Bow weapons played a significant roll in warfare of the entire medieval era. The bow's appearance goes back to pre-history, along with the other individual missile weapons, the spear and sling. However, the bow proved to be a more powerful weapon in terms of range and the ability of aiming the missile (its arrow) at a target. It also compensated, somewhat, for differneces in individual muscle-power. This latter, made it a particularly useful weapon in combat, where it could offset -- to a degree -- the advantages of individual physical strengths. The bow weapon (the bow stave and its missle arrow), like all individual weapons, was a development of its society. Its effectivness in combat cannot be separated from the skills of the archer, and its effectivness in battles cannot be separated from the knowledgable employment of the weapon by the warleaders.
Through the bronze-age, and the ancient and medieval eras, the bow weapon underwent similar developments in differnet parts of the world. It appears that much of these modifications happened independently, although by the late medieval era, there was obviously enough social interchange, that there was some. Western Europe witnessed the full development of all types of bow weapons, except for the advanced composite bows used by horse archers. The geography of Eurasia and lands further east favored the full development of this weapons with their nomadic horse-cultures. [More later on the specialized skill needed to shoot a bow, or throw a javelin, while mounted]
In Western Europe, the bow was the most sophicated of missile weapons prior to the introduction of gupowder. It reached its zenith as a military weapon in Europe during the Hundred Years' War. It was callenged at the very end of the war by the missile weapon -- the handgun -- that would eventually replace it on the battle field a half-century later.
Some aspects about missile weapons in general:
- Range important
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- (to engage effectively at a distance further than the effectivness of an opponent's missle system is an obvious advantage. 'Effective' range is relative to the 'target complex'. Grouped enemy formations doe not required the degree of accuracy in aiming that is necessary to hit individual opponents. Most battles have a phase where 'grouped' (or massed) formations exist. This is usually early in the engagement, prior to closure of combantants. The missles delivered into such 'formations' not only attrit the numbers, but can disrupt the tactical coherence of military maneuver.)
- Rate-of-fire
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- (critical when threatened by advancing formation or within range of opponent's missle weapons. Once combat closes to man-to-man exchanges, the advantages of the missle is lost.)
- Power of missile in flight
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- (eneregy to penetrate body armor is derived from the energy imparted when the arrow is launched. This in turn is determined by the nature of the bow.)
- Mass employment necessary in battlefield tactics
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- Secure defensive position necessary for infantry archers
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- Mounted archers are an exception, as their mobility makes them a difficult, if even elusive target. However, such archers did not play a significant role in Western European warfare. The most significant impact was their employment with the Mongel invasions that penetrated eastern Europe.
- Problem of employment in tactical offensive
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- Mounted archers are an exception, especially if they are skilled enough to shoot while riding. A repositioning to a more forward fixed position is not truely an offensive attack, as the opponent who did not want to engage could resposition rearward accordingly.
- Logistics of arrows
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- Quite often, in a long engagment, archers had to scrounge for their arrows.
- Skill of archers
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- (Archery is one of the most demanding skills to acquire. Unlike hurling a stone of spear, the shooter relies upon a devise -- a bow -- to launch the missile -- an arrow or quaral[SP?]) The English longbowmen and the eastern mounted archers are particular examples of culturally devloped skills, over years of experience and practice, in these two very dominant bow weapons. Each had particulart military advantages in tactial situtations. The longbow had exceptional power and allowed for a relatively rapid rate of fire. However, it was fired from a stationary position. The mounted archer could be identified as either one who fired while stated on a stationary mount -- usually a horse, or as his mount was in motion. The former was practiced using the straight bow in various parts of Europe from the earliest part of the medieval era -- actually continuing a late antiquity military technique, very much practiced in the Bysantine army. However, the firing of a bow while riding a mount was cultivated mostly in the eastern regions, and was enhanced by the development of a smaller sized, but powerful composite bow. Expertise in using such a weapons as one was in motion required years of preparation -- effectivley a product of a horse-culture.
- Comparative cost of bows
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- The steel cross bow (very prominent during the Hundred Years' War) was expensive and required accelerary spanning devices. As a result, such warriors were costly to arm. There was a degree of skill required. As a result, such archers were not quickly acquired from the ural militias and only a few urban militia. Their expense and specialization encouraged the hiring of such warriors. They generally formed a mercenary infantry. [Although nobleman used such weapons for hunting, the early use in warfare was resented -- even condemened. PUT ELSEWHERE]
Two types of bow weapons were important during the Hundred Years War. The crossbow continued to be effective, having a lineage from ancient times. However, the English longbow played a uniquely famous [if sometimes overally stated] roll in the long war.
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Sieges were the dominant operations and proved to be the decsive events in the Hundred Years' War. As can be seen by the near-contemporary illustration, all the weapons played a role in sieges, but gunpowder weapons became the most effective in that form of combat. Especially the artillery pieces, as they developed in power. On open battlefields, the more rapid rate of fire of bow weapons made them superior. However, in one of the last significant field battles, Formigny (1450), the range of the two small culverin or v?? pieces was obviously better than the English longbows. As a result, the guns forced the English archers to break their stalwart defensive positon and assault the French artillery. Though the guns were captured, the disruption of formidable defensive field formation made the English infantry vunerable to the French heavy cavalry attack. In the last major battle of the war, Castillon (1453), the French empolyed a mass of guns in a defensive position and achieved what the had been done by the English longbows eariler in the war. It marked the turning point when gunpowder weapons markedly assumed the missile weapons roll so long held by the bow.
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