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.
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. Weapon ClassRanged missile weapon (self bow, massed archery) 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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