The bow has accompanied man since ancient times. Even in the Bible, already in its first book, there is a passage about an archer. How did such a significant discovery come about? Most likely, there was a bright observer among our ancestors who noticed how strong a young, flexible sapling can swing when bent and suddenly released. A combination with a miniature spear might have given birth to a weapon that had been changing the face of the world for thousands of years. Over time people have been discovering the most suitable materials and ways to modify the bow to have the longest possible range. According to cave paintings, it can be concluded that prehistoric bows reached a length of over two meters. The arrows were also long, up to one meter. Initially, the arrow was simply a stick with one sharp end, but it didn't take long for the arrows to be given obsidian heads and stabilizing quills for a more accurate flight. 

Various types of bows were part of the armament of armies until the arrival of crossbows and firearms.

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First armies of archers

The oldest armies had units of archers in their ranks. If we look at the Assyrian archers, we find out that for several centuries the equipment of the archers showed no significant change. Archers fought not only in infantry formations, but also on fast two-wheeled chariots. They represented a significant fighting force. Enemies were killed at a distance and at great speed without endangering the warriors themselves. 

 

The Greeks made archery an Olympic sport. It was a part of the games since it originated. Archers, however, remained as an important force in armies as wel. One of the famous stories comes from the Battle of Thermopylae. When word came to the Spartan soldiers that the Persians would shoot so many arrows at them that they would eclipse the sun, they remarked, "That's good, at least we'll be fighting in the shade." The bow as a typical weapon began to slowly move to the east. The people of the wide steppes brought it nearly to technical perfection.

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The jewel of archery – the reflex bow

Scythians, Avars, Huns, Mongols, Tatars, Turks. Steppe people turned a tool once carved from a single piece of wood into a masterpiece. Their reflective bows were composed of different materials with different properties. Various types of wood, slices of antelope horn, leather, and animal sinew in sandwich layers gave rise to a bow that was not long, but had a a great pulling power of around 150 pounds (1 pound = 0.453 kg). Asian peoples stretch the string in a different way than Europeans, and that is with the thumb. Small dimensions of the bows were important for horsemen who brought the surrounding nations to their knees with their bows. Their expansion was stopped only by the armored knights of Europe on one side and China on the other.

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Archers determining battles

Europe went in a different direction. Here, the bow was still made from one type of wood and reached large dimensions. The Celts and Germans brought their ash and yew bows to a high degree of technical perfection. The first major battle that was largely determined by archers was the Battle of Hastings. The troops of William, Duke of Norman, and Anglo-Saxon Duke Harald II. met on October 14, 1066 near the town of Hastings. The conflict was about nothing less than the English throne. The contemporary chronicler William of Poitiers describes the beginning of the battle: "The horns screamed terribly and the Norman infantry, approaching the English, irritated them with arrows that sowed wounds and death." The even battle was probably decided by an arrow that hit Harald in the eye. The death of the leader of the Anglo-Saxons encouraged the Normans and they led the battle to final victory. By the way - it is at the Battle of Hastings that we first encounter a description of the use of crossbows. Duke William's army had crossbowmen as storm troops.

The most famous battle of the Hundred Years' War showed the true superiority of an army equipped with archery corps. On August 13, 1346, the 20,000-strong army of King Edward of England clashed near the village of Crécy-en-Ponthieu with the united armies led by the King of France. The French had a threefold advantage and in their ranks was also the Czech King John of Luxembourg with his knights. The battle is more famous simply under the name Battle of Crécy. At the head of the French army was a rank of Genoese crossbowmen. However, their shots landed harmlessly far in front of the English lines. On the other hand, the rain of English long arrows falling continuously on the enemies had crushing consequences. Most of the French attacks ended up under the heads of English arrows. Ony a few of the tens of thousands of dead did not die as a result of the English archery. Even Charles IV, who participated in the fight alongside his father, was wounded by an arrow there.

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Robin Hood & Long Bow

The most famous archer of the Middle Ages is without a doubt Robin Hood. A noble fighting as a crusade with King Richard the Lionheart, losing his property after returning home due to intrigues. Then he hid in Sherwood Forest and lead a guerrilla war with Prince John of Leckland, who ruled England during the absence of his royal brother. It is still disputed whether Robin was merely a literary figure or an actual warrior. Then it would probably be Robert Earl of Huntington, who is buried in Kirklar Abbey. The true thing is definitely the existence of his famous weapon, the long English bow or Long Bow. These bows used to be made of ash or yew, were around two meters long, and drew up to 150 pounds. These were based on the tradition of long bows produced by the Celts and Vikings. In medieval England, a system of archery education was also established. During the reign of Henry VIII. it was the duty of every citizen to practice archery. The training of elite shooters began at the age of eight, and the training lasted up to ten hours a day.

