Richard Heads explanation of why the longbow is called the longbow...

[toomanyknots]

I was watching a bbc except of a show on youtube recently, where Richard Head was giving an archery demo with some of his bows, and he said something that caught my ear. He said that the longbow is called a longbow because it is shot longways, and not crossways, like a cross bow? Is this true? I never knew that. I guess I always figured that it was called a longbow because compared to other bows, it was longer. But that makes sense, as back in the day, there wasn't any other bows to compare a longbow to,  .

[Adam]

Hmmm.  That's interesting.  I always thought it was due to they're longer length too.  Thanks for sharing!

[Roy]

Which Richard Head was it? I know several of them:)

[soy]

Which Richard Head was it? I know several of them:)

me to

[Dane]

I think his good friends call him Dick Head. Of course.

[toomanyknots]

I think his good friends call him Dick Head. Of course.

...Ok, now I get the joke,  . Took me a minute, lol.

EDIT: Here is the video clip I was talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COpXfXjMPJU

[Shaun]

There were short bows in medieval times. Used for closer fighting/hunting and not capable of shooting yard long heavy arrows and piercing armor like the long bows of the English army 

[BillBow]

Hmmmm,
Maybe he would call a Flatbow one owned by someone living in a Flat.
That is as daft as Toxophilus and others saying a Longbowman was always expected to "hit his man" at 250 yards.

[Hrothgar]

And the Holmegaard was so named because it 'protected the home'...

[Prignitzer bowman]

A well known historian recently told me that a recurve was called a recurve because the arrow would come back to the archer once shot! (It wasn't called a boomerang bow because the Vikings hadn't discovered Australia yet)

Peter

[sleek]

We are laughing with some good jokes here, but honestly, I can see the logic behind his conclusion, and would hope he didnt just come up with the idea on his own and broadcast it without research..... Doesnt mean he didnt though....

[toomanyknots]

"The term "longbow" is coined ca. 1500 in reference to the English longbow, to distinguish the simple self bow from the shorter composite bow. In medieval times in Britain the weapon was usually known as a "hand" or a "lug" bow, distinguishing it from the crossbow."

Quoted this from a wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longbow

EDIT: Also, this:

"The first recorded use of the term 'longbow', as distinct from simply 'bow', occurs in a Paston Letter of the 15th century."

Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_longbow

[sleek]

So long bow is more of a modern term.

[toomanyknots]

And the quote from the Paston letters:

"RYT wurchipful hwsbond, I recomawnd me to ʒu, and prey ʒw to gete som crosse bowis, and wyndacs2 to bynd them with, and quarrels;3 for ʒour hwsis her ben so low that ther may non man schet owt with no long bowe, thow we hadde never so moche nede."


Or, translated to modern english:

"Right worshipful husband, I recommend me to you, and pray you to get some crossbows and windlasses to bind them with, and crossbow bolts; for your houses here are so low that there may no man shoot out with a longbow, though we had never so much need."

Link: http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/paston1449.htm

EDIT: Opps, I mis-qouted the top quote at first due to sloppy copy/paste-ing, fixed it now though.

[sleek]

Ceiling was so low that you couldnt hold a bow Long ways huh?