longbow

There's a waterfall called 'High Force' in Durham. We have a boat in the North East called a Coble,they are of Norse design (beach landers) is Coble a Scandanavian word?

Thank's for that,we also call streams 'Becks' .

This Link has an extensive list of the Saxon,Norse and Brythonic place names in the North. What do the Norse call Streams?we call them Burns up here,is it a Norse word?

Happy birthday,have a good un!

Havent had time to read the thread but if it hasnt allready been mentioned,the Viking's gave us a trading network the envy of the Europe, which eventually made the Saxon Aenglish a very rich people. pax

Nephele,Breagh Winslow looks like my kind of lady thanks! Thanks for the kind words folks! Andy

The Horn nock. The head. A new Towton head and a swept out type 16 from Hector Cole. Both these heads are new discoveries,the type 16 used to have closed wing's but this is now believed to have been a mistake,the heads found had closed wings but thats what happens when you shoot outswept wings through armour . Type 16. Swept out type 16. The new Towton head. Nasty bugger's,i sent the Towton to a friend in America so no piccies of that head on a shaft i'm afraid.I'll post one when he sends me pic's of the arrow he makes with it. Swept out Type 16. 1/2" Poplar shaft with a 3/8 nock. 31.5" from shoulder to nock. 33.7" from tip of head to nock. 8.5" white Swan feathers. 2" Horn insert. Thanks for looking. Pax

Here's the some of the original arrows,there all 1/2" bobtailed and range from 28 to 34" long,made from Aspen what we now call Poplar wood.It's a strong wood ideal for heavy shafts and it's a great wood for staining,really takes the colour well. Fot comparison here's a pic of my usuall 3/8's shaft and a 1/2"Tudor warshaft. The shaft is Poplar which is bobtailed so the bottom (head) 12" are 1/2" gradually coming down to a 3/8" at the nock end. The heads are Type 9B's hand forged by John Marshall.The original Type 9 arrow head which these medieval points are based on is a Roman point for Balista bolt's. Spec's are, 8.5" Peacock fletch 33" Poplar shaft,1/2" tapered to 3/8" nock. 9b hand forged WarHeads(37.99grms) Red silk Whipping. [

The sword in question has a blade shape similar to the Dadao but the weapon has a one handed grip so i would say it's closer to a cheap medieval Falchion sword,not all Falchions had the fancy curve to the tip some of them were just squared off rusty pieces of metal.The blade shape is a common design whats very heavy and good for chopping,it's not a sophisticated weapon by any means,these thing's were used by people who couldnt afford better or didnt want to be there,i'm sure they had those in Rome too with swordsmiths providing accordingly . It's certainly not a weapon used by Gladiators in the games,but the scenes a criminal execution not a matched fight. L

Mine arrived today safe and well,great map! i just need to find a space she'll let me put now . Cheers! longbow

The movies now been removed from the site i watched it on,copyright and all that .

I enjoyed it more than the travesty that was the 'King Arthur' movie but thats not saying much. I thought Kevin Mckidd was comical as Wulfila,he should stick to Roman roles,Aishwarya Rai however was a joy to watch (wow,she's pretty) , John Hannah is his usual bumbling self,i allways feel an urge to punch him! I liked the look of the Roman costumes but the Germans get the standard Barbarian treatment,plenty of Wolf pelts and even Horns on the helmets! My heart leapt when the Draco's of the 9th Legion came over the Northtumbrian hills only to be dissapointed by the ridiculous way the battle ends just as the Romano Brits get stuck in . The Movie's about as good as the book,rubbish. The Augusta,i sent you a PM.

I understand that Caldrail but speaking from experience of shooting Longbows,Recurve's and Crossbows in dense Forest i would say the Crossbow was the easiest to use, but obviously the downside is the reload time.If your going to use any type of Artillery in those conditions the Manuballista is as good as anything else,except maybe a Indian ambush Bow no bigger than 50" Nock to Nock but i dont think they had any of those . This Deen (we call woods deens were i live) is were i learned to shoot (Poach ),its quite dense in the thick bits and allmost impossible to use a ELB (mines 76") its easier with a shorter recurve but i found a Crossbow to be easiest. Not that i'd use a crossbow through choice,nasty weapon what has no class... L

The British Museum archeologists say its the Bretwalda Raedwald but they base that assumption on the Wetstone being a Sceptre and the Iron grill being a Standard.There's a passage in Bedes history's to suggest a Standard is a symbol of the Bretwaldaship but nothing about the Wetstone being a Sceptre,or if a Bretwalda knew what a Sceptre was. But the 'Standard' in the grave has a iron cage unlike any Vexillum,Signum or Tufa so it may not be a standard. Whoever he was, he was buried between 620-640AD'ish so looking at the East Anglian Kings from the period it could be, Bretwalda Raedwald (624) King Eorpwald (627) King Sigebert (636) King Ecgric (637) Or even Ricberht,a Pagan who killed king Eorpwald in Battle. Bretwwalda Raedwalds son,Raegenhere was killed in Battle in 617 AD. Eni,Bretwalda Raedwalds brother,he was father to four East Anglian kings! Died 630AD. Who Knows?

Just ordered mine,with the exchange rate at 1 GBP = 1.94824USD its a very good price ,you would never get a map like this over here for that price.

