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Thread: Steed and shield——Famous campaigns between infantry and cavalry

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[quote=TRAVELLERMIKE,229767]Jimmy, You bring such interesting subjects to this forum, you may be interested to know of a particular weapon that turned the balance of power between the English and the French Knights many centuries ago - the Longbow.

One story told in medieval times was that an arrow fired from a long bow could penetrate four inches into oak. Recent tests have shown that this anecdote is true when the arrow is fired close up. From 200 metres, a longbow arrow penetrated over one inch of solid oak – more than sufficient power to penetrate the armour worn by soldiers. Plate armour gave more protection but could still be penetrated from 100 metres. The maximum range of a long bow was 400 metres but at this distance, it was far less effective.

The power of the longbow has been carried down the centuries by the rudest of jestures - the predominantly english 'two fingered salute' (not as used as the 'v for victory' gesture).  This waving of the first two fingers of the right hand was a gesture of defiance shown by english archers to the french to signify that they still had their bow-string fingers - the French had a practice of cutting them off prisoners in order to 'disarm' longbow archers.

Many gruesome battles were fought whose names still have power today - Agincourt, Crecy, to name but two.  Many times over, Knights in the kind of shining armour your pictures illustrate were decimated by this terrifyingly simple weapon of war.[/quote]

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