Archery, Part Two

Welcome back to a discussion of all things archery! Last week we defined the three main categories of bows, and dipped out toes into the deep history of archery. This week, I’d like to cover arrows, quivers, and shooting techniques for a start, but we’ll see where I end up.

There are two broad traditions of archery, each centered around a different draw technique. The draw technique with which most of the western world is familiar is called the Mediterranean draw. In this form, the archer uses the pads of her three center fingers of her dominant hand to pull back the string, and the arrow is placed on the opposite side of the bow (left side for a right-handed archer). The Mediterranean draw has historically been used in Europe and the Middle East. The advantage of this draw is that it a very strong form; archers can pull a significant amount of weight with three fingers. That advantage is apparent in the infantry archers of Europe who carried bows with draw weights up to two hundred pounds at their peak. However, there are a few disadvantages. Having three fingers on the string provides the chance that all fingers might not leave the string at the same time, creating a mistake called an “unclean release” which can severely affect accuracy. Additionally, placing the arrow across the bow necessitates a slower reloading time, and increases the effect known as the “archer’s paradox”.

The archer’s paradox states that an arrow at full draw may be aimed at its target, but the closer the arrow gets to the bow, the more off target it becomes. Essentially, the string is inline with the center of the bow, but the arrow must move around the bow to get to its target. Traditionally, this problem was solved by using flexible arrows with heavy points. The flexible arrow bends around the bow, while the heavy point pulls the shaft toward the target with its superior momentum. Many modern recurve bows feature a cut-out center, meaning the belly of the bow curves to one side so that an arrow doesn’t have to move around as much wood. Compound bows are usually constructed so that archer’s paradox is practically negated, allowing them to use stiffer arrows. Generally speaking, an arrow’s spine (a measure of flexibility) must be appropriate for the bow or it will shatter on impact.

The second widely used draw form is a technique known as the thumb draw. In this form, the archer uses his thumb to draw the bow, usually placing the string in the crook of the distal knuckle. The pad of the index finger is then placed on the thumb nail for reinforcement. Additionally, the arrow is usually placed on the same side of the bow as the dominant hand (right side for right-handed archers). The thumb draw was used by all people of the Asiatic steppe, as well as the Romans, Byzantines, and by at least one of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Since this draw method places a considerable amount of strain on the thumb, various rings have been used to protect the pad and joint. Rings come in a multitude of styles, and may be made of horn, metal, wood, leather, or plastic. The thumb draw works especially well for short bows (such as those used on horseback), when more fingers would be pinched by the more acute angle of the string. The thumb draw has the potential to have a very clean release since only one digit has to leave the string, but it is considerably more difficult to draw heavy bows with only the thumb. Furthermore, placing the arrow on the same side of the bow as the shooting hand makes this method have extremely fast reloading times. It also decreases the affects of the archer’s paradox. It is a personal grievance of mine that the fast-shooting archers of Hollywood are always shown as using a Mediterranean draw rather than a thumb draw which could actually achieve those reloading speeds.

There is a third draw technique which is of historical interest though it isn’t widely used today: the pinch draw. In this final technique, the string is pinched between the pad of the thumb and the side of the index finger. The pinch draw allows for a very clean release; the string will naturally slip out once it reaches a certain draw weight (hopefully at full draw). The downside of this technique is that it has a very low threshold for weights it can reliably draw, which is most likely the reason it is a functionally extinct form. Historically, the pinch draw was used by many of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The pinch draw was also used in Ancient Greece until the end of the Classical period, and among the early Assyrians.

