Reelo
Sr Member
As a student in archaeology, I'm really interested in all things historic.
Last summer I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop where people could build semi-authentic bows from different time periods.
We could chose from:
Mesolithic "Holmegard" style bow (8000-5000 BC)
Neolithic "Bodman" style bow (4000-2500 BC)
Alamannic "Oberflacht" style longbow (500 AD)
Viking "Haithabu" style longbow (800 AD)
English "Marie-Rose" style Longbow (16. century)
I guess not many of you know these exact types of bows, but maybe some people here are into archery and actually dig this thread. The bows are authentic replicas of the historic ones in the respect that the measurements and everything are accurate.
But we didn't use original wood types (which would have been yew in most cases, as it's THE single best wood for bows and people back then knew it) Yew nowadays is very hard to come by and its growth-pattern is different from what it once was. So we used american Hickory for our bows, which is among the best woods for bows, easy to use / shape, very forgiving of mistakes and nigh unbreakeable.
We also used modern tools for working the wood.
The bowstring was also handmade, using a traditional method, but a modern material.
I chose to make a Viking-style longbow, because I always loved Vikings and not many people know that they were excellent archers. Their bows also look a little more intricate than regular medieval longbows. They have pre-bent, trumpet-style "horns" on both ends, actually.
Anyway, when the string is in place (you should always loosen the string when not using the bow) it measures 184 cm, which makes the bow higher than myself. It has a drawing-strength of about 50lbs, which is less than the historic ones (not by much tho) but still VERY powerful. The bow is quite stiff and shooting is quite demanding, but fun.
Here are some pics (finally):
Enjoy!
Loosened string:
notched string:
Closeup of the top "horn":
Closeup of the middle section:
Last summer I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop where people could build semi-authentic bows from different time periods.
We could chose from:
Mesolithic "Holmegard" style bow (8000-5000 BC)
Neolithic "Bodman" style bow (4000-2500 BC)
Alamannic "Oberflacht" style longbow (500 AD)
Viking "Haithabu" style longbow (800 AD)
English "Marie-Rose" style Longbow (16. century)
I guess not many of you know these exact types of bows, but maybe some people here are into archery and actually dig this thread. The bows are authentic replicas of the historic ones in the respect that the measurements and everything are accurate.
But we didn't use original wood types (which would have been yew in most cases, as it's THE single best wood for bows and people back then knew it) Yew nowadays is very hard to come by and its growth-pattern is different from what it once was. So we used american Hickory for our bows, which is among the best woods for bows, easy to use / shape, very forgiving of mistakes and nigh unbreakeable.
We also used modern tools for working the wood.
The bowstring was also handmade, using a traditional method, