbow for my 15th birthday and immediately fell in love with it. I had been shooting a compound bow for a year and would wind up taking my first deer with a compound around my 16th birthday. But when I decided to get some good traditional hunting arrows and a lock on quiver and finally try to hunt with the longbow at around 17 I think, I had no idea how obsessed I’d become. The first hunt I missed a doe, she was at about 20 yards maybe a little less and it was a PERFECT shot!! Just a smidge high I mean the damn fletchings must’ve touched her back as the arrow passed over and I was hopelessly hooked on traditional archery man I mean I’ve literally never picked up a compound bow again. I had killed more than a few deer with that ole compound in those couple years and a pretty nice buck, a good little eight point but I went like 3 years without a kill when I switched over to the longbow. First animal I got was a rabbit at about 15 yards and lemme freakin tell you, you’d of thought I’d just shot a damn Pope & Young record buck as excited as I was when I got that rabbit. I’d eaten plenty of em up to that point but that one tasted better than all the rest. I think around my 22nd, maybe 23 birthday I finally got a deer with it and THAT was a feeling un like any other I’d ever experienced while taking deer. At that point in my life I’d shot quite a few with a rifle, let’s say like 6 or 7 I think but I can’t describe the feeling of taking one with that longbow. In the last couple years I’ve really been interested in primitive archery and have several books on the subject, Traditional Bowyers Bible, Bows & Arrows of the Native Americans ( it describes in detail the making of these bows and arrows and stone/trade points) and one on flint knapping. I’ve been making primitive arrows for a while and make some very decent ones, favorite is the Cherokee Two fletch. One of these days I’ll take a deer with a completely primitive bow and arrow I’ve made.
Despite a few inaccuracies, it's still much more informative than most modern history documentaries and of course, delightfully well presented. The broad perspective and rich treatment of the subject was a pleasure to watch.
Here are a few small niggles that I noticed as a casual enthusiast, for anyone who's interested:
7:56 and 14:03 This is kind of correct in the context of early medieval Scandinavia. Most of the Scandinavian finds from this era are yew, but in Britain, it seems to have been a different story. Despite the later fame of yew in association with English longbows, English elm was in fact superior to English yew; roughly equivalent to good continental yew, so it's not quite so clear cut. Long story short, these categories of tree are very close and it comes down to the individual specimen and cut.
"English elms" ( _Ulmus_ _minor_ _Atinia_ , not wych elms, which also occur in England) have an advantage in this regard, as they are all genetically identical - they're clones of a tree that was brought by the Romans to aid their attempts at viticulture, which, serendipitously, turned out to be very suitable for the climate and particularly good for bow making. Of course, environmental differences result in very different trees, regardless of genetics, but having such a consistently good baseline may be why elm was more highly regarded in Britain than it seems to have been in other parts of Europe in this period.
Other bow woods have been more popular at other times and in other places, despite access to yew. The Scythians, for instance, seem to have preferred tamarisk wood for their self bows (it was also well thought of in ancient Egypt). These timbers are all very different and have different pros and cons, but in the end, result in similarly excellent bows.
9:10 Strongbow (and his father) were named for their castle in a bend of the river Wye, not for anything to do with archery. He was described by the contemporary Giraldus Cambrensis (who would have known him personally and indeed, very well) as being of effeminate stature, but exceptionally courageous; to be admired for joining his generals in their determination to lead from the front against almost impossible odds, despite his bodily fragility.
I don't know of any special reason to believe that the archers brought on that campaign were Welsh, rather than Cambro-Norman. In the principal source, they're described both as Welsh and as English, suggesting simply that they came from the English part of Wales, as did the marcher lords who undertook the expedition (and are also referred to in both ways).
26:25 Of course, great strides have been made in understanding the properties of medieval arrows and armour. The best plate piercing arrows are no longer categorised as "bodkin arrows" and we know that some earlier steel was far superior to wrought iron, little difference that this makes to the general picture.
32:26 Well, as Turks go, the Ottomans probably have a better reputation than the Seljuqs and perhaps the best reputation of any archers, among historical archery enthusiasts. To general history enthusiasts, the most enduring fame may go to the Parthians. Lastly, to the general public, the Mongols must be the best known by far.
44:08 The first major gunpowder battle of Her Majesty, the England, perhaps, but there had, of course, been many major battles recorded in China (though not in the Queen's English, so I can certainly see some merit in disregarding it)!
Thanks for the wonderful video, and a huge thanks for not ruining it with crappy background music.
I don't know why some people are compelled to add annoying background music throughout their videos.
One of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Thank you very much. Greetings from Germany ☺️
I have been a fan of the bow for all my 51 years. This video has some great information!
