The legend of England - the English longbow

For a long time, many people have held a prejudice that Europeans have always used single bows such as the British longbow, so their bow and arrow making technology is really poor.

In fact, it is not the case. You should know that their neighbors in the Middle East, from the Hittites to the Persian Empire, the Sassanid Empire, and the Arab Empire, recurve composite bows have always been the main weapons. How stupid are Europeans who have not learned to fight these old opponents for four or five thousand years.

Therefore, the main reason why Western European countries have not widely used composite bows is their humid climate. Under the influence of the temperate marine climate, the climate in most parts of Europe is cold and humid, and the animal gelatin of the composite bow is difficult to maintain viscosity. On the contrary, the single bow is easier to maintain because of the humid air.

Although the craftsmanship of the single bow is not as complicated as that of the composite bow, its power is far less than imagined.

In the siege of Abergavenny in 1182, the stray arrows fired by the Welsh penetrated the 10-centimeter-thick oak door panel. In the same battle, a knight under William of Braus was shot. The arrow penetrated his mail skirt, greaves, thigh, inner greaves and wooden saddle, and went straight into the horse's back.

Experiments conducted by modern people show that the above statement is not an exaggeration. The imitation longbow shoots an arrow weighing 50 grams, which can penetrate 9 cm of oak at close range, and can still penetrate 2.5 cm at a distance of 200 yards.

English longbowmen throw arrows at a 45-degree angle

It can be said that the English longbow can almost kill gods and Buddhas within a hundred meters. Otherwise, in the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, English longbowmen would not have been able to shoot more than 15,000 French knights wearing heavy armor and large shields.

Although the single bow is too large to be used by cavalry, and it is difficult to aim steadily after it is fully drawn. However, it requires less force to draw the bow, resulting in a faster shooting rate. A skilled longbowman can throw 15 arrows in one minute, an average of one arrow every four seconds. According to the 15 seconds it takes for the cavalry to enter the range and rush to the infantry, they have to withstand at least three to four rounds of arrow rain. The crossbow's firing speed is only one-third of that of the longbow, and the recurve bow is also slightly slower.

Moreover, the longbow's large size does not have much impact on the infantry, and the longer arrows also increase the stability and power of the projectile.

The famous thief "Robin Hood" used an English longbow. So in the archery competition, shooting another arrow that has hit the bull's eye and splitting the arrow body in two is called "Robin Hood".

The DC superhero Green Arrow, created based on Robin Hood

If it is one-on-one, the recurve bow must be better. But in the parabolic shooting of group infantry in large-scale combat in ancient times, the single bow is better. Of course, with the support of modern material technology, the short recurve bow is naturally more outstanding.