An on target talk

At the meeting of the Society held on 25th April, 32 members and guests heard Bernard Dennis give a talk entitled " The History of the Longbow." Bernard began by explaining the origins of the bow as a weapon of war, hunting and sport from the very earliest times of mankind.

 

With the aid of pictures and examples he described the development of bows through to the Longbow made famous by English and Welsh (Cheshire & Flintshire) archers throughout the mediaeval period. He described how these archers used the weapon so effectively throughout this period that it became as a weapon of war more or less unstoppable. He explained that the archers spent hours of practice from the age of 7 years to achieve their superb proficiency.

Bernard described how these weapons were made and the various different skills that went into their construction. These different skills are still to be found in surnames that we find today, like "Bowman, Fletcher or Stringer" and phrases like "highly strung" or "having more than one string to one's bow".

The audience really enjoyed the talk and judging by the large number of questions afterwards it had been thought provoking as well.

 

Bob Welch