Changes
Bows
,{{Archery}}
==Self-bows==
Bows in the Viking Age were made from a single piece of ‘D’ section wood, usually yew if available [HALPIN Halpin 2008: p.40-41] (Dublin, Hedeby, Wassenaar), but elm (Dublin, Hedeby) and even scots pine (Dublin) were also used. Bow varied in strength up to around 100lbs (Hedeby). <br>
Bows were made by working down a wooden stave so that the heartwood formed the bulk of the bow, giving it its strength, while a layer of sapwood was retained along the bow’s back to give the bow more elasticity under tension and to help prevent it from breaking. <br>
Many of the bows were extremely simple and we have a number of finds of bows that still have the bumps and branch accretions left from the removed branches along their backs (Wassenaar, Hedeby). <br>
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Almost all of the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts show bows with nocks bent away from the archer (reflexed), the complete reverse of the deflexed nocks found in archaeology.<br>
Many of the bows found in Hedeby have the 'Viking' style of nock that are bent towards the archer (deflexed), along with the Ballinderry bow from Ireland. Paulsen [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 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”.<br>
=== Bow Strings ===
These were probably made from hemp, linen or silk. The evidence seems to point at hemp being the most commonly used material (Halpin 2008, p.61). Bow strings were usually 3 to 4mm thick and made from 3 ply twine (Altdorf, Switzerland [Hörnig 2005: p.110])<br>
Wincott Heckett has suggested that a tablet-woven tubular silk cord, dated to mid C12th, from Waterford may be a bowstring. [HALPIN Halpin 2008: p.61] Halpin then quotes Soar who suggests that the most common material for bow strings was hemp. In York, England, a lump of beeswax was found with a groove possibly caused by rubbing against a thread or string. Walton-Rogers comments that beeswax was often used on bow strings [WALTON ROGERS Walton Rogers 1997: p.1785]
==Using the Bow==
== References ==
{{Ref|De Stoute 2008|x}}{{Ref|Gebühr 2000|x}}{{Ref|Halpin 2008|x}}{{Ref|Hőrnig 2005|x}}{{Ref|Manley 1985|x}}{{Ref|Nicolle 1984|x}}{{Ref|Paulsen 1999|x}}{{Ref|Stephenson 2007|x}}{{Ref|Walton Rogers 1997|x}}
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