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An Archery History Brief
This archery history article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Archery". ARCHERY
Archery is a precision sport where competitors aim to hit targets using a bow.
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The sport of modern archery derives from the archery contests of the Olympic Games. For the most
part, therefore, it is Occidental archery (see below), with modern materials, and compound bows.
Almost all archery competitions score the competitors' accuracy. The competition is to hit fixed
targets some distance from a stationary archer.
In normal competition, matches are against one other archer. The archers take turns shooting arrows at a
fixed target with ten concentric rings colored 2 each white, black, blue, red and yellow. An arrow that
lands in the outermost white ring is awarded one point, the next smaller white ring two points, and so on
up to ten points for the innermost yellow ring.
An arrow that misses the rings completely is not awarded any points. There are three types of bows in
archery competition, but Olympic competition only uses the "classic" type bows, typically made of advanced
alloys and composites. These are expensive precision equipment. Successful archery requires a steady hand,
a good eye, and the ability to calm one's nerves.
History
Archery is descended from the use of the bow and arrow for military and hunting. It is known to be
at least 5000 years old and possibly much older. Organized archery competitions date from no later
than 1583 in England, not long before bows were superseded by firearms in war. Archery has been an
Olympic sport since 1900 (with some interruptions).
There are two classical traditions in archery, the occidental, and oriental. They are not similar
at all. The oriental tradition has a more powerful technique.
Archery bows usually have two working limbs but compound bows have been made with only one limb
(and eccentric pulleys on the opposite side of the riser (handle)). Symmetrical bows are easier to
make and use but many cultures have nonetheless developed asymmetrical bows. The projectiles shot
by bows are arrows.
A standard archery target has five colored rings each divided in two bands. Each band of the
target has the same width. The central two bands (bullseye, 10 points) and the ring valued at 9
points are yellow. The next two bands from the center out (7, 8) are red. The 6 and 5 rings are
blue; the 3 and the 4 are white and the lowest, outer bands are black. When counting points, an
arrow shaft that breaks the line dividing two zones is counted as being in the higher zone.
Most archery competitions have the archers firing rounds of three arrows, collecting their arrows and
summing points at the end of each round.
Occidental Archery
Occidental archery uses a wooden bow that resembles a straight staff. To prevent damage to the bow
from shrinking bowstrings and to prevent "memory" in the wood, the bow is unstrung when not in
use. The occidental bow is made from yew, but can also be made from willow or lemon wood. The ends
of the bow are notched to hold a bowstring. A handle is wrapped around the center, usually leather
or cord (classically, a spare bowstring). The occidental bowstring is linen, waxed with beeswax to
keep it from absorbing water and changing length.
The occidental arrow is straight, constructed of beech or boxwood, relatively rigid, fletched with
three fin-like feathers, and painted with colored rings to show its owner. Hunting is with
knife-like broadheads. Archers in a war used chisel-points to penetrate armor. Soft brass-headed
practice arrows were developed in England so yeomen could practice more innocuously, without any
possibility of being thought highwaymen or insurgents (chisel points) or poachers (broadheads).
Occidental points are bronze, brass or steel.The occidental archer holds the bow extended with the weak hand. and holds the string with the index and middle finger of his strong hand. He protects the strong hand's fingers from the bowstring with a square of leather or a half-glove called a tab. The bowstring can hit the extended weak arm quite painfully, so this arm is protected with leather strips or a partial gauntlet called a brace. The most powerful and effective occidental archers were probably the English and Welsh using longbows. They made a national sport of training.
BOW
A bow (rhymes with "low") is a kind of weapon; see bow (weapon).
The term bow (rhymes with "now") is used by sailors to refer to the front end of a ship (Bow
(boat)).
Compound Bow
A compound bow is a bow (weapon) that has pulleys set on its limbs, often at the ends of its
limbs. The purpose is to make the cocked "ready-to-fire" position of the bow easier to hold. This
lets a weaker person aim a more powerful bow more carefully than they otherwise could. The pulleys
usually have their axles offset to provide the changing mechanical advantage.
