Mike Loades > Quotes

“I do not doubt that super-heavy bows existed for a super-elite of archers and that they could be of use in sieges or at sea, but I question the suitability of anything over 140lb for land battle. Even drawing a 100lb bow remains a considerable feat, and for the men who bent these bows in battle, the work rate was phenomenal. Lactic acid builds up quickly at these weights, and in a desperate fight archers would have to push through immense walls of pain in order to keep their shafts flying.”
― Mike Loades, The Longbow

“1 June 1363, Edward III wrote to his sheriffs and commanded a … proclamation to be made that every able bodied man on feast days [including Sundays] when he has leisure shall in his sports use bows and arrows, pellets or bolts, and shall learn and practise the art of shooting, forbidding all and singular on pain of imprisonment to attend or meddle with hurling of stones, loggats, or quoits, handball, football, club ball, cambuc, cock fighting or other vain games of no value; as the people of the realm, noble and simple, used heretofore to practise the said art in their sports, whence by God’s help came forth honour to the kingdom and advantage to the king in his actions of war, and now the said art is almost wholly disused, and the people indulge in the games aforesaid and other dishonest and unthrifty games, whereby the realm is like to be kept without archers.”
― Mike Loades, The Longbow

“Chivalry was a code of behaviour among nobles of equal status – it did not extend to other ranks, nor did it restrict the use of the most capable weapons for the combat at hand.”
― Mike Loades

“Although ballistae are frequently likened to ‘giant crossbows’, it is incorrect to do so. They do not have bows but rather two separated and independent arms that are powered by twisted skeins of sinew; they operate with torsion power; a bow employs tension power.”
― Mike Loades, The Crossbow

“While hunting in the New Forest, William II Rufus (r. 1087–1100) was killed by a crossbow bolt; an assassin’s blow conferring an association of perfidy to the weapon. His son Henry I (r. 1100–35) narrowly escaped a bolt shot by his illegitimate daughter Juliana in her failed attempt at both patricide and regicide.”
― Mike Loades, The Crossbow

“Very powerful, steel-lathed crossbows did evolve in the 15th century, but during the time of its greatest supremacy on the battlefield – roughly from 1100 to 1250 – the crossbow packed a more modest punch. Its martial merits hinged not on its power, but on other factors. These included ease of use, comparatively inexpensive ammunition and the ability to hold a bow at full span for a sustained period, waiting to seize the optimal moment for a shot. This latter element was of particular benefit in siege warfare, both for attack and defence, and also at sea. For the hunter, too, the crossbow’s chief advantage was that it could remain spanned and ready to shoot.”
― Mike Loades, The Crossbow

“The crossbow has long enjoyed a popular cachet for dastardly cunning and villainy. It was the subject of two papal bans (in 1096 and in 1139). These incurred a penalty of excommunication, excepting for its use against infidels.”
― Mike Loades, The Crossbow

“Introduced by Edward I, ‘Commissions of Array’ initiated the recruitment of archers on a grand scale. Not only were archers enlisted into his armies in quantity, they were selected for quality. Arrayers vetted not only an archer’s shooting ability but also the standard of his equipment. It was the beginnings of creating a professional army, and obligations of feudal service were increasingly sweetened with inducements of good pay.”
― Mike Loades, The Longbow