Bows and Arrows - Revision history

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2023-06-07T14:42:32Z

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1d4chan>Mezmerro at 11:48, 5 September 2022

2022-09-05T11:48:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:48, 5 September 2022
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	In typical western fantasy, the Bow is the preferred weapon of [[Elves]], which makes some sense given the facts about elves (long lives, good vision and dexterity and speed on foot), but is still a little problematic if you think about it. The biggest limitations on bow use are the physical strength and stamina of the user, who was subject to heavy fatigue, and elves have a Constitution penalty and aren't always known for lifting. Well, unless they are Tolkienian elves (especially Noldor) - than you may see some pointy-eared guy launching arrows the size of a javelin that pierce through dragons and giant flaming daemons, and doing this for HOURS without his hands falling off from exhaustion.		In typical western fantasy, the Bow is the preferred weapon of [[Elves]], which makes some sense given the facts about elves (long lives, good vision and dexterity and speed on foot), but is still a little problematic if you think about it. The biggest limitations on bow use are the physical strength and stamina of the user, who was subject to heavy fatigue, and elves have a Constitution penalty and aren't always known for lifting. Well, unless they are Tolkienian elves (especially Noldor) - than you may see some pointy-eared guy launching arrows the size of a javelin that pierce through dragons and giant flaming daemons, and doing this for HOURS without his hands falling off from exhaustion.

	In modern-setting fiction, and the attendant games based around them, bows are phenomenally popular (compared to the rest of the traditional medieval arsenal). Tons of superheroes like Hawkeye and Green Arrow who have it as a gimmick, sure, but also relative normies like Katniss from Hunger Games, Kagome from InuYasha, the rebooted Lara Croft, John Rambo, even the Dukes of fuckin' Hazzard. Something about the mystique and elegance of the bow ("...a weapon from a more civilized age") lends itself to becoming a unique non-firearm option for shooty heroes who are trying to make it through the gun-control skub of the 21st century. (The fact that it's relatively silent weapon is also a big draw even in video games - "Silenced" guns are still loud enough that you can hear them from the next room.)		In modern-setting fiction, and the attendant games based around them, bows are phenomenally popular (compared to the rest of the traditional medieval arsenal). Tons of superheroes like Hawkeye and Green Arrow who have it as a gimmick, sure, but also relative normies like Katniss from Hunger Games, Kagome from InuYasha, the rebooted Lara Croft, John Rambo, even the Dukes of fuckin' Hazzard. Something about the mystique and elegance of the bow ("...a weapon from a more civilized age") lends itself to becoming a unique non-firearm option for shooty heroes who are trying to make it through the gun-control skub of the 21st century.

			The fact that it's relatively silent weapon is also a big draw even in video games - "Silenced" guns are still loud enough that you can hear them from the next room. That being said, bows are not ''entirely'' silent: releasing an arrow from a high-draw bow produces fairly loud sound, arrow itself whistles as it flies through the air, and the loudest of all - the guy you shot would yell his lungs out before bleeding out in a minute or two. Because while arrows are lethal, they're not as ''instantly'' lethal as bullets.

	== Archery in Warfare ==		== Archery in Warfare ==

1d4chan>Newerfag: /* Types of bows and arrows */

2022-05-03T22:59:50Z

Types of bows and arrows

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:59, 3 May 2022
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	*'''Hunting Bow''': Any one of a billion variations on the theme of a simple bow made from local wood with a low draw weight. Easy to make and easy to master. Such bows would be (and still are) used for hunting, training and sport, but due to their low power they had little to no ability to pierce armor and were of little military use, but you know, throw enough paint at a wall some of it's gonna stick so troops armed with bows were still used in the army because that one time in a hundred they're useful makes that pittance you pay them worth it.		*'''Hunting Bow''': Any one of a billion variations on the theme of a simple bow made from local wood with a low draw weight. Easy to make and easy to master. Such bows would be (and still are) used for hunting, training and sport, but due to their low power they had little to no ability to pierce armor and were of little military use, but you know, throw enough paint at a wall some of it's gonna stick so troops armed with bows were still used in the army because that one time in a hundred they're useful makes that pittance you pay them worth it.

	*'''Composite / Self bow''': Not a type of bow, as much as a way of building them. the self bow is what we think of when we say "bow" a single piece of curved wood with a string. Composite bows on the other hand are made of layers of different wood, horn and sinew glued together. The tougher materials allow composite bow to store as much energy as a self bow that has a bigger draw, but it's more complex to build and the glue can break apart in wet weather, which is why they were used mostly in the mid east and never caught on in Europe. Recurve bows are often built using composite techniques.		*'''Composite / Self bow''': Not a type of bow, as much as a way of building them. the self bow is what we think of when we say "bow": a single piece of curved wood with a string. Composite bows on the other hand are made of layers of different wood, horn and sinew glued together. The tougher materials allow composite bow to store as much energy as a self bow that has a bigger draw, but it's more complex to build and the glue can break apart in wet weather, which is why they were used mostly in the mid east and never caught on in Europe. Recurve bows are often built using composite techniques.