Longbow
The longbow was used in the Middle Ages both for hunting and as a weapon of war and reached its
zenith of perfection as a weapon in the hands of English and Welsh archers. The longbow was first
recorded as being used by the Welsh in 633 C.E., when Offrid, the son of Edwin, king of
Northumbria, was killed by an arrow shot from a Welsh longbow during a battle between the Welsh
and the Mercians -- more than five centuries before any record of its military use in England.
Longbows were difficult to master because the draw-weight often exceeded 50kg. Considerable
practice was required to produce the swift and effective fire combat required. Skeletons of
longbow archers are recognizably deformed, with enlarged left arms, and often bone spurs on left
wrists, left shoulders and right fingers. The longbow decided a number of medieval battles fought
by the English, the most significant of which being the Battle of Crecy and later the Battle of
Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War.
A variant (bow-staves) was used by 14th century mercenary troops of Sir John Hawkwood. Longbows were
used until around the 16th century, when gunpowder began to be used, and such units as arquebusiers
and grenadiers began appearing. Because a longbow is a long-range weapon, the bowmen were rather defenseless
at close ranges (where units such as knights were more effective). So, they usually put physical barricades,
such as stakes and poles driven in the ground, to attempt to mire the enemy forces (namely, cavalry and infantry),
so they could systematically destroy them. Also, because they had an advantage over the slower-shooting,
closer-ranged crossbowmen and traditional archers, they were generally the main core of the
long-range infantry troops of any military force that used them. The main formation used was generally this:
Light Infantry (such as swordsmen) were in the center forward, in rank formation.
Heavy Infantry (such as pikemen) were in the center middle, in rank or square formation.
Traditional Archers and Crossbowmen were in the center back, in rank formation.
Cavalry were either on the flanks (to protect against attacks), or deployed in the center to
counter any breakthroughs and such.
The longbowmen were usually on the side, in an enfilade formation, rather like this: ___ / ,
with the middle being occupied by melee troops. A skillful general would alternate flights of arrows with
cavalry charges, sometimes alternating flank attacks to induce shock and fear in the enemy. The arrows were
used as mass bombardment, not as sniper weapons until the enemy got quite close. To penetrate light armor,
war arrows had "chisel" (or bodkin) heads, not hunting broad-heads.
In peace-time, in some regions, carrying chisel points was a hanging offense, because it was thought to
threaten noblemen, or they were taken as evidence that one was a highwayman. The importance of the longbow in
medieval English culture can be seen in the legends of Robin Hood and in the "Song of the Bow," a poem from The
White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Recurve bow
A recurve bow is a bow that, in contrast to the simple bow longbow, has ends that curve away from
the archer when the bow is held in shooting position. An unstrung recurve bow can have a confusing
shape and many north American aboriginal (Indian) weapons were incorrectly strung and destroyed
when attempts were made to fire them.
The recurve shape in effect can reduce loading at full draw (let-off) and will impart more energy
to the arrow than a longbow of similar top draw weight. A recurve will permit a shorter bow than
the simple bow for a given arrow energy and this form was preferred by archers who were forced
into environments where long weapons could be cumbersome, brush and forest, on horseback, etc.
Hunting
Hunting is, in its most general sense, the pursuit of a target. It is most commonly applied to the
practice of pursuing animals to capture or kill them for food, sport, or trade in their products.
Beasts so hunted are referred to as game animals. Hunting is also done to control varmint
populations or as wildlife management to reduce animal populations which have exceeded the
capacity of their range or when individual animals have become a danger to humans.
In ancient societies, before the widespread domestication of animals, hunting was generally vital
for survival. The earliest forms of hunting were falconry, coursing (sight_hound hunting) and
venery (scent_hound hunting, one modern example being fox hunting).
