Humans have used archery since the dawn
of history, first for hunting, warfare, and in modern times
for sport. Stone arrowheads over 50,000 years old have been
found in Africa, and archery has been used by nearly every
society on the earth. There are many occasions when archery
has changed the course of history. Not many Olympic sports
can claim this grand heritage!
Pauline Edwards
Software Engineer
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Tassili rock fresco depicting archer
in Egypt from about 7,500 BC
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The earliest bows were probably
short bows, used for hunting in the woods. Bows were used
in this way by the American Indians, across Europe, and in
the East. The Egyptians were the first to develop composite
bows (bows made from several different materials), stretching
the intestines of sheep to make the bow string. Egyptian
archers rode on the back of chariots and must have been an
amazing sight as they hurtled across the deserts around the
sides of the enemy armies.
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Sketch design of
siege crossbow
by Leonardo da Vinci
while he was employed as a siege engineer
in the court of Francis I of France
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Hannibal used archers mounted on horseback from at least
260BC, as he spread his empire outwards. The Chinese developed
crossbows (horizontally mounted bows operated a bit more
like a pistol), and Chinese armies and emperors alike learned
archery (you can see crossbow troops in the Terra cotta army
at Xi an). The Parthians in Iran and Afghanistan could shoot
arrows from horseback while fleeing from the oncoming armies
(‘A Parthian shot’, which probably became ‘A
parting shot’ in modern English).
However there are other armies that stand out in history
for their use of archery. From Hungary, Attila the Hun led
his vast armies out in all directions, forging a vast empire
from the Rhine to the Caspian Sea. Their use of composite
bows was crucial in many of his victories. Possibly the most
famous archers in history are the Mongols. In 1208AD Genghis
Khan led his hoard out from the plains of Mongolia, forging
a large and bloody empire. The Mongols were expert horsemen
who could stand high in the stirrups and thus shoot arrows
in all directions. At its height the Mongol empire spread
from Austria to Syria, Russia, Vietnam and China. |
Well it thine age became,
Oh noble Erpingham,
Which didst the signal aim
To our hid forces;
When from a meadow by,
Like a storm suddenly,
The English archery
Struck the French horses.
With Spanish yew so strong,
Arrows a cloth-yard long,
That like to serpents stung,
Piercing the weather;
– From Michael Drayton,
His Ballad of Agincourt
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The Japanese developed archery into two forms, Kyudo
and Yabusame . As much a way of life as a form of archery,
these martial art forms are still very popular today.
One of the best known books on Zen Buddhism, “Zen
and the Art of Archery” was written in the 1930s
by Eugen Herrigel, and describes his experiences with
Kyudo.
In 1066AD the Normans invaded Britain and King Harold
was allegedly killed with a Norman arrow in the eye
. The Saxon English did not use many archers and it
was only later in history that the English started
using the longbow to such devastating effect. Probably
most famous was during battles against the French during
the 100 years war.
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The Battle of Agincourt showing longbowmen
to the front with knights behind
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The battle
of Agincourt, famously recounted in Shakespeare’s play “Henry
V” , was a desperate affair. The English were retreating after pillaging
the French countryside, the troops, mostly archers, stricken with dysentery
(many later fought with no trousers because of this). Henry’s army was
cornered by the French before they could escape to Dieppe, and when his attempts
to negotiate
failed he was forced to fight, despite being hugely outnumbered. The weather
had been terrible with storms the night before and the freshly ploughed ground
was waterlogged. In the morning the armies faced off against each other, and
after Henry moved the longbow archers into range they peppered the French army,
who charged through mud sometimes waist deep. Although longbow arrows were
not very effective against the plate armour of the knights, they were extremely
effective
against the knight’s horses. Dismounted, weighed down by their armour,
many of the knights drowned in the mud. French foot soldiers fell beneath the
rain of arrows but pushed on and hit the English line, which only just held
against their strike. In the mud and confusion the English pushed home their
advantage.
By the end of the battle the French had lost thousands of men whereas the English
only a few hundred (Shakespeare patriotically suggests the French lost 10000
men to English 29 but this is probably an exaggeration) . One other thing should
be pointed out – the longbow men were not in fact English but Welsh.
The “V” sign
made with two fingers nowadays is said to have been made by the Welsh archers
after this battle .
Women competing in the
1908 Olympics
with longbows.
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Due to the success of the longbow the English used it right up
to the middle of the 17th century, even when other armies took
to firearms. However inevitably
the bow as a weapon of war faded from use as pistols and rifles became more
accurate and reliable. Rather than dying out, archery instead became a popular
sport.
It first appeared in the Olympics in 1900 in Paris, but was dropped for many
years, as there was no fixed set of international rules. Finally it returned
in 1972 in Munich, and now features in both the summer (Men’s Individual,
Women’s Individual, Men’s Team and Women’s Team ) and winter
Olympics (the Biathlon ).
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