MEANS BY WHICH SKILL IN ARCHERY WAS ACQUIRED.
An archer made by long training, &c.
A successful archer could only be constituted by long training, strength, and address, we need not therefore wonder that the practice of the long-bow was not more copied by our neighbours, as the French pertinaciously adhered to the use of the cross-bow.
Every man had arms.
Etienne di Perlin, a Frenchman who wrote an account of a tour in England in 1558, says:—“The husbandmen leave their bucklers and swords, or sometimes their bow, in the corner of the field, so that every one in this land bears arms;” and it is also stated that all the youth and manhood of the yeomanry of England were engaged in the practice of the long-bow.
Public matches.
Public exhibitions of shooting with the bow continued during the reigns of Charles II. and James II., and an archer’s division, at least till within these few years, formed a branch of the Artillery Company. The most important society of this kind now existing is “The Royal Company of Archers, the King’s body-guard of Scotland.” The exact time of its institution is unknown, but it is referred by the Scottish antiquarians to the reign of their James I.
Causes of bad shooting.
Roger Ascham, in “Toxophilos,” states that the main difficulty in learning to shoot, arises from having acquired and become confirmed in previous bad habits; so that, “use is the onlye cause of all faultes in it, and therefore children more easelye and soner may be taught to shoote excellently then men, because children may be taught to shoote well at the first, menne have more paine to unlearne their ill uses than they have labour afterwarde to come to good shootinge;” and after having enumerated a long list of faults ordinarily committed, he thus proceeds to describe the secret of shooting straight with the long-bow.
Shooting depends on the eye.
“For having a man’s eye alwaye on his marke, is the onlye waye to shoote straighte, yea, and I suppose so redye and easye a waye, if it be learned in youth and confirmed with use, that a man shall never misse therein. Men doubt yet in loking at the marke what way is best, whether betwixt the bow and the stringe, above or beneath his hande, and manye wayes moo. Yet it maketh no greate matter which waye a man loke at his marke, if it be joined with comlye shooting. The diversitye of mens standing and drawing causeth divers men loke at their marke divers wayes; yet they all had a mans hand to shoote straighte if nothinge els stoppe. So that cumlynesse is the onlye judge of best lokinge at the marke. Some men wonder whye in castinge a man’s eye at the mark, the hande should go streight. Surely if he considered the nature of a man’s eye, hee woulde not wonder at it. The hand obeys the eye.For this I am certaine of, that no servaunt to his maister, no child to his father, is so obedient as everye joynte and peece of the bodye is to do whatsoever the eye biddes. The eye is the guide, the ruler, and the succourer of all the other parts. The hande, the foote, and other members dare do nothinge withoute the eye, as doth appear on the night and darcke corners. The eye is the very tongue wherewith witte and reason doth speake to everye parte of the bodye, and the witte doth not so soone signifye a thinge by the eye, as every part is redye to followe, or rather prevent the bidding of the eye. This is plaine in manye thinges, but most evident in fence and feighting, as I have heard men saye. There every parte standing in feare to have a blowe, runnes to the eye for help, as younge children do to the mother; the foote, the hande, and all wayteth upon the eye. If the eye bid the hand eyther beare of or smite, or the foote eyther go forward or backeward, it doth so. And that which is most wonder of al, the one man lokinge stedfastlye at the other mans eye and not at his hand, wil, even as it were, rede in his eye wher he purposeth to smyte next, for the eye is nothing els but a certain windowe for wit to shoote out her heade at. This wonderfull worke of God in making all the members so obedient to the eye, is a pleasant thing to remember and loke upon: therefore an archer may be sure in learninge to loke at his marke when hee is younge alwayes to shoote streight.”
The following description of the English archer is from an ancient treatise on Martial Discipline:—
Archer to wear easy dress.
“The yeoman hadde, at those dayes, their lymmes at libertye, for their hoseyn were then fastened with one point, and their jackes were long, and easy to shote in, so that they mighte draw bowes of great strength, and shote arrowes of a yarde long. Captens and officers should be skilful of that most noble weapon, Captains to see that bows &c., were in good order.and to see that their soldiers according to their draught and strength have good bows, well nocked, well strynged, everie stringe whippe in their nocke, and in the myddes rubbed with wax, braser and shuting glove, some spare strings trymed as aforesaid, everie man one shefe of arrows, with a case of leather defensible against the rayne, Twenty-four arrows to each man.and in the same shefe fower and twentie arrows, whereof eight of them should be lighter than the residue, to gall and astoyne the enemy with the hailshot of light arrows, before they shall come within range of their harquebuss shot.”
Encouraged from the pulpit.
The subject of archery was not deemed, in those days, an unsuitable theme for the pulpit, as may be seen by the following extract from one of the seven sermons (the sixth) preached before Edward VI., within the preaching place in the palace of Westminster, on the 12th of April, 1549, by that patriotic reformer, Bishop Latimer. With honest, plain spoken words, in the midst of his discourse he breaks off—
“Men of England, in times past, when they would exercise themselves, (for we must needs have some recreation, our bodies can not endure without some exercise), they were wont to goe abroad in the fieldes a shooting; but now it is turned into glossing, gulling, and whooring within the house. The arte of shooting hath bene in times past much esteemed in this realme, it is a gift of God that He hath geven us to excell all other nations withall, it hath been God’s instrument whereby He hath geven us many victories against our enemies. But now we have taken up whooring in townes, instead of shooting in the fieldes. A wonderous thing that so excellent a gift of God should be so little esteemed. I desire you, my Lordes, even as ye love the honour and glory of God, and entend to remove his indignation, let there be sent forth some proclamation, some sharpe proclamation to the justices of peace, for they doe not thier dutie, justices now be no justices, there be many good actes made for this matter already. Charge them upon their allegiance that this singular benefite of God may be practised, and that it be not turned into bolling, glossing, and whooring within the townes: for they be negligent in executing these laws of shooting. Training of Bishop Latimer.In my time my poore father was as diligent to teach me to shoote as to learne me any other thing, and so I think other men did their children. He taught me how to draw, how to lay my body in my bow, and not to draw with strength of armes as other nations doe, but with strength of the body. I had my bowes bought me according to my age and strength, as I encreased in them, so my bowes were made bigger and bigger: for men shall never shoot well except they be brought up in it. It is a goodly arte, a wholesome kinde of exercise, and much commended in phisicke.”
The following is another extract from the same sermon:—
How estimated by the people.
“I came once myself to a place, riding on a journey homeward from London, and I sent word over night into the towne that I would preach there in the morning, because it was a holiday, and methought it was an holidayes work. The church stood in my way, and I took my horse and my company, and went thither, (I thought I should have found a great company in the church,) and when I came there, the church door was fast locked. I tarryed there halfe an houre and more, at last the key was found, and one of the parish comes to me and said: ‘Sir, this is a busie day with us, we cannot heare you, it is Robin Hood’s day. The parish are gone abroad to gather for Robin Hood. I pray you let them not.’ I thought my rochet should have been regarded, though I were not: but it would not serve, it was faine to give place to Robin Hood’s men.”