The Longbow: Its Impact on European Warfare

Joshua Conine
HIST/4110- High Middle Ages
December 12, 2013






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The years between the eleventh-century and the beginning of the sixteenth-century are
not commonly associated with ground breaking innovation; however, Medieval Europe produced
a significant amount of ground breaking technologies during the High Middle Ages. Without
medieval advances in things like agriculture, record keeping, or even warfare; Europe would
never have become the world power it was after 1500. One of Europes dominant forces,
enabling it to establish itself as a world power, was its military. Medieval innovation in weapon
technology created countless tools and defenses to ensure victory on the battlefield; the most
important of these technologies was the long bow. The English long bows increased distance
and power enabled its users to decimate the advancing enemy, thus establishing European
dominance on the battlefield. Its invention inspired other European nations to invent new
defenses, and strategies in order to combat the long bow; these new technologies and strategies
enabled Europeans to have success in future engagements. Also, because of the shear devastation
created by the long bow, Europe was viewed as an intimidating force. This intimidation inspired
by the long bow enabled Medieval Europe to become a dominant world power.
The bow and arrow had already been utilized by military forces for centuries prior to the
invention of the long bow. In fact, the bow had already become a staple in medieval culture,
important enough to be referenced by Geoffrey Chaucer in his description of a knights servant
in The Canterbury Tales.
1
Historians often debate how the English came to adopt the long bow
over the short bow, and there are several theories as to its origin. In his article discussing the
origin of the long bow, Henry Pancoast analysiss the historian G.M. Trevelyans idea that it was

1
Kenneth J. Thompson, Chaucers Warrior Bowman: The Roles and Equipment of the Knights Yeoman, The
Chaucer Review 40, no.4 (2006),
http://muse.jhu.edu.libproxy.uwyo.edu/journals/chaucer_review/v040/40.4thompson.html (accessed December
7, 2013).

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adopted from the Welsh by Edward I, and used in his Scottish Wars.
2
Pancoast disagrees with
this idea and comes to the conclusion that,
There is nothing in the evidence that points to the improbability of the English having
developed the long-bow independently themselves. On the contrary, it is no more of a
conjecture to hold that they invented the long-bow and acquired skill in its use as a
logical result of their use of the short bow than to hold that they borrowed it from the
Welsh.
3


Assuming Henry Pancoasts analysis to be true, the long bow was not only European in origin,
but invented in England. This is important because had the long bow been invented in any other
part of the world, Europe would have been at the receiving end of the devastation produced by
the long bow, and its future position as a world power would have never been possible.
English long bows were vastly different from the traditional short bow. Instead of being
pulled to the chest like the short bow, the long bow is drawn to the ear, thus creating more
power. It is also much longer than the short bow, often estimated to be six feet long, and fired a
long feathered arrow.
4
This increased size allowed long-bowmen to fire their arrows much
farther than their counterparts. In an article discussing weapons technology Gervase Phillips
writes, These tests have suggested that a bow of seventy pound draw, firing a heavy bodkin-
type arrow, had a potential effective range of between one- hundred fifty and two-hundred
meters.
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This is an impressive distance, and allowed English archers to decimate their foes from
a much farther distance than traditional short bows. Long bows also had much more power than

2
Henry S. Pancoast, The Origin of the Long Bow, PMLA 44, no. 1 (March 1929),
http://www.jstor.org/stable/457675 (accessed December 7, 2013).
3
Henry S. Pencoast, The Origin of the Long Bow, 227-228.
4
Robert Bartlett, The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change 950-1350 (New Jersey:
Princeton University Press, 1993), 63.
5
Gervase Phillips, Longbow and Hackbutt: Weapons Technology and Technology Transfer in Early Modern
England, Technology and Culture 40, no.3 (July 1999),
http://muse.jhu.edu.libproxy.uwyo.edu/journals/technology_and_culture/v040/40.3phillips.html (accessed
December 7, 2013).
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short bows, An example of the incredible power associated with the long bow can be found in a
late twelfth-century description that describes the damage a long bow dealt to a knight,
It went right through his thigh, high up, where it was protected inside and outside the leg
by his iron cuises, and then through the skirt of his leather tunic; next it penetrated that
part of the saddle which is called the alva or seat, and finally it lodged in his horse,
driving so deep that it killed the animal.
6


The long bows impressive distance and power enabled the English to win some of the many
battles associated with the Hundred Years War, which was started by Edward III in 1337 when
he claimed the right to rule France.
7
Bartlett argues that it was the crossbow that was the most
important weapon in Europe.
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However, due to the far superior rate of fire and durability of the
Long bow, in addition to its impressive range and power; the long bow had much more of an
impact on the European battlefield than the cross-bow.
Another reason that the long bow enabled Europe to become a dominant world power
was that its effectiveness forced other European nations to innovate new weapon technologies
and strategies in order to combat the long bow. One of the most important innovations invented
because of the long bow was tempered armor. In description of plate armor in the Encyclopedia
of Medieval dress and Textiles, Maria Hayward writes, The evolution of plate armour can be
linked to the rise of projectile weapons, especially the long bow and crossbow which were able
to pierce mail.
9
Arrows released by the long bow were so powerful that they pierced the mail

