The longbow was a tall wooden self bow, typically made of yew, that English and Welsh archers drew to great effect against massed continental armies during the Hundred Years' War. Fielded by the thousands rather than as an elite corps, longbowmen decided or heavily shaped English victories at Crecy in 1346, Poitiers in 1356 and Agincourt in 1415, where sustained arrow volleys disrupted armored cavalry and dismounted men-at-arms before they could close. The longbow's battlefield dominance receded once French forces adopted cannon to break archer formations, decisively so at Formigny in 1450 and Castillon in 1453. Exact effective range and rate of fire are debated among historians and depend heavily on individual archer strength and arrow type, so this entry does not assert single precise figures. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Disputed
Introduced YearThe longbow was in English and Welsh use earlier, but 1346, the Battle of Crecy, marks its first major demonstrated dominance against a massed continental army; no single adoption year is recorded. Classification
Service Status Weapon Class Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Connections
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Source Wikipedia: Longbow
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Source Wikipedia: Longbow
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Longbow
Wikipedia- Middle Ages section
Lead section, first paragraph
A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a long draw possible.
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
- Introduced circa 1346 per the entity's own sourced description text; no pre-1900 weapon system remains in current active military service.
Section on modern use
Although firearms supplanted bows in warfare, wooden or fibreglass laminated longbows continue to be used by traditional archers and some tribal societies for recreation and hunting.
Used In: Hundred Years' War, Article text
In the Middle Ages the English and Welsh were famous for their very powerful longbows, used en masse to great effect against the French in the Hundred Years' War, with notable success at the battles of Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356) and Agincourt (1415).
In Group: Medieval Bows and Crossbows, Lead sentence
A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a long draw possible.
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