English longbows

[miko2d]

I have a 64-pound longbow among my small collection.  Not authentic but a lot of fun nevertheless.

 I used to shoot it quite a lot when I could get to the range twice a week.

 I suggest you buy a used longbow from someone for $100 bucks to see how you like it. It's a quite complex process involving manufacturing and tuning your own arrows to very precise specs, etc..

 If you like it, you can manufacture a longbow yourself according to a "how to" manual.
 A custom one would run you a few hundred dollars easy.

 miko

[blue1]

Hey did you know that in England it is still a legal requirement for all men to practice with the longbow at least once a week. The Law was brought in by some King to stop the buggers playing football every weekend instead of practising for the next war the French. Hasn't worked has it?

So not only is it not illegal it's compulsory. The original law was never repealed.


Dowding I hope you haven't been breaking the law now have you?

[Swoop]

Originally posted by Fatty
Are bows legal in England?

If you're within sight of Hereford Cathedral it's legal to shoot a Welshman with a longbow.  Law from ages past never repealed.

Or if you dont want to stand around the Cathedral all day it's also legal all over the Isle of Wight just off the south coast......apparently the English dont like the Welsh.

[blue1]

Not just the English, Swoop, no one likes the Welsh, not even Ann Robinson.

[Swoop]

Well she is English.

[beet1e]

Yes. I could get a crossbow, and sleep with it under my pillow. I think they're still legal! Bloody lethal too - not to be underestimated.

A piece of trivia - You know that in America, the hand signal for telling someone to piss off is to raise the back of the hand with the middle finger extended?  The equivalent British signal is to raise both middle and index finger - and this originates from the longbow men who fought in the battles of Agincourt and Cressay. If a British longbowman was captured by the French, they would amputate his middle and index fingers so that he could never again launch an arrow from a longbow. (The Geneva Convention came later) So our longbowmen, to taunt the French, would raise their two fingers to show that they still had them, and could launch arrows against the French! The gesture still exists as a taunt, or to ask someone to F.O.

[miko2d]

beet1e: If a British longbowman was captured by the French, they would amputate his middle and index fingers so that he could never again launch an arrow from a longbow. (The Geneva Convention came later)

 You sure about that? French considered war a noble's business and really disliked being so vulnerable to lowly british yeoman archers.
 They took the british nobles prisoner and entertained them while awiting ransom, but as far as the captured archers were concerned, I thought they just amputated their heads.

 miko

[Swoop]

He's sure.  He was there.

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by beet1e
would raise their two fingers to show that they still had them, and could launch arrows against the French! The gesture still exists as a taunt, or to ask someone to F.O.

The Fingers is still common in NZ, Aussie etc too beet1e.

[Replicant]

Guess it depends if you want to use the Long Bow regularly or have it as an ornament.   Most UK archery clubs use the Compound, Recurve and a small percentage use the Long Bow.

Try http://www.bownet.com/ and see if it can point you in the right direction.  If you still can't find one then drop the webmaster an email and I'm sure they'll see you right.