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Kyudo, the art of shooting

The Japanese made archery an art. The martial art of kyudo was described by the Japanese master Heki Danjō in 1480. It evolved from kyūjutsu, martial archery. Kyūdō is considered the ultimate test of self, consisting of bow, arrow and archer. It strives to improve one's personality. Kyudo values concentration, harmonious movements coupled with breathing and perfect conscious control so that there is a true fusion of body and spirit, rather than simply hitting the target. 

The Japanese bow is asymmetrical, 1/3 of the length is below the point of grip, 2/3 above it. With its length of 2.20 - 2.30 meters it is the longest bow in the world. The upper part symbolizes heaven, the middle man and the lower earth. The string is stretched all the way past the shooter's ear, the arrows are thus very long. For 1000 years, bows have been made mainly from bamboo slats. Arrows are shot in pairs, one arrow is yin, the other yang. The string is stretched with the thumb and the arrow is guided along the right side of the bow, as it is done by all Asian archers.

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Indians!

Most people today have a bow associated with the Native Americans. The original inhabitants of both American continents were excellent marksmen. In the Maya and Inca armies, there were corps of archers from the Amazon forests who were said to be able to hit a bird several meters in the eye. Moreover, the tips of their arrows were often poisoned, so that a scratch was enough for the opponent to be helpless. The Spanish conquistadors became very familiar with this, and even steel armor did not help them. North American Indians used bows mainly for hunting, they only became a weapon of war with the arrival of the whites. Fighting at a distance was not in accordance with the Indian concept of war honor, which required direct contact with the enemy.

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Back home

We have to start the history of archery in the Stone Age again. Arrowheads made of flint in archaeological finds clearly prove that the oldest inhabitants of the Czech basin were bow hunters. The first historical inhabitants of Bohemia were the Celts, who, as we already know, were also excellent archers. Yew groves on the slopes of the mountains provided plenty of suitable material. Perhaps this is why the yew tree was worshiped as a tree dedicated to the goddess of death. Bronze and iron arrowheads are frequent archaeological finds. Interestingly, bronze points were most often cast in molds, while iron points were forged. Sandstone string straighteners and shale handguards were also found. The Czech Kingdom did not escape the medieval archery development and the Czech army was also equipped with archery units. During the reign of Charles IV. Prague archers got their shooting range under the ramparts of the royal castle near the Powder Gate. While shooting from a bow was earlier mainly done by the nobility, under the reign of Charles IV. archery became an exercise for everyone. The archers received great support from the emperor himself, the city councilors of Prague and a number of Czech and Moravian cities. Shooting competitions were held, culminating in archery festivities at Pentecost. All walks of life were involved in this sport, cities competed for the best individuals and teams. The Prague archers were the most numerous archery corps. The development of archery went so far that it was shot all over Prague's gardens and it started to become a dangerous pastime. In order to avoid the danger of frequent injuries, the river islands Štvanice and Střelecký ostrov were permanently assigned to the archers.

After the White Mountain battle archery corps disappeared and numerous manufacturers of bows, arrows and quivers as well. The Thirty Years' War brought modern firearms to the scene, and bows became just an echo of the past. One of the last mentions of archers as part of the army is in a book called "F. L. Věk" from a famous czech writer Alois Jirásek, where it tells about the parade of General Suvorov's troops on the Karlin field before the campaign to France. At the parade, formations of Tatars with bows were admired.

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Elven archers

Today's youth have archers associated primarily with the genre of fantasy and elves. These beings are actually an allegory of ancient warriors, they live in harmony with nature, they are noble and as archers no one can match them. In fantasy, everything is possible, yet most authors derive the archery skills of elves from ancient archery arts. 

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Most people still associate archery with something noble. The bow has firmly entered the human subconscious over the millennia. Don't hesitate and go on a journey with a tool that has gone through the whole human history. However, don't be discouraged by initial failures if there are any. Be conscious, that archery is a demanding discipline, but it is sefinitely worth it.

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