There are a multitude of arrow and arrowhead types used today and historically, of which I will only scratch the surface. Today arrow shafts may be made of hardwood, graphite, aluminum, or carbon fiber. The weight, length, and spine of the shaft are all of great importance for its performance. Wooden “footed” shafts are made of two different kinds of wood, usually with a harder wood near the head where the arrow is most likely to break. “Barrel” shafts taper from the center toward both ends, giving them an ideal combination of weight and flexibility. The fletchings are most commonly still made from feathers, preferably goose or turkey. There is a stiffer plastic variety that is in vogue with compound bow archers, which are called vanes. There are generally three fletchings at the back of an arrow to serve as airfoils that stabilize its flight. The nock is the notch by which the arrow is attached to the bowstring, and provides control for the rotation of the arrow. Nocks can be cut into the wood of the shaft and reinforced with fiber to prevent splitting, or may be made of plastic or horn and glued onto the end.

Arrow heads come in many shapes and sizes. Broad heads are the most commonly known variety. They have two or three cutting blades and can be constructed of stone, bone, or metal. They are still used for hunting but were also used in warfare. The crescent arrowhead is a kind of broad head that was used in antiquity and has the twin cutting blades curving forward, rather than back. There’s a fun story somewhere about a Roman Emperor decapitating an ostrich in the gladiatorial arena with a crescent arrow. Bodkin points were simple conical or triangular metal points that were commonly used in warfare and had impressive armor-piercing capabilities. Target points are bullet shaped for minimized damage to the targets when shooting. Field tips are also used for target shooting, but have a concave taper toward the tip. They are generally weighted similar to broad heads so that hunters’ practice with field tips is easily translated to performance with broad heads. Blunts are metal or rubber cylinders that are used for hunting small game and for some types of target shooting when penetration is not the goal.

Quivers are the containers that hold the arrows, and are generally worn on the hip or back, though compound shooters often have them riveted to the bow itself. The quiver worn around the hips is called a belt quiver, and is the most widespread type of quiver despite what Hollywood portrays. Belt quivers were used in Europe and Asia from ancient times to the present. Their shape, construction, and exact placement on the belt is variable, but the basic design remains the same. Back quivers require an archer to draw the arrow over the dominant shoulder by the nock. They were used by the indigenous peoples of North America and Africa. The arrow bag is a specific quiver design that featured a drawstring at the top of a cloth sack, which would protect the arrows from the elements. The arrow bag was used by the English Longbowmen and would have been worn on the belt or set on the ground for easy use.

The Sensiahd word of the day is “saed”, meaning “arrow”. Example sentence: Sath rho coreth sath voe saeda. They shot them with arrows.

Archery, Part One

On this blog I usually discuss stories, their process of creation, and ones that I particularly enjoy. Despite my penchant for fantasy, I’m also an eager student of history. I suspect the same is true for most fantasy writers. Most of us like to ground our fantasies in reality; even in a world full of magic, its important to know the difference between a gladius and a spatha. Writers usually pick an analogous time period and stick with it. If a writer is creating a medieval fantasy, he must understand the feudal system, the terminology for arms and armor, which tools that were available to people of that period, what the common food staples were, and so on and so forth. The amount of research needed to assemble all this information is considerable and will make a history enthusiast even from those who were not previously inclined. In today’s post, I’d like to provide a resource for writers that might save them an hour of research. For the rest of you, sit back and relax as we discuss all things archery.

I’ve been an archer for about as long as I can remember. I’m not sure who first introduced me to the sport, but my grandfather served as my great teacher. He gave me four bows over the course of his life, three of which were coveted Ben Pearson recurves. My first bow was a compound with a draw weight around ten pounds. Draw weight is the amount of weight it takes to pull the string back to its full draw. The force associated with that weight is then transferred to the arrow, making draw weight a standard measure of bow power. Essentially, my bow with a ten pound draw weight requires me to lift ten pounds with my fingers every time I want to draw the bow. Grandpa gave me the first recurve the day I proved I could pull back the thirty-five pound draw. Next were the forty-five pound and fifty-five pound bows, the latter of which I still regularly shoot today.

