319. Hundred Years' War: Triumph of the Longbow

Comments · 89

• CL

  @cliffbowls · 2 years ago

  I love some of the unapologetically English (and inherently anti French) comments from dom, knowing full well it’s all in good fun

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• GA

  @Gargoiling · 3 years ago

  When you ask &quot;why hadn&apos;t anyone thought of &nbsp;the longbow before&quot;, you have to bear in mind that it&apos;s &nbsp;not just a question of getting the right piece of wood. &nbsp;You have to spend years developing the musculature to use it. &nbsp; We do have longbows (although later) from the Mary Rose. &nbsp; You can see videos on Youtube of people who have developed the physique to use a bow like that. &nbsp;<br><br>I also had assumed it had been a Welsh tradition. &nbsp; If it was a new development, you would have to plan years in advance. It would be interesting to know how that worked.

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• NO

  @noahholland1795 · 2 years ago

  As an American, am I right in imagining Freddie Flintoff now when thinking about Edward III?

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• DG

  @Dgo8152 · 1 year ago

  On the longbow: Xenophon in the Anabasis describes Caucasian archers using bows of such enormous size that they required their entire body to draw, bracing the bows against their feet. This is, in a way, similar to how the English longbow requires an exact set of mechanical movements to draw back and training from youth. So while there are other analogues in history, it is still fairly unique.

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• BR

  @briangarrow448 · 3 years ago

  Impressive and stirring tale. Well done, gentlemen. Well done.

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• RE

  @remy1234ish · 1 year ago

  The story on blind King John was that he had 7 knights of his household tie their horses together and all charge together--and die together

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• JI

  @jimko420 · 1 month ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L90SgiVe2OU&amp;t=2370">39:30</a> “Let the boy win his spurs” what an excellent line

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• WE

  @wendyknight9574 · 1 year ago

  Longbowmen trained almost daily from the age of 6 or 7 years old. You couldn’t just train an army for a few months.

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• NI

  @nightstorm2975 · 7 months ago

  I&apos;m glad you mentioned that John of ghent

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• SI

  @siarlb8115 · 1 year ago

  I think you need to study the The Battle of Crug Mawr, 1136… where the Welsh defeated the Normans, primarily because of the longbow

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• WE

  @wendyknight9574 · 1 year ago

  Longbowmen didn’t pull the bow back to their ear - the bow was too strong - they pushed the bow forward with their left arm. Longbowmen skeletons can be easily identified by the enlarged left arm bones (due to massive muscles pulling on the bones).

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• BE

  @beachcomber1able · 1 year ago

  The longbow might have been triumphant early on but it was the artillery in the hands of the French that terminated that long drawn out conflict.

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