Friday

England:

The English long bow of Robin Hood fame was created using yew or elm woods. English archers were well known and feared from the 13th - 16th centuries. Because English archery was so important to their society, they made a law requiring that all men must practice their archery every Sunday. This law is still on the books.

One of the most famous battles involving the longbow occurred on October 25th, 1415 - the Battle of Agincourt. Henry V of England was leading his army back to Calais and met a French army at the village of Agincourt.

Henry's army was outnumbered 3 to 1, some 1,500 men at arms and 5,500 archers against an army consisted of over 23, 000, mainly of noble knights on foot and cavalry.

The French made 2 fatal mistakes. First, their knights were heavily weighted in armor and were attacking across a muddy field. This slowed them down and made them easy targets. They also disregarded the battle plan ordered by the French King and ordered the cavalry to charge the archers. Although the knights themselves were well protected from the archers, their horses were not.

Some accounts state as many as 10,000 French soldiers killed, with only 100 English soldiers killed. Other accounts state only 29 English killed.

Other important dates:
• 1457 AD - James II, King of England, first decreed that the sports of football and golf should be banned as they interfered with archery practice.
• 1644 AD - Tipper Muir - last battle in which English archers were used.
• 1673 AD - The archery tournament known as the 'Ancient Scorton Arrow' was founded in Yorkshire, England.