The longbow did not originate in England. The longbow actually originated in Wales by the Welsh. Even though the longbow did not originate in England, it still played many roles for the English in battle such as the battles of Poitiers, Agincourt, and Crécy.
The longbow was made from a wooden stave (usually made of yew) that was around 6 feet long and approximately 5/8 inches wide. It was made out of yew because the outer white sapling part of the wood could withstand a lot of tension and the inner red hardwood could resist compression. The wooden stave was cured and hardened for 4 years, for the best quality. This process of curing and hardening also helped protect the bow from harsh weather. The draw length for the longbow was around 30-inches and the draw weight was at 150–160 lbs (670–710 Newton’s of force). This caused enough propelling force to dismount a knight. The arrows usually used with the longbow were called the bodkin (chisel) arrow, which was approximately 3 ft. long. These bodkin arrows could pierce chain mail and could pierce through plate armor at a close distance.
Battle of Blanchetaque
The primary reason the Hundreds Year War started was because there was a dispute over the French throne. This dispute was caused when King Charles IV of France died. There was no direct male successor left after King Charles IV’s death. The death of Philip IV (King Charles IV’s father) and his three sons marked the downfall of the Capetian Dynasty, but there were still indirect male successors that could become the king. King Charles IV’s nephew Edward III of England declared his claim on the throne because he was related to King Philip IV who was Edward III’...
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... at protecting the wearer from arrows and because of the way the mail was made it made it harder to extract arrows. The Coat of Plates provided good protection against arrows. Although the needle bodkin was the only arrow that penetrated, the wound caused by this would be small and wouldn’t be deadly unless it hit a major organ. The other arrow would have left dents, but they still wouldn’t be deadly. The Plate Armor also had a similar protection to offer to the wearer as the Coat of Plates. Again the needle bodkin also penetrated Plate Armor, but would have a little effect on the wearer. Most knights would have been vulnerable to the longbow in battle. Only the most expensive and best quality armor would be safe from the longbow, but there are still joints and gaps in the armor where the wearer only has mail to protect him so he still wouldn’t be completely safe.
The arrows used in shooting the longbow were the long and short bodkins. The long bodkin was about four inches tall and three inches wide. These were used for piercing through mail. The long bodkins were not used often because they were expensive to make at around four American dollars to make. Soldiers carried around about 8 of these arrows. The short bodkins were about two inches tall and an inch wide. These arrows were used all the time and were used for piercing through plate armor. These were far less expensive at around four American ce...
When the Hundred Years’ War began in 1337, the strength of the French empire declined and the English possessed most of France. Although the war began in 1337, tensions between France and England started centuries earlier. In 1066, William of Normandy, duke of France, defeated the English and became king of England. A century later, conflict arose when Henry II, a great grandson of William, came into power in 1154 and wanted to add to his empire, known as the Angevin Empire, by taking over French territories. Friction mounted as the fighting between Angevin and French territories continued. Finally, King Edward III of England claimed the throne of France in 1328 but was refused, causing war to break out in 1337. The French suffered huge losses in the first period of the Hundred Years’ War. The French cavalry was decimated at Crecy in 1347, the fortress of Calais was lost in 1347, the French army was crushed at Poitiers in 1356, and King John II handed over ⅓ of the French kingdom to the English by the Treaty of Bretigny. Although the French drove out the English b...
In the earlier ages, when Rome still had a strong army and navy, they were able to defend their borders. Their army was so strong, they were able to conquer Greece and prosper for many years. After the armies were gone, knights arose in their place to protect the borders from intruders. Although knights were not directly influenced by Roman armies and navies, they were the next best thing for military and business purposes. Because of Roman help, knights were able to influence today’s military.
Not only was this war between kings, but lesser nobles too were fighting for their own interests, while they fought for their country. Looking back two centuries earlier can be seen as the true cause for this war. When Duke William of Normandy conquered England in 1066, he did so as a subject of the French King. The French speaking English Kings to follow gained more and more land from the English. But the English King still ruled two French provinces, Gascony and Guyenne. In the 14th century, the French king Philip VI demanded that the English return these provinces to the French. When Edward III denied Philip VI of this, saying that Philip's claim to the French thrown was not as strong as Edward's own right to rule both France and England, war broke out.
With the creation of gun powder the Chinese were anxious to use this, in order to do that they needed something to be created so they made the fire lance it was a small cannon on a stick several feet long this is the earliest firearm ever discovered it is thought to be from the late 12th century. This was more of an addition to the soldiers spear than a gun it was not until later that the first hand cannon was made unlike the fire lance this was a weapon of its own and could shoot almost anything that the soldier could jam in the barrel that they could find on the battlefield. Both of these were fired...
The Succession War, as it came to be called, started due to the efforts of the Castilians to prevent Prince Henry's daughter, Juana, from ascending to the throne and in her place set Isabella (Parry, 134). Four years of brutal fighting took...