	*'''Longbow''': The prime missile weapon of England, (the rest of Europe tended to use crossbows during the Middle Ages due to how damn hard it is to get large army of longbowmen). Longbow is actually an anachronistic term; in their time they were known only as bows or, outside of England, English bows. The first usage of "longbow" comes from the late 15th century and is used to differentiate them from crossbows, because they are held LONGwise rather than CROSSwise (not because they are long). It was unquestionably the best range weapon of the time period, and thus [[Medieval Stasis\|the most common type of bow seen in fantasy]]. This is not actually due to the design or functionality of the bow; the thick cross section and heavy limbs of a longbow make it quite inefficient as a bow design, with many other bow designs (such as the recurves used by asiatic horse archers) being more efficient designs. The main advantage of a longbow is how rapid they are to make, since they can be made from a single straight stave of wood; some bowyers give a figure of less than two hours from seasoned stave to bow. The longbow is defined as a bow that is big as the person using it, but the most powerful bows of the medieval period were often longer than the user was tall, to reduce the chance of breakage. Another advantage of the Longbow is that, unlike the smaller and more efficient composite recurve bow, thet were made of one bit of wood, meaning they won't break apart every time it rains. English and Welsh long bows are traditionally made of yew and are composed of one solid piece of wood, meaning you can make a powerful bow fairly quickly. In fact, the way they were cut from the yew made them natural composite bows, using the different parts of the trunk to give extra springy strength. Good yew was so valued by the English that Edward IV put a tax on Italian traders stipulating that they had to supply a certain number of bowstaves for every tun of cargo (Italian yew being the best). Making a longbow'''man''' on the other hand takes a lot longer, and the English were the only ones to pull it off on a large scale. To do that they had to structure their entire society around making longbowmen, training from the age of 7. The French and Scots also produced respectable numbers of longbowmen. Longbowmen were mostly drawn from the yeomen, the land-owning commoners with a status between the peasants and knights (incidentally making them part of the first examples of the emerging middle class). Many were basically professional soldiers in an age of levies and warrior aristocracies, and were well equipped and very well paid. They were in huge demand as mercenaries, especially in the Prussian crusades and Italian civil wars. The English longbowmen were so notoriously dangerous that, supposedly, during the Hundred Years War, the French would sever the fingers necessary to a draw a longbow back, the index and middle, of any longbowman they captured. In response, Brits would taunt the French before battles by presenting said fingers, something which later evolved into the modern "Up Yours!" gesture. The long bow has the last recorded wartime bow kill in history, when British Lt. Col. Jack Churchill used one in World War II. He was also carrying a Scottish claymore and a set of bagpipes, so we can safely say his nickname of "Mad Jack" was well deserved.		*'''Longbow''': The prime missile weapon of England, (the rest of Europe tended to use crossbows during the Middle Ages due to how damn hard it is to get large army of longbowmen). Longbow is actually an anachronistic term; in their time they were known only as bows or, outside of England, English bows. The first usage of "longbow" comes from the late 15th century and is used to differentiate them from crossbows, because they are held LONGwise rather than CROSSwise (not because they are long). It was unquestionably the best range weapon of the time period, and thus [[Medieval Stasis\|the most common type of bow seen in fantasy]]. This is not actually due to the design or functionality of the bow; the thick cross section and heavy limbs of a longbow make it quite inefficient as a bow design, with many other bow designs (such as the recurves used by asiatic horse archers) being more efficient designs. The main advantage of a longbow is how rapid they are to make, since they can be made from a single straight stave of wood; some bowyers give a figure of less than two hours from seasoned stave to bow. The longbow is defined as a bow that is big as the person using it, but the most powerful bows of the medieval period were often longer than the user was tall, to reduce the chance of breakage. Another advantage of the Longbow is that, unlike the smaller and more efficient composite recurve bow, thet were made of one bit of wood, meaning they won't break apart every time it rains. English and Welsh long bows are traditionally made of yew and are composed of one solid piece of wood, meaning you can make a powerful bow fairly quickly. In fact, the way they were cut from the yew made them natural composite bows, using the different parts of the trunk to give extra springy strength. Good yew was so valued by the English that Edward IV put a tax on Italian traders stipulating that they had to supply a certain number of bowstaves for every tun of cargo (Italian yew being the best). Making a longbow'''man''' on the other hand takes a lot longer, and the English were the only ones to pull it off on a large scale. To do that they had to structure their entire society around making longbowmen, training from the age of 7. The French and Scots also produced respectable numbers of longbowmen. Longbowmen were mostly drawn from the yeomen, the land-owning commoners with a status between the peasants and knights (incidentally making them part of the first examples of the emerging middle class). Many were basically professional soldiers in an age of levies and warrior aristocracies, and were well equipped and very well paid. They were in huge demand as mercenaries, especially in the Prussian crusades and Italian civil wars. The English longbowmen were so notoriously dangerous that, supposedly, during the Hundred Years War, the French would sever the fingers necessary to a draw a longbow back, the index and middle, of any longbowman they captured. In response, Brits would taunt the French before battles by presenting said fingers, something which later evolved into the modern "Up Yours!" gesture. The long bow has the last recorded wartime bow kill in history, when British Lt. Col. Jack Churchill used one in World War II. He was also carrying a Scottish claymore and a set of bagpipes, so we can safely say his nickname of "Mad Jack" was well deserved.