There are three broad types of bows: longbows, recurves, and compounds. Longbows are the most traditional bow. They are comprised of a stiff stick and a string. The stiffness of the wood resists being bent, and stores potential energy when bent by the string. Drawing the string back further loads the bow with potential energy. On release, the string transfers the energy into the arrow as the wood snaps back into a more relaxed position. Longbows generally have considerable “stacking”, which means that the last few inches of the draw contain a disproportionately greater amount of the draw weight. A bow that stacks is generally more difficult to shoot than a “smooth” drawing bow (draw weight is more proportionally distributed throughout the draw). In longbows, the power of the bow is directly related to its stiffness and the bow length. 

Recurve bows have limbs that curve forward when unstrung. The forward curve is achieved by heating and bending the wood into position, or by construction from several pieces. Stringing a recurve bow loads considerably more energy into the limbs than stringing a longbow because the limbs are being pulled back further. In many recurve bows, the limbs may be pulled 180º from their original position. The amount of flexibility and elasticity required for such a large range of limb movement is more than wood can handle, so recurves are generally constructed of composite materials. In the ancient world, sinew and horn were used to strengthen the wood of recurve bows; sinew was glued on the back of the limbs for elasticity, horn on the inside belly for stiffness. Composite recurve bows were first used by the nomadic pastoralists on the Eurasian Steppe, who famously used the bows for horse archery. The clever design of the composite recurve allowed for the construction of shorter bows that were easier to manage while mounted, but still held considerable power. but became the bow of choice for most people that lived on the edges of that region. In Europe, the Greeks and the Romans adopted the recurve bow and it became popular in all areas that were sufficiently dry for its use. The animal glue that held the composite bows together didn’t hold up well in wet climates, so it never became popular in places like the British Isles. Modern composite recurves are made with multiple layers of wood and fiberglass. The best bow woods are yew and Osage orange because they have an internal laminate structure that mimics composite materials.

Compound bows are the most popular bows used for hunting today. They have pulleys that considerably increase the power of the bow. Compound bows also have a resting state at full draw, which prevents the archer from having to hold the full weight of the draw. Traditional bows are generally not held at full draw for very long because of the strain on the archer, but compound bows can be held at full draw nearly indefinitely. Compound bows are generally constructed of metal, plastic, carbon fiber, and fiberglass. The compound bow was invented in the late 1960’s, and most models today are highly modular. A compound bow may be outfitted with a quiver, sights, counterweights, and mechanical release systems. While very effective for hunting, the compound bow’s long and irregular draw would make it a very poor weapon of war.

Humans have been using bows for around 18,000 years and the evidence suggests that they have been used both as a hunting tool and a weapon of war for the breadth of their history. The bow has turned the tide of many a battle. The Scythian victory over the Achaemenid Empire, the Parthian defeat of the Romans at the Battle of Carrhae, and the English victory over the French at Agincourt were all thanks to the power of archery. The Huns ravaged Europe with the bow, and with it the Mongols built the largest land empire the world has ever seen. The bow is a great leveler on the field of battle. The Mongols conquered half the world using arrow points primarily made of stone and bone. A simple steel point is armor piercing, even against the sophisticated plate armor of the 16th century. However, bows are not a weapon that anyone may pick up and be proficient with. Bows require strength to use, and take years of practice to master. That being said, they take less strength than melee weapons and are intuitive to use. This has no doubt led to the rise in fantasy circles of the bow being a “dexterity” weapon, one that is always used by the weak and small. While it’s true that a bow with enough power to kill requires little strength, most bows used in war had considerable draw weights. The famous bowmen of England pulled longbows with draw weights of two hundred pounds, forces that put so much strain on their bodies that it permanently deformed their skeletons. Smaller composite recurves used for war would have had substantially lower draw weights, but the point stands. The infamous women archers of Scythia (likely the inspiration for the Amazons) would probably have used bows with considerable draw weights.

Since this post is getting rather long, I think I’ll break it into two parts. Next week we’ll look at quivers, arrows, and shooting techniques.

The Sensiahd word of the day is “cwra”, meaning “bow”. Example sentence: Eth cosilien cwrae fyn. The wood elves have bows.