Only just seen this for the first time - good coverage of the topic, some nice scenes with Chris Boyton & Edward McEwen
As a complete layman i thoroughly enjoyed that . Thankyou .
I haven't seen this in years. I have it on VHS somewhere. Thanks for putting it up.
Fantastic. Especially that little tune.
That Little Tune is very similar to the music in Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead, with Richard Dreyfuss as lead Player. Historically from the same time as Archery is King.
as someone who liked to read from multiple sources about the subject,there are some overexeggerations in this video, like agincourt was more like 1:2, 1:3 army ratio size (nobody really knows exact figures), not 1:8, 1:10 like he claims, also, quality breast plate armor is really not gonna be pierced by arrows from any bow (doesnt mean it can't hurt).
i'm not an expert but that seems to be most credible information i have found.
Thank You for the share. always fun to learn about history good or bad.
I enjoyed this outstanding walk through the history of England archery. This is my 63rd year shooting the longbow and building arrows. Thank you for the trip.🎯
Thank you for sharing this excellent video
Well-made and informative documentary.
Mr. LOADS, Thank You for yet another fascinating well made video !
Very interesting ,thank you for showing it.
What luck to find this channel! Did a quick search of your name after the wonderful wired video about medieval weapons in games. Thanks for sharing this production and your passion and knowledge in general :D
thanks for this exquisite gift Mr Loades, I've watched it many times and will continue to do so, excellent narration, gonna pick up your books
You made this? It's an incredible piece of scholarship. Very thorough for only an hour long documentary.
The popularity of archery is astounding and increasing exponentially. Grew up with recurves in 50s, Dad was an archer. Target. All compounds now. Point of pride: The compound was invented (or perfected or commercialized??) by Wilbur Holless Allen in the small town of Billings, just down the road from where I live in the Missouri Ozarks.
A grand film, contains lots of info I didn't know, thanks....DA.
Loved and love watching your shows always on all what you did .. Do miss seeing them thanks for this one ..
It's nice to see Ray Mears, he knows his shizzle.
The information in this movie contained a lot of things i didn't know. So interesting. Thanks for sharing.
The repeating crossbow is very impressive! (48:20)
Proof that JoregSprave is a time traveler.
Thank you, great documentary!
Chain mail armors and scale armors were weak against arrows if used alone. For this reason, chain mail armors and scale armors were used in combination with shields. However, keeping shields up for hours was tiring, and some open body parts were less protected against arrows. Armies using these armors were particularly vulnerable to arrow attacks from the flanks and rear.
Also, the use of two-handed weapons made it almost impossible to hold a shield. With these weak armors, you wouldn't want to use a two-handed weapon when you're under a shower of arrows.
Despite better protection, manipulating a one-handed spear was more difficult than two-handed one. For this reason, such weakly armored infantry preferred the strategy of laying down their shields and raising their longer near them shortly before the enemy cavalry engaged their charge. Another method was piles driven into the ground. However, this second method resulted in fewer maneuvering options. Moreover, dropping shields was a particularly bad solution against mounted archers.
The phalanx is almost the only example where very long spears are used with a shield. Soldiers in the phalanx order used the shield by putting their forearms in a cuff. So they could use the long sarissas partially with two hands. However, they used sarissas one-handed in the first line for better protection with shields, especially when there was a threat of enemy archers. Moreover, the maneuverability of the extremely long sarissas was limited due to the shield. This issue was fixed by having 3 line soldiers point their sarissas at the enemy. Thus, the enemy that the first line missed could be speared by the other line. When this organization was disrupted due to terrain conditions or lack of discipline, especially Roman Legionnaires could easily push sarissas aside or up and enter close combat with their large shields, and armies in the phalanx order were losing the war.
Since effective armor technology against arrows was not developed in the early period, many armies could not stand against armies consisting mostly of heavy and light horse archers, such as the Huns, Turks and Mongols.
Lamellar armors and Laminar armors, which were more common especially in the east, were slightly more resistant to arrows. But it was still far from being a good solution.
In the 1300s, after the Mongol invasion, armors containing plate pieces similar to lamellar armor began to come to the fore. This increased the protection of soldiers against enemy archers. During this period, especially mail and plate armors and brigandine armors became popular. Especially mirror armor was found in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. These armors had some arrow-resistant parts. But also, battleaxes, maces, war hammers and polaxes could be effective against these armors. The expensiveness of full plate armor limited its use outside of elite soldiers.
Ironically, in the 1400s, when armor technology was well developed, the Ottoman army began to use firearms widely, and they gained the upper hand against the heavily armored armies in Europe. After the Ottoman Empire, the use of muskets became widespread in other armies. The use of armor parts other than the arrow-resistant plate body armor gradually decreased.
Thank you for that contribution. Cheers
Excellent production and commentary : packed full of information that is unique and historically relevant. 🌿♾🌿
And at 2:17 that's a young Ray Mears !
Robin Hood.... There is only one answer: when legend collides with truth, print the legend. The narrator was right. Robin is in fact in the heart of all archers.
I bought and read your "Warbows" book Mike. I must say, that I was partially disappointed. The information that I found was fine. It was what I didn't find that I was missing.
I had been expecting more information about draw-weights of various bows and data detailing the energy, momentum, range and penetrative force, of various weights of ancient and medieval projectiles at various distances. I thought you might discuss the interaction between various projectile weapons and their targets like, how effective a long bow with a type 16 head was vs. a particular kind of armor. I had hoped that you would explain more about the tactical use of these weapons throughout the ages.
What I did find I liked, but I think there is room for a sequel. There are certainly plenty of enthusiasts these days and guys like Tod Cutler and Matt Easton are getting the jump on you. It would be nice to see you all get together, get some funding and produce an exhaustive and definitive work on the subject.
It starts with not having any real data about the ranges and wounding power of these weapons. Much has been written, but can we really trust any of it? Don't you think we need some modern data points with good documentation of all the parameters? Sure, we might not be able to recreate all the materials, processes and conditions, but we can at least get some new data points out there. Some of the old data have magical Welsh longbows shooting through panzers a 1000 yards. There are many myths, beliefs and legends about what happened at iconic battles such as Agincourt. Much has been written, but how much of it has really been exhaustively fact-checked by controlled or at least systematic tests? What do we really know about these weapons and there impact on the battlefield?
If such research were to be done and such a book were to be produced, it would be good to see your contribution to it.
There's a wonderful zen moment I found while roving in a potter's field. If the mind can be present at the moment of release, miraculous accuracy may follow. May sound easy but not for me. What's all too often easy is anticipation of the future or dwelling in the past though only a split second, enough to send the arrow amiss. An added benefit is a growing feeling of peace. In this graveyard, graves only marked by ditches where the coffins collapsed, I came across the supernatural though I don't believe. Bizarre coincidences of losing and finding arrows...and then, after a couple of "warnings" to leave that I ignored, my arrow exploded in mid air. I really liked shooting at natural targets like a leaf, dead trees or a distant hill. Great workout with variation, The ultimate is mounted archery. I had been on horses a handful of times and never felt steady until I let go the reins, knocked the arrow without looking and released into the target. Testosterone boost big time! My pet peeve when watching skilled archers is that so many haven't taken the little time to learn to draw, nock and shoot without looking at the arrow. Once learned, the speed of fire is increased and the steadiness of focus is not interrupted.
A great account on the history of archery. What I was missing is the story of the Mongolian, Hun and native North American tribes, namely the Comanches and of course, Lars Andersen, the most outstanding archer in my mind, and mounted archers like Lajos of Hungary.
Awsome movie , thanks alot for sharing it free online . You must be an awsome person . Thanks alot for your knowledge and this beautifull film .
How can you not include Howard Hill? Nearly if not the finest archer to ever walk the earth.
And he was an important revivalist of the bow as a hunting weapon
I just bought your book thank you so much for all the hard work and great information
Thank you. I hope you enjoy the book.
@@loadesofhistory Thank you so much Mike! Have a great day!
@@loadesofhistory
I purchased
Archery it's history and form
on DVD 📀
Thank you 👍😇
Really enjoyed watching this in 2021. Thank you 😊
1 of the best documentary ive seen ever
Fascinating to see the history in this level of detail.
One curious fact has puzzled me is that while, like the drum, the bow is common in Papua/New Guinea, it never crossed over the water into Indigenous Australia. Archery is the national sport of Bhutan. Perhaps the Kalahari San people should also get a mention
The time-consuming and expensive training required to wield the longbow proved to be England's Achilles' heel in the Hundred Years' War, especially after the disastrous English defeat at Patay on June 18, 1429.
However, the final nail in the coffin was the development of field artillery, which was used to great effect by the French in sieges and battles at the end of the Hundred Years' War.
excellent video, full of information across the history of bows, thank you for sharing
Great video.
As a middle age guy(pun intended) i think archery is a great sport.
It keeps you out doors, it keeps you moving(drawing the bow string, walking back and forth to reteave arrows) and it is something that is never truly mastered. Its also a sport that can be taken well into old age.
The one negitive i would say about this video is they were wrong about the origins of archery, or atleast with the time frame. A cave painting in centeral africa shows men hunting with bows, and it was dated to 80,000 years ago(a more recent discovery than the relise of this video.
Men, women, boys, girls.....even handycaped people in some cases can enjoy this sport.
As an american, i love my guns. That will always be my first love.......but archery is coming up a VERY close second.
I would urge almost anyone to give it a shot.