180.191.156.107: /* The Decline */

2022-03-19T03:31:09Z

The Decline

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:31, 19 March 2022
Line 28:		Line 28:
	Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.		Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.

	The occasional general got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-22-02-0207 late as 1776], but it never gained any traction. Hilariously and awesomely, though, Lt. Col. [~~https~~:~~//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill~~ Jack Churchill] went armed with a longbow to France in 1940.		The occasional general got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-22-02-0207 late as 1776], but it never gained any traction. Hilariously and awesomely, though, Lt. Col. [[wikipedia:Jack Churchill\|Jack Churchill]] went armed with a longbow to France in 1940. Alas, despite rumors that he managed to shoot down at least one German during the war, his bow was wrecked by a truck early into the campaign.

	== Types of bows and arrows ==		== Types of bows and arrows ==

2601:1C0:5C00:EFC0:0:0:0:2470: /* The Decline */

2022-03-18T18:37:11Z

The Decline

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:37, 18 March 2022
Line 28:		Line 28:
	Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.		Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.

	The occasional general got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as late as ~~1792~~, but it never gained any traction. Hilariously and awesomely, though, Lt. Col. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill Jack Churchill] went armed with a longbow to France in 1940.		The occasional general got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-22-02-0207 late as 1776], but it never gained any traction. Hilariously and awesomely, though, Lt. Col. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill Jack Churchill] went armed with a longbow to France in 1940.

	== Types of bows and arrows ==		== Types of bows and arrows ==

1d4chan>Coldacid: /* The Decline */ Since Churchill wasn't a general, and wasn't even alive in 1792, then he shouldn't be mentioned in the sentence about generals. Completely rewriting paragraph to reflect this.

2022-03-18T18:25:44Z

The Decline: Since Churchill wasn't a general, and wasn't even alive in 1792, then he shouldn't be mentioned in the sentence about generals. Completely rewriting paragraph to reflect this.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:25, 18 March 2022
Line 28:		Line 28:
	Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.		Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.

	The occasional general got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as late as 1792 ~~(or in one hilarious case~~, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill 1940~~]), but it never gained any traction~~.		The occasional general got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as late as 1792, but it never gained any traction. Hilariously and awesomely, though, Lt. Col. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill Jack Churchill] went armed with a longbow to France in 1940.

	== Types of bows and arrows ==		== Types of bows and arrows ==

2601:1C0:5C00:EFC0:0:0:0:2470: Jack_Churchill was not the officer in question, General Charles Lee for example wrote a letter to Benjamin Franklin supporting the reintroduction of bows and arrows,

2022-03-18T18:20:02Z

Jack_Churchill was not the officer in question, General Charles Lee for example wrote a letter to Benjamin Franklin supporting the reintroduction of bows and arrows,

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:20, 18 March 2022
Line 28:		Line 28:
	Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.		Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.

	The occasional ~~officer~~ got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as late as 1792 (or in one hilarious case, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill 1940]), but it never gained any traction.		The occasional general got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as late as 1792 (or in one hilarious case, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill 1940]), but it never gained any traction.

	== Types of bows and arrows ==		== Types of bows and arrows ==

1d4chan>Coldacid: /* The Decline */ Jack Churchill wasn't a general in 1940

2022-03-18T17:15:04Z

The Decline: Jack Churchill wasn't a general in 1940

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:15, 18 March 2022
Line 28:		Line 28:
	Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.		Tribes in the American plains kept bows alive long after muskets were regularly available. The Comanche used bows for buffalo hunting until 1878, when there no more buffalo to hunt.

	The occasional ~~general~~ got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as late as 1792 (or in one hilarious case, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill 1940]), but it never gained any traction.		The occasional officer got it in his head to revive the longbow tradition as late as 1792 (or in one hilarious case, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill 1940]), but it never gained any traction.

	== Types of bows and arrows ==		== Types of bows and arrows ==