Even when domestication became relatively commonplace, hunting was usually a significant
contributor to the food supply available to a population. In addition, animal parts such as hides
and horns were utilized in clothing and tools, and not all of these products could be provided
from the domestication of animals. The importance of hunting in ancient societies can be seen in
common religious figures such as the Horned God.
As hunting moved from a strictly necessary activity for survival to one of many staples of
society, two trends emerged. One was that of the specialist hunter - a position previously held by
just about every able-bodied male (usually) in the society. As domesticated farming and herding
took hold, hunting became one of many trades to be pursued by those with the necessary training.
The other trend was the emergence of hunting as a sport. As game became more of a luxury than a
necessity, the pursuit of it could equally well be considered a luxury pursuit.
In medieval Europe, it was common for upper-class families to claim the sole rights to hunt in certain areas
of territory. Game in these areas was certainly used as a source of food and furs, often provided
via professional huntsmen; but it was also expected to provide a form of recreation for the
aristocracy. The importance of this proprietary view of game can be seen in the Robin Hood
legends, in which one of the primary charges against the outlaws is that they "hunt the King's
deer".
In later times, this aristocratic type of hunting lost its roots as a source of food and supplies,
while retaining its nature as a sport. The practice of English fox hunting is a case in point; the
fox is not eaten, and the skin is rarely preserved in any usable form. Fox hunting originally
developed as a means of vermin control to protect livestock. In Victorian times it also became a
popular sport of the upper classes. It now attracts followers from all walks of life.
Mounted followers join in on horseback and foot-followers walk or cycle, others follow by car, stopping to
view the hunt from suitable vantage points. Fox hunting attract strong feelings. Some animal right
supporter feel it causes suffering to the fox and is both cruel and unnecessary. Many members of
the farming and rural communities in which it takes place feel it is an integral and useful part
of rural life, keeping down fox populations and providing an important contribution to social life
for local people.
In the 1800s European hunters often pursued game only for a trophy, usually the head or pelt of an
animal, to be displayed as a sign of prowess. The rest of the animal was often wasted. Hunting in
North America in the 1800s was was done primarily as a way to supplement food supplies. The safari
method of hunting was a development of sport hunting that saw elaborate travel in Africa, India
and other places in pursuit of trophies. In modern times, trophy hunting persists, but is frowned
upon when it involves rare or endangered species of animal. Other people also object to trophy
hunting in general because it is seen as a senseless act of killing another living being for fun.
In the United States, hunting is no longer associated with any particular class. Today's hunters
come from a broad range of economic, social, and cultural backgrounds. American hunters usually
see themselves as more in tune with nature and often see themselves as environmentalists. Almost
all hunting organizations in the United States donate large amounts of money as well as time to
conservation and habitat protection. Although other types of environmentalists would dispute the
hunters' green credentials, many would nevertheless agree that hunting an animal in the wild is
more humane than keeping the animal under factory farming conditions.
One spokesman for this form of hunting has been the former rock star Ted Nugent. Hunting in the United States
has been associated with the issues of gun control. One task of park rangers and game wardens is to enforce laws and regulations related to hunting and to enforce laws which ban hunting in some areas. Varmint hunting is the killing of animals seen as a nuisance. Often no use is made of the carcass after killing. Which species this includes depends on the circumstances of the area involved. Varmint species are often responsible for detrimental effects on crops, livestock, landscaping, infrastructure, and pets. Rabbits are varmints in Australia but game in other countries. Common varmints include coyotes, crows, foxes, and prairie dogs. Laws concerning hunting nuisance animals are often more liberal than those concerning game animals. Some animals once considered varmints are now protected, such as wolves. Animal management authorities sometimes rely on hunting to control certain animal populations. These hunts are sometimes carried out by professional hunters although other hunts include amateurs. Overpopulation's of deer in urban parks and bears which have attacked humans might be hunted by animal management authorities. If you have ever wanted to put up a web site to talk about your areas of interest and just thought it was just too expensive or hard, try the links below to see how easy and inexpensive it really is.
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