After watching this. I didn't know how much I didn't know. Lol. Always wanted my own bow now I have reason. Thanks for the upload.
Get the bow and get shooting Simon. You won't regret it ;-)
Highest of Kudos to the portraying platoon of soldiers. Settings shots from the well chosen authentic country side as well. Bound to receive a few next world rounds of thanks in forms of both back pats & beverage's from those who'd lived these legends
39:50 972 yards 3' = 2,916' divided by 5,280' per mile = 0.55 of a mile.
40:03 Quite an insurance that the receiving enemy would play hell shooting you're short arrows back @ you.
42:40 Tickled to recall how a couple of metal shop seniors made a crossbow from a boat trailer leaf spring that would easily pass welding rods through a stop sign.
44:26 The sight of the ramrod tickles me even further when recalling jungle training @ Ft. Sherman Panama back in '73; where they forbade us from using sections of our cleaning rods being propelled by our M-16's blanks, against their menacing howler monkey packs that would nightly raid each ruck sack while sleeping in our hammocks.
52:00 - 54:50 Now that is a truly manly game of golf.
Truth is an arrow and the gate is narrow that is passes through
He unreleased His power at an unknown hour that no one knew
~Bob Dylan song ''When He Returns'' album: ''Slow Train Coming''(1979)
Good video. Very informative and interesting.
Thank you for sharing your video with us!
A young Ray Mears too! Super!
Wow, Ray looks slim in this 😂 Thanks for uploading!
Good lord! I would not have recognised him if you had not commented. Haha. He has eaten a few Dear since this was made. But what a fantastic film. Sheer quality.
for some reason i couldn't see his name in the credits
@@gibsonscornershop Yes to my eternal shame and embarrassment, there was a mistake and the list of names I gave to the editor, which did include Ray's, was not properly checked and by the time we noticed it was far too late to do anything about it.
My uncle was a member of the Royal Toxophilite Society & I remember shooting at Dunstable sometime in the first half of the 70's as a kid.
I was given a suitable sized bow & I can remember the formality & totally embarrassing myself by forgetting the rules and ambling off downrange causing all sorts of shouts, whistles & a right bollocking from my uncle!
I still blush thinking about it!
Ok, I was in single digits but as an only child I had no concept of childhood. I still kick myself! At the Royal Tock's too! 😳
I love your work! 👍🏻
Just when you couldn't love archery any more, you do.
An excellent video I've enjoyed greatly over the years. Wondered if it would come out on DVD, though even that is dated now. The VHS is one of the few videos I've kept.
You can have them digitally remastered if you wished to 👍
Beautiful summary.
I'd love to know who does your soundtrack.
Great documentary covering most of the use of bows. I'm a field archer myself and have a modern inline recurve bow and a more modern Mongolian horse bow. Love shooting my bows. Hopefully the club can reopen soon 🤞
Aaaahhhh, you ARE still active on here :D
I still have this on VHS
Lindybeige needs to see these "FIRE ARROWS"
They're everywhere right lol! Every culture had some sort of "fire arrow" an arrow with a charcoal piece in it to light wood aflame would still count as a fire arrow.
Wow. And with a young Ray Mears and - if I am not mistaken - Pip Bickerstaffe! Fantastic 😊
I have to point out that some of the ways i have seen deployed to actually string a long bow.
In fact there was a common way to do it that does not damage the string knock or the string, and also takes up any difference it the strands of material to make a bowstring which in itself is an art.The string the bow the lower end of the bow already in the knock at the lower limb,
This end is trapped using the side of the shoe while the bow is pulled with the laft hand and the top end of the string is pushed and slid up the upper limb while also pushing thatblimb away from you.
Putting ones foot between the bow and tbe string and pulling the top limb toward you put a lot more strain on the lower limb.
To string a recurve bow, one uses a barstard string whitch is a stringbwith two loops, usually with a hook to create the loop which is placed about a quarter way down from the end of each limb the bow as a whole is pulled up while the loose loop pof the string is placed in it knock.
This applies equal force to seah end of the bow, most importantly, a bow is never loosed without and arrow, and the collective power overstreses the bow and it will explode, something i have seen happen and is exsteemly dangerous with very sharp bits of the bow flying in all directions.
This was a really interesting video I enjoyed it
Never boring with Mr Loades
This is great. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the video. As a fun exercise would have liked to see more detail of the whistling arrow ... remember Robin Hood used it to signal into his base camp when problems got in their vicinity. Did not know the citizens actually lived within the King's forest.
Very interesting and informative .
7:48 can anyone say what type of knot that is, specifically?
This is top notch.
Thanks for sharing this, Mike. A lot of work went into it and, although some of the info is a bit dated, I for one, thoroughly enjoyed it.