Infantry could carry the Manuballista easy enough,why dont you think its possible to use them in a forest? L

Believe me,its not easy to get them out of sponge targets never mind flesh .Historically the Horse killers were not glued onto the shafts,i do it because i dont plan on shooting any horses,Frenchmen however..... There's a little hole in the socket for 'pinning' the head on,this way the archer can pull the shaft out,snapping the pin and leave the head in the animal,it takes too long to cut them out on a Battlefield.The heads were the cheapest part of the arrow,there not now bu they were then . If you click on the image it will upload in higher resolution,may take a few mo's i'm afraid but you can see the pin hole at the base iof the socket. As for shooting these big heads,as you can imagine you dont get anywhere the near the distance you would normally get with a smaller point,they tend to go up to a lower arc then plunge down rapidly,a lot moreso than normal. With the right Bow you can shoot these heads straight for around 70mts before the arrow will start to drop,so i would aim high just for the trajectory of the shot,aiming plum for his chest.The point of the big head is to bleed the animal to death,put a hole in a horse that big and he'll die in a few moments,causing havoc as he thrashes.

Yes mate,the 14C is the Swallowtail. Miguel,all those heads are hand forged by a Arrowsmith,they are exact reproductions of Medieval English warheads and quite expensive . You can buy them online from Hector Coles,Mark Stretton and Simon Stanley.I get mine from John in Sheffield but he's underwater at the minute. You can get Drop forged heads for a lot cheaper but there pretty crap,and not Accurate to say the least. I get most my gear from Steve Stratton,but i buy my heads from John Marshall who doesnt have a website i'm afraid. DIY archery The top head is a hand forged Type 7 Bottom head is a drop forged type 7,quite the difference,especially in weight. Here's a Type 1 Broadhead what i'm saving for a Livery arrow,Livery arrow is the same as the ones above but with Goose/Swan fletching,no Laqcuer and a 1/2" Ash shaft.

Swallowtail 37.47grms. 3/8" Ash shaft. 7.5" barred turkey 1/4" tail. Green thread whipped twice per inch. second arrow. Type 8B 25.36grms 3/8 ash shaft 7.5" barred turkey 1/4" tail. Green thread whipped five times per inch. Take care folks Andy

I used Guttermans top stich to whip the Feathers (the green one this time). The thread needs protecting from the rain etc so i coat mine in PVA glue,i like using pva because it dries clear and leaves a nice shine over the thread. Now the fun bit ,these heads are hand forged by John Marshall. Type 8B for armour penetration. Type 7 for mail. type 14C for Nags. Cut the shaft for the arrow socket,you want to leave as much wood in the socket as possible. Again degrease the metal and wood with the acetone then glue the head into place with a two part epoxy,i use Araldite.

Hello folks, Finnaly got some spare time so decided to waist it making arrows . You dont need many tools to make arrows,just the basics and a baby vice will do for a servicable job. First thing you need to do is find which way the grain travels through the wood,you want to follow the grain when you make a 2" cut for the Insert. You need to file and sand the Buffalo Horn until it's no thicker than 1/16",you can make it wedge shaped if you want but i prefer a nice straight sliver. Pinch some of this stuff from your girls dressing table and pour over the horn and the cut in the wood,nail varnish remover has Acetone in it which is a great wood degreaser . Once dry (it takes seconds for the Acetone to evaporat) use a two part epoxy glue and liberally cover the horn and push some into the bottom of the cut,push the horn into place and clamp shut for a few hours,ideally 24hrs. When cured you need to file and sand the excess horn away. Once the Horn is tidy its time to smooth down the shaft,i use 120,320 and 600 grit paper then finish with 000 steel wool,it only takes a few moments and the shaft feels silky smooth afterwards. Once prepped its time to apply the stain,i like my shafts quite lite for English arrows so i use three coats of Danish oil and finish with a spray on Lacquer. After the staining the grain can lift somewhat but this is easily sorted out with a quick buffing with the steel wool. For Fletching i'm using these Barred Turkey feather's (cant get any Goose until september!). Cut the fletching's to shape then arrange the shaft in the jig and glue on the feather,taking care about positioning,its easy to ruin a arrow at this stage.

LO chaps, I think the Dane axe is a impressive weapon,it has fearsome power if the Blow is deliverd right and like Neil said it could cut people in half!People,Horses whatever stood in a Huscarl way had better be good or he's in trouble . I've allways quite liked the Francisca throwing Axe,its a good way to brake a formation your about to plow into and i like it's sexy curves Is a Glaive a Axe?

Its WarBow not LongBow (There is a difference),a livery arrow loosed out of a military spec Bow (120-170lb) will penetrate Scutoms and go through Roman Chain like butter .If you have a scutom your willing to donate i will happily have this tested but the tests been done recently have penetrated Brigandine and riveted mail with all the undergarments from a shorter distance but i'm will to guess the single board of the Roman shield wouldnt stand up to the missile,curved or not.You have to remember the arrow is designed to penetrate,its not just a straight shaft with a armour piercing head,the shafts were barraled so all the weight is at the front behind the Point,which is shaped to pierce metal. This weekend saw the John Holder challenge competition at Batsford,the challenge is a clout shoot with military spec arrows which weigh 2,100grains a normal Longbow arrow weighs around 800-1000grains.I have a 90lb Bow what is capable of shooting arrows weighing around 1,700grains 200yds,i loosed a livery arrow out of it and it was flat as a fart,miliatry arrows need military Bows to be effective.I make my own arrows out of 3/8s shafts,the 1/2" shafts look like spears next to them . 3/8s 1/2" and a 3/8" The Livery arrow specs are 32-36" Bobtailed or barrleled Shaft (Ash,Poplar anything heavy) 2" horn insert in the nock Whipped in red silk thread 8" fletch of Goose,Peackock or Swan hand forged head weighing no less than 600grains Livery arrows Englands Army's from the HYW's were professional,there was peasants in the ranks but they were all well trained and very well paid soldiers,same as in our army Today . Link with more info on Livery arrows

How'd you come to that conclussion? do you ride Caldrail? The Horned saddle is good but with stirrips you can lift your seat out of the saddle which gives more impact to your crouched lance,doesnt it? OK