Bows

Bows
Archery

More Archery pages

This article's completion rating is 2 out of 5. Article structure and content is subject to change as data is still being collected.

This article's completion rating is 2 out of 5. Article structure and content is subject to change as data is still being collected.

Self-bows

Bows in this period are classed as self-bows, being made from a single piece of D section wood, usually yew. Nocks are cut straight into the wood. [HALPIN 2008: p.40-41]

Recreation Guide

800-899	900-979	980-1040	1041-1100
Optional

Art
--
Literature

• [MANLEY 1985]
• [STEPHENSON 2007]

Archaeology

• Waterford, Ireland
• Ballinderry, Ireland, late C10th. [HALPIN 2008: p.184-185] 1 Complete bow.
• Dublin, Ireland, C11th / C12th. [HALPIN 2008: p.184-185] 1 Complete bow, 7 bow fragments.
• Hedeby, Denmark, [PAULSEN 1999] 1 Complete, 6 fragments
• Leiden, Netherlands, 800-950AD [DE STOUTE 2008] 1 Complete bow

Other finds:
Nydem, Vimose and Kragehul, Denmark bog finds also had bows and arrows.

... with deflexed nocks

A deflexed nock is where the nock is deliberately strongly angled towards the string.
Art

• T64 BL Harley f.64r
  
• T84 Vatican Reg.12 f.24v
  

Archaeology
--
Discussion
Almost all of the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts show bows with nocks deflexed away from the archer, the complete reverse of the deflexed nocks found in archaeology.

Re-curved (Reflexed) Self-bow

A re-curve self-bow is where the stave of the bow is deliberately curved away from the string.

Recreation Guide

800-899	900-979	980-1040	1041-1100
Allowable

Archaeology

• Ballinderry, Ireland, late C10th. [HALPIN 2008: p.184-185] 1 Complete bow.
• Hedeby, Denmark, [PAULSEN 1999]

Discussion
Many of the Hedeby bows are shaped this way, along with the Ballinderry bow from Ireland. Paulsen [PAULSEN 1999] makes the case that this is “caused by shrinkage of the soft sapwood in the front”, a theory that is rejected by Halpin [HALPIN 2008: p.61] who cites a number of authors including Hardy who makes the comment that the bows from the Mary Rose were also re-curved and “that no process during the lifetime of the bows, or after deposition, are convincing explanations for this feature”.

Bow Strings

Archaeology

• Wincott Heckett has suggested that a tablet-woven tubular silk cord, dated to mid C12th, from Waterford may be a bowstring. [HALPIN 2008: p.61] Halpin then quotes Soar who suggests that the most common material for bow strings was hemp.
• York, England. A lump of beeswax with a groove caused by rubbing against a thread or string. Walton-Rogers comments that beeswax was often used on bow strings [WALTON ROGERS 1997: p.1785]

Discussion
--

See Also

Catalogue of Bow finds
Archery

References

<nocite> DESTOUTE2008 HALPIN2008 MANLEY1985 PAULSEN1999 STEPHENSON2007 WALTON1997 </nocite> <biblio force=false>#Template:Bib</biblio>