AW: Re: AW: Re: Bow

[Jens Börner]

Hi John,

Are there evidences for such a situation?
Because- to be honest- this seems rather unrealistic to me.
First, why should an armed man carry his primary weapon in a way it is =
not
ready for use? And if it is not his primary weapon, why does he carry it =
at
all, or better: why is not somebody send out, who has his primary weapon
ready for use? In the situation you described: a crossbowman.
And concerning the situation: is this really realistic? Why should a =
single
bowman creep through the deep forest? For scouting a mounted man would =
be
much better (and there are evidences for that).
And if he meets the enemy, unpacking his bow and shooting at him would =
not
the best idea for a scout on foot, would it?

And compared to the crossbow coverings: these seemed to had been made =
from
leather. Which would make sense, because it would keep the bow really =
dry.
And is also necessary: a bow made from horn and animal strings is much =
more
endangered by water then a wooden bow. And unlike a bow, it can not be =
keept
in a chest that easily- too bulky (and we have images of crossbowmen
carrying their crossbow when marching, see bellow). By the way, because
somebody mentioned it: of course you can unstrung a crossbow, and this =
even
makes sense when carrying it in foul weather. If you do not have a =
covering
;) As far as I remember there are even mentionings of crossbowmen not =
having
done so (froissart again?), which results in them being help-and =
useless.
=20
So, after all, lots of speculations, no facts, and merely modern
assumptions. There is nothing wrong with sharing such- but please! Don't =
use
"it is obvious that..." "it is logical that...".
You can't say that without knowing -al-l facts, and I doubt anyone of us
does that.
So better let us find evidences and adjusting to the idea that such
coverings were posisbly not used, and having such may be a modern
necessarity.

Crossbow coverings can for instance be found in the housebook of =
wolfegg:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mittelalterliches_Hausbuch_von=
_Sc
hloss_Wolfegg?uselang=3Dde

with kind regards,
Jens B=F6rner
Diu Minnez=EEt
Reconstrution of german and french daily and military live, clothing and
household equipment in the high and late middle ages
http://www.diu-minnezit.de



-----Urspr=FCngliche Nachricht-----
Von: living-history-bounce-at-companie-of-st-george.ch
[mailto:living-history-bounce-at-companie-of-st-george.ch] Im Auftrag von =
John
Richards
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 31. M=E4rz 2010 17:55
An: living-history-at-companie-of-st-george.ch
Betreff: Re: AW: Re: Bow

In such cases, I like to think of how I would carry a bow if I was an =
=3D
archer on campaign. Personal firearms are transported from and to the =
=3D
battlefield in chests as well, but no one is going to suggest that when =
=3D
you're on patrol, the firearm is transported on a jeep behind you? =3D
Similarly we must differentiate between transport and use. Of course =3D =
bows
were transported in chests and barrels, but when you're creeping =3D =
through
the woods as an English archer in Burgundian service, with a lot =3D of =
angry
Bernese trying to find the main Burgundian army, you're going =3D to =
have the
bow on your person. Now, we assume that the bow was not =3D strung =
unless
action is imminent (anyone who has actually skirmished =3D with a bow =
will
know that carrying a strung bow and trying to run =3D through woods is a =
major
pain in the arse). So.. you have an unstrung =3D bow, but do you hold it =
in
your hand, or do you put it in a handy bow =3D bag or sleeve and sling =
it on
your back, thereby keeping both hands free =3D for other tasks? A bow =
bag will
roll up amazingly small and can be =3D easily stored in your clothing, =
along
with the string in a handy =3D container - the benefits far outweigh the
disadvantages - the bow is =3D kept dry, out of the sun and is protected =
from
scrapes and bumps, plus =3D can slung around your person. This seems so
elementarily obvious that I =3D can't believe that no one thought of it =
in a
1000 years of bow history. =3D Now, we haven't found any evidence of bow =
bags,
but the object is a thin =3D tube of linen material, maybe waxed, about =
1.80m
long and 25mm wide. If =3D an archeologist found one, would he have a =
clue
what it was? Such =3D objects were doubtless used for a multitude of =
other
things as well and =3D if you found one at a dig, why would you think it =
was
for a bow?

I'm going to search more carefully - I'm sure there will be a picture of =
=3D a
bow in a cover. After all, there are pictures of crossbows in covers, =
=3D I'll
post them.

John