A weapon is an extension of your body, it can be strong, fast, silent, deadly, powerful and much more. In medieval times weapons and armor such as swords and shields were all key parts in winning battles. The middle ages started after the Roman Empire fell in 476 by barbarians, and the Middle Ages took place in Europe. It started in the 5th century and ended in 15th century. The Middle Ages were dark and dangerous times full of war and many battles took place and there were many different weapons and combat styles used in theses battles.
The clothes worn with a knight’s suit of armor gave both comfort and protection to the knight. The parts of a medieval knight's suit of armor were a complex series of garments, chain mail and iron plate. The pieces of a knight’s suit of armor covered the most exposed parts of a knight's body. Knights would wear under clothes consisted of a linen under-shirt and linen under-pants, woolen stockings covered the legs. A knight's underclothes were important. It prevented the armor from chafing the knight’s skin. A padded garment known by various names such as aketon, consisted of a quilted coat which was either sewn or stuffed with linen or even grass. This served as padding for additional armor worn over the top.
On the 14th of May 1264, the forces of Simon de Montfort, Gloucester and the Londoners were set arrayed against the loyalist forces of King Henry III, Richard of Cornwall and Prince Edward (later to become King Edward I). The loyalists suffered a massive defeat at this Battle of Lewes and among those captured, aside from Richard of Cornwall and perhaps the King (Prestwich indicates the unsure nature of the King's capture 46), were the northern barons (Scottish lords) of Balliol, Bruce and Comyn. (Jenks 132) Prince Edward also became a hostage as part of an exchange after the battle. These same men who fought together and were held captive by the de Montforts would war against each other thirty years later. King Edward I (whom will be referred to as Edward) was not set on instigating a war against Scotland, nor were any of these Scottish lords interested in battling against such a formidable opponent as England. So why did war occur if none of these men were initially motivated for war? A series of unfortunate, but potent events led to the chrysalis of war, which was then allowed to grow and fully develop into a war by the specific actions of individuals. This essay will attempt to draw attention to many of the events which gave rise to war and investigate the complex nature of the individuals who in the end caused war through their acts (intentional and non-intentional).
The origin of the war goes back to the conquest of William for England. In 1066
Long distance weapons were essential to European combat. The main long distance weapons used by Europeans during that time were the longbow and the crossbow. Each form of weaponry had its unique advantages and their pejorative. The long bow (shown in figure 1) was the original form of distance weapons. The term ‘bow’ means to be made from wood, iron or steel. The Welsh, who inhabited England, were the first people to use longbows. Longbows were 6-7 feet long and had a range of 250 yards, and still had the ability to pierce a knight’s armor (Byam 12). A well trained archer could shot 10- 12 arrows in a single minute. Despite these pro’s the longbow had a lot of disadvantages as well. One draw back was only skilled archers, who were costly to train, could use a longbow. Another disadvantage was it didn’t have a ready loaded arrow (Edge 34). The crossbow (shown in figure 2) on the other had been emphatically different. The crossbow had a span of 2-3 feet and could kill a knight on horseback with one shot, because of good aim (Byam 30). Crossbows had ready loaded projectiles, while the longbow didn’t and the crossbow could be used by anyone since it didn’t require any skill. The crossbow did have a down side though, it had slow reloaded because of a crank and it was expensive. Crossbows were also used for other thi...
The Hundred Years War took place between France and England between the years 1337 and 1453, which is ironically one hundred and sixteen years. The war was fought over a couple issues, which include, an English King wanting to claim the French throne and also because the French king Phillip VI wanted to own territories
In May of 1337, the nations were looking for national identity and were attempting to become stronger. This provided the fuel needed for the Hundred Years War that was sparked by Edward III's claim to the French throne. Charles IV succeeded his father Phillip IV the Fair to the French throne, and died leaving no male heir. The 15 year old English king at the time, Edward III, grandson of Phillip the Fair claimed the throne as his own, but the French barons instead placed Charles IV's cousin, Phillip VI of Valois on the throne. This situation provided the start of the war, but was not the only reason behind it. There was a lot of background as to why the war started. The Hundred Years War was not one large war, but many small, continuous wars in a long period of time, lasting roughly 116 years.
The Battle of Agincourt happened because of The Treaty of Bretigny. The Treaty of Bretigny came about because of Henry V’s great-grandfather King Edward III. King Edward III mother was the daughter of Phillip the Fair’s, also known as Phillip II, King of France. Therefore, he felt entitled to rule France. When the French did not honor the Treaty Edward III was angry and battle between England and France followed. England capture the French King named John II and put a ransom on his head for three million gold crowns and three territories, Aquitaine, Poitou, and Calais. The French did not have the gold crowns so they gave hostages to England until they could pay. The hostages ran away so John II turned himself back over to England. A shot time later John II died. John II son did not honor the Treaty, which resulted in another battle with England (Keegan 79).
The Hundred Years War was battles between England and France over the French throne. The war began in 1337 when King Phillip VI of France tried to take English territories in the Duchy of Aquitaine in Southwestern France. There were battles of Chevaucheè tactics which were scorching the Earth, raids, naval battling, and sieges. Several raids occurred in Joan of Arc’s village when she was a child. A devastating raid burned her village to the ground.