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How Did the English Longbow Win So Many Battles?
Very few weapons have completely transformed the course of history, but the English longbow is one of them. Most famously used in the Edwardian era of the Middle Ages, the longbow—despite being an English weapon—was often used by Welsh soldiers, particularly during the reign of King Edward III (r. 1327-77). Not only did the longbow ensure key victories for Edward, but it was also the savior of the following century at the Battle of Agincourt.
The History of the English Longbow
Edward I, artist unknown, c. 1272-1307. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Throughout the Middle Ages, and even before, archers had been highly regarded as an essential part of an army. For the two warring sides, the side that had archers often had the upper hand.
They could stand further back on the battlefield but were often the first to open fire before the infantrymen ran onto the battlefield itself, thus reducing the numbers of the enemy before any hand-to-hand combat had started. In addition, archers could also take down horses with a few well-fired arrows.
Archery Practice, from the Luttrell Psalter, 1325. Source: Wikimedia Commons
It was not until the reign of King Edward I of England (r. 1272-1307) that the longbow was developed and used in the mainstream. As well as being known as the “Hammer of the Scots” for his constant warfare against his northern neighbors, Edward I is often credited as one of the great builder kings — some of the finest castles in the British Isles were constructed during Edward’s reign, such as Caernarfon and Conwy in Wales.
These castles, huge fortresses built out of stone, were a major step up from the Motte and Bailey castles which had been constructed during William the Conqueror’s reign.
Yet as well as adding another layer of security to those inside the castles, they also had one key feature which made them even harder to attack: tiny little slits in the brickwork which meant that archers could fire from the safety of the castle while protected by the thick brick walls.
This was ideal for archers who had standard bows, or even crossbows (although these tended to be used more on the continent rather than in England) — but the problem was the distance they could fire from was not that great.
An alternative was needed—one that meant archers could fire over great lengths, and not be restricted to the castle walls either—one that meant that they could fire from the castle ramparts or even out on the battlefield. The answer was the English longbow.
Construction of the English Longbow
Yew-style English longbow, photographed by James Cram. Source: Wikimedia Commons
In order to create a bow that was able to fire arrows over long distances, a hardy material was needed. The wood often favored for the longbow was yew, although elm and ash were also used occasionally.
The process of making a yew longbow was long — up to four years according to some chroniclers. First, the yew had to be dried out (which could take up to two years) before being slowly molded into shape — which could take another two years.
As the name suggests, the bows needed to be longer than their standard counterparts. Estimates vary, but the average length of an English longbow was normally around 1.98 meters (6 feet 6 inches), which naturally required great strength to draw back and fire — hence why the longbowmen could stay so far back on the battlefield.
Below, we will discuss various battles during which the English longbow was used and how effective it was.
The Battle of Falkirk (1298)
Statue of William Wallace at Edinburgh Castle. Source: Wikimedia Commons
One of the first instances of the really effective use of the English longbow was at the Battle of Falkirk, fought on July 22, 1298 at Falkirk, Scotland.
Edward I’s English forces (which numbered around 15,000 men) faced off against the Scottish rebel leader, William Wallace, and his army of around 6,000. The numerical advantage of the English forces was little consolation to Edward — just a year earlier, at Stirling Bridge, Wallace had defeated a larger English force, and the reason he had won was because of his tactics.
Wallace had arranged the Scottish forces into schiltrons — tightly packed groups that were notoriously difficult to break down. Furthermore, the schiltrons had been protected by stakes dug into the ground, pointing outwards, thus rendering it almost impossible to commence hand-to-hand combat. The English struggled to fight their way past the stakes, let alone fight the tightly-packed men behind them.
Edward I was a renowned military tactician, though, and he had learned from his experience at Stirling Bridge. Rather than opt for close combat, Edward utilized the longbow—one of the first examples of it being used in medieval English warfare—and it led to an English victory.
While Wallace’s forces also used bows, they were traditional shorter bows, so they had to be much closer to any combat. The English longbowmen stood further away from the battlefield and rained their arrows down on the Scottish forces, leading to a decisive English victory.
Possibly an experience learned from Falkirk, it was around the turn of the 14th century that Edward I banned all sports other than archery on Sundays, highlighting how important the longbow (and indeed archery) was to medieval English warfare.
The Battle of Dupplin Moor (1332)
A modern-day replica of a bodkin point arrowhead used by English longbows to penetrate armor. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Yet another example of the English longbow prevailing in the Scottish Wars of Independence was at Dupplin Moor, fought on August 11, 1332, near Perth, Scotland. At Dupplin Moor, Edward Balliol’s 1,500 men faced off against a much larger Scottish force, estimated between 15,000 and 40,000 men.
On the morning of the battle, the Scots had raced to try and break the English ranks but only succeeded in breaking their own formation. As a result, the first Scots who entered the battlefield got stuck, as more reinforcements came in from behind, trapping them in the valley.
With hardly any room to even draw their weapons, many of the Scots were trampled to death, and those who weren’t were shot at from the flanks by a host of English longbowmen, resulting in another victory for the English and the longbow.