6
Robert Bartlett, The Making of Europe, 63.
7
William Chester Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages (New York: Penguin, 2002), 308.
8
Robert Bartlett, The Making of Europe, 63.
9
Maria, Hayward, Armour: Plate Armour, BrillOnline Reference Work,
http://referenceworks.brillonline.com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/entries/encyclopedia-of- medieval-dress-and-
textiles/armour-plate-armour (accessed December 7, 2013).
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armor traditionally worn by infantry soldiers. More advanced armor had to be created, and
without the push from the long bow, advances in armor technology would never have been
possible. Military strategies also had to evolve in order to compete with the effectiveness of the
long bow. Infantry could no longer charge the enemy as they had done before, as evidenced by
the English victory at Crcy in 1346 when the French foolishly assaulted a well entrenched
English army and were obliterated by the English archers.
10
In his article discussing the
evolution of the medieval infantry John Stone credits the long bow as the reason for its evolution
by saying,
Rogers evidently viewed technological innovations as a prime mover in the Infantry
Revolution. He points out that close-order formations of infantry were nothing new in the
fourteenth century. What made the difference was the introduction of the six-foot-
longbow, which provided the English with missile superiority over their opponents.
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Europe could no longer fight using traditional tactics because of the powerful long bow. Without
this evolution of tactics inspired by the long bow Europe would never have been able to
dominate its enemies in the future.
Intimidation is a powerful weapon in warfare. In his book, Bartell discusses the image of
a conqueror by using the Normans as an example. He uses a passage from William of Apulia
that says. Everywhere the Norman race had a renowned name. But, not yet having experienced
their power, The Calabrians were terrified at the arrival of such a ferocious leader.
12
This kind
of intimidation was also inspired by the English long bow. English archers struck fear into their

10
Paul Solon, The Road to Crcy: The English Invasion of France, 1346 (review), The Journal of Military History 69,
no.4 (October 2005), http://muse.jhu.edu.libproxy.uwyo.edu/journals/journal_of_military_history/v069/69.4sol
on.html (accessed December 7, 2013).
11
John Stone, Technology, Society, and the Infantry Revolution of the Fourteenth Century, The Journal of
Military History 68, no.2 (April 2004),
http://muse.jhu.edu.libproxy.uwyo.edu/journals/journal_of_military_history/v068/68.2sto ne.html (accessed
December 7, 2013).
12
Robert Bartlett, the Making of Europe, 87.
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enemies, and intimidation, being a valuable resource in warfare was large reason the English,
and later on, all of Europe was able to become such a dominant world power.
The long bow was an essential piece of military technology that changed the battlefield
forever. The bow and arrow already held an important position on medieval culture, having been
used as a powerful weapon for many centuries; however, the long bows overall superiority
easily replaced the short bow in medieval society. Its impressive power and distance inspired
other European nations to develop armor technologies and military strategies in order to
counteract the effectiveness of the long bow. These new defensive technologies and military
strategies would later on have a giant impact on Europe becoming a world power. Intimidation
inspired by the English long bow helped the English win very important battles in the Hundred
Years War. This intimidation, which contributed to the European image of a conqueror, was a
crucial element in Europes later on success. English long bows were a ground breaking
technology, and it was the one that best enabled medieval Europe to become a world power after
1500.








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Bibliography
Bartlett, Robert. The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change 950-1350.
New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Hayward, Maria. Armour: Plate Armour. BrillOnline Reference Works.
http://referenceworks.brillonline.com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/entries/encyclopedia-of-
medieval-dress-and-textiles/armour-plate-armour-
COM_136?s.num=0&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.cluster.Brill%E2%80%99s+Medieval+Reference
+Library&s.q=armour (accessed December 7, 2013).
Jordan, William Chester. Europe in the High Middle Ages. New York: Penguin, 2002.
Pancoast, Henry S. The Origin of the Long Bow. PMLA 44, no. 1 (March 1929).
http://www.jstor.org/stable/457675 (accessed December 7, 2013).

Phillips, Gervase. Longbow and Hackbutt: Weapons Technology and Technology Transfer in
Early Modern England. Technology and Culture 40, no.3 (July 1999).
http://muse.jhu.edu.libproxy.uwyo.edu/journals/technology_and_culture/v040/40.3phillip
s.html (accessed December 7, 2013).

Solon, Paul. The Road to Crcy: The English Invasion of France, 1346 (review). The Journal
of Military History 69, no.4 (October 2005).
http://muse.jhu.edu.libproxy.uwyo.edu/journals/journal_of_military_history/v069/69.4sol
on.html (accessed December 7, 2013).

Stone, John. Technology, Society, and the Infantry Revolution of the Fourteenth Century. The
Journal of Military History 68, no.2 (April 2004).
http://muse.jhu.edu.libproxy.uwyo.edu/journals/journal_of_military_history/v068/68.2sto
ne.html (accessed December 7, 2013).
Thompson, Kenneth J. Chaucers Warrior Bowman: The Roles and Equipment of the Knights
Yeoman. The Chaucer Review 40, no.4 (2006).
http://muse.jhu.edu.libproxy.uwyo.edu/journals/chaucer_review/v040/40.4thompson.html
(accessed December 7, 2013).







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