Longbow : A Social and Military History

by Robert Hardy

This revised and expanded edition chronicles the history of the longbow from the earliest known example used 8000 years ago, through its coming of age at the battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, to its use as a hunting and sporting weapon, and its present-day status in Britain. The book contains the first authoritative account of the archery equipment found in Henry VIII's warship the Mary Rose; describes the archers themselves, their equipment, training, uniform and terms of service; examines the fact and fiction of the Robin Hood legend, the reasons why the French never took to the weapon and the devastating effect of longbow against longbow in the Wars of the Roses; offers a detailed account of how to make a longbow from scratch, including all the tools and materials required. By the author of "The Great War Bow".

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, War, Research, Medieval History

252 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was first published in the 1970s and updated a couple of times since. The role of the longbow in both hunting/gathering and in war. Parts are quite technical and those I just browsed. The recovery of Henry VIII's favorite ship, the Mary Rose, in the early 1980s produced a vast store of unused longbows which has had a big impact on research in this field (they usually rot away, become firewood, etc.). The author added a major chapter at the end of the book as a result. It's out of print in the US right now -- this is the English version ordered from London via Amazon. Did I mention I was a geek?

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, while more of a textbook and manual than anything, was absolutely helpful in my research of the Hundred Years War in which longbow men were highly sought after and greatly and effectively utilized to soundly defeat the French on many occasions. It beings with the basic history of archery all the way to the most recent uses of longbows and their wooden descendants. There are even some sections that describe how to make long bows with modern tools. Great and informative read.

[Paul A · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Longbow" comes from an era where archers were obsessed with measuring the performance and efficiency of traditional bows, very much in the same vein as Paul Klopsteg's "Turkish Archery and the Composite Bow." Thankfully, Hardy's writing is not as dry, though there are sections regarding the crafting and cast of traditional bows that come close. His recounting of the longbow's history adds a lot of nice context to the weapon's usage. This is definitely another staple for my growing library of archery books that I look forward to revisiting.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly solid non-fiction book on the history of longbows. Very informative of British traditions of longbowing and quite humorous at points.
Readers more accustomed to modern non-fiction texts that are at least partially written with the lay person in mind may find the density and the prerequisite knowledge referenced throughout the book a bit challenging so I would only reccomend this to those with a strong interest in the topic.

[Jaye Sudar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful source of history and practicality. The Longbow should be a 'must read' for archers.

[Nate Hendrix · Rating 3 out of 5]

This covers the history of the bow and arrow, concentrating on the longbow of England and the wars it was used in. Parts were a little dry, but worth a read.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably pretty boring stuff, if you're not a history junkie or particularly interested in the military and social history of England up through the middle ages. The writing is quite dry, but the book is packed solid with information including accounts of the pivotal battles of Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt. Much like the Spartan phalanx formation of locked shields with protruding lances, the disciplined formations of the Roman legions, and the swift mounted archery of the Mongols, it seems that certain societies were able to advance and prevail over their contemporaries largely due to unique advances in military science in the form of weaponry or tactics. The longbow provided this advantage to Norman English armies through the middle ages.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a true amateur, this is a wonderful history of archery. It's primary focus is English archery, which flowered fully at the battles of Crecy and Agincourt. It does deal a fair bit with the history of bows leading up to those pivotol battles, but it's overall focus is the English longbow. There is passing mention of other peoples and their bows, but for this author, everything crescendos at Agincourt with a relatively fast decline after that as the world moves on to gunpowder and guns. But even with all that, this is a wonderful book, filled to overflowing with one mans love of bows and arrows and gifted boyers, fletchers and bowman.

[Bill Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reference for Target Archers.