The Battle of Halidon Hill (1333)
A 19th-century interpretation of the Scottish charge at Halidon Hill, 1873. Source: The British Library
The following year, at Halidon Hill near Berwick-upon-Tweed on July 19, 1333, Edward III entered the fray. As the name suggests, the English took up their defensive position at the top of the hill, and their smaller force (approximately 10,000 against the 15,000-strong Scottish) won another resounding victory, thanks to the longbow.
Because of their strategic position, and the fact that the Scots had to fight uphill, the longbow came in useful once again, often picking off Scottish soldiers long before they even reached the base of the hill.
This was a prime example of the longbow working well — once the Scots were within hand-to-hand fighting distance, the English forces pursued them for eight miles. The Scottish forces had broken ranks, and many of their nobility, including their leaders, were killed.
The Battle of Crécy (1346)
Battle of Crécy, from Froissart’s Chronicles, c. 1450. Source: Wikimedia Commons Note the French crossbows and the English longbows
Whenever the English longbow is mentioned, arguably the first battle that comes to mind is Crécy, fought during the Hundred Years’ War. Often described as Edward III’s greatest-ever military victory, Crécy was fought on August 26, 1346, although another notable commander on the day was Edward’s sixteen-year-old son, Edward, the Black Prince.
Crécy was interesting in the sense that the French forces also had archers, although the French and Genoese mercenaries were using crossbows, which was their downfall. The English, like at Halidon Hill, were situated on higher ground, with archers on their flanks (one of these retinues was commanded by Prince Edward). The problem with the crossbows was that although they were powerful—the bolts would kill someone instantly when fired at them—they were slow. They could fire at a maximum of five rounds per minute, which was much slower than the longbows. A skilled longbowman could fire almost double what his crossbow counterpart could.
Seeing that the plan was not working, the French king Philip VI ordered his cavalry to charge through. Like at Dupplin Moor, the crossbowmen on the field became trapped and were trampled. Once again, the smaller English force succeeded in winning another key victory thanks to the longbow.
The Battle of Poitiers (1356)
The Battle of Poitiers, from Froissart’s Chronicles, c. 1450. Source: Wikimedia Commons
If Crécy had firmly established the longbow as a decisive factor in winning victories on the medieval battlefield, Poitiers just proved this point even further. In another conflict against France during the Hundred Years’ War, this time led by the Black Prince on September 19, 1356, another outnumbered English force was guided to victory over the French forces thanks to the longbow.
Poitiers is notable because the French king, John II, was captured as a prisoner of war, but is because of the sheer amount of arrows that rained down on the French forces.
Learning from his father, John had ordered his cavalry and crossbow forces to focus on attacking the English and Welsh archers. While they attempted to do so, volley after volley of arrows rained down upon them, killing many of them instantly.
Some chroniclers even reported that so many arrows had been fired by the longbowmen, that they had almost run out of them at one point, and some were even running onto the battlefield and picking them up, or out of dead bodies ready to fire them again.
This led to another decisive victory for England in the Hundred Years’ War, and by 1363, Edward III had ordered that all English men practice archery on a Sunday, echoing his grandfather’s sentiment 60 years earlier.
The Battle of Agincourt (1415)
The Battle of Agincourt (1415), c. 1450. Source: Wikimedia Commons
In one of the most famous battles in English history, King Henry V, a great-grandson of Edward III, won a decisive victory against a much larger French force and cemented himself as a military legend forevermore.
While Henry had tried to reach the safety of Calais, he was stopped at the village of Agincourt, where his approximately 6,000 men had to face off against a French force of around 25,000.
During the night, the rain had poured down relentlessly, so on the morning of October 25, 1415, the ground was boggy and saturated with water. Henry V, in an incredibly brave and arguably reckless move, decided that the English had nothing to lose, so he drew the French into battle. The English longbowmen were at one point just 300 meters (984 feet) away from French forces and began firing their arrows. The muddy ground worked in England’s favor, as it slowed down French progress toward the English — and all the while the English archers kept firing.
The French became disoriented and broke ranks, and within an hour, the battle was over. Arrows had constantly rained down upon the French forces, leaving up to 10,000 dead while English deaths numbered around 600.
Agincourt was one of the most important victories of the Hundred Years’ War, and one of the best underdog stories in history — and it is largely thanks to the impact of the English longbow.
The Decline and Legacy of the English Longbow
The Battle of Castillon (1453), 1484. Source: The Galicia Digital Library
It is clear that the peak of the English longbow was in the 14th and 15th centuries, but by the time the end of the Hundred Years’ War came around with the Battle of Castillon in 1453, it had had its day. English archers were defeated by the mighty cannon and the age of gunpowder was ushered in.
In an attempt to revitalize the longbow, in 1508 King Henry VII banned the use of the crossbow so that the English could focus on the longbow instead, but they were slowly dying out. The final appearance of the English longbow would come at the Battle of Tippermuir on September 1, 1644, by which time guns and cannons were becoming the favored option for long-distance fighting.
Despite its waning end by the 17th century, the English longbow unquestionably transformed medieval history in England. It is hard to imagine any English victories in the Scottish Wars of Independence or the Hundred Years’ War without the aid of the longbow, particularly because, more often than not, the English forces were outnumbered.
The longbow helped to confirm England as one of medieval Europe’s strongest military powers — an image which would last until the final defeat at Castillon where the longbowmen themselves were defeated by the mighty cannon, ushering in a new age of warfare at the same time.
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