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Archery, medieval style. |
Archery at the Museum of London by Jennie Anderson |
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© Companions of the Longbow |
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On a recent trip to the Museum of London I spotted some archery-related exhibits, so I took a few photos! It’s a great museum; well worth a visit if you’re ever in the area, and best of all, it’s free to get in! Hoorah! |
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Medieval Leather Arrow Spacer
This is a clever little bit of kit; a thick leather arrow spacer to fit into your cloth arrow bag, to keep the arrows nice and separate in order to stop accidental damage. I believe Mark constructed something very similar to fit into his arrow bag! No coincidence there though, he did his research!
If you look closely at the spacer, you’ll see a triangular notch cut from the edge of each circular hole that holds an arrow. I presume this is to grip a fletching from each arrow, and to make sure that the fletchings are all oriented in such a way that no two are able to touch and get damaged. Clever bunnies. |
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Medieval Leather Bracer
Not a great photo, admittedly, but I thought it was good to see that bracer technology has pretty much stayed true to medieval form!
This is just a simple piece of leather, strengthened along the middle section to absorb the string-slap, and with holes for a leather lace to tie it on. |
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Lovely Lovely Pointy Medieval Weapons
Just a general shot of the display case I spent most time drooling over at the Museum of London; the medieval weaponry finds. Yummy.
Note the leather bracer and spacer to the left, but also the arrowheads above them and the bollock daggers at the bottom of the case. Lovely.
Click on the picture to the right see a larger version. |
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Stone Age Archery Photos
I thought it would be interesting to include some evidence of earlier forms of archery! Here we have some modern reconstructions of arrows that are intended to emulate what modern archaeologists believe were used in the period between 8500BC and 6500BC, which is the period that these flint arrowheads date from. |
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The arrowheads were found on Wimbledon Common and in the Thames at Twickenham. I believe they are more properly known as microburins, and they are barbed on one side only. The reconstructed arrows were made by Michael Ashington, they have ash and pine shafts and are fletched with buzzard and swan feathers.
Personally, however fascinating it is to see a reconstruction like this in a museum, I believe it is very important to remember to question the accuracy of any archaeological reconstruction and not take it as ‘gospel’. In spite of the reconstructor’s best efforts and genuine skill, reconstruction can sometimes be based on ambiguous evidence that is unavoidably being interpreted from a subjective and modern-minded point of view. |
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For example, here we have a very beautiful set of reconstructed arrows, but I would question the authenticity of the beautiful whipping on the arrow fletched with swan feathers. To me it just doesn’t seem convincing given the early date, and the buzzard feather–fletched arrow just feels more ‘right’. There isn’t any indication in the exhibit about where the reconstructor got the information from about stone-age arrow manufacture, so he could have just made a best guess, and unfortunately that could be wildly inaccurate. Although, to be fair, it is unlikely that there is any info available, as the wooden shafts, feathers and sinew used would not ordinarily survive being buried in the ground for 8000 – 10,000 years.
But perhaps I am underestimating the capability of fletchers in that period! Perhaps it is wrong to think that medieval archers were any more technologically advanced when it comes to making an arrow! What do you think? It’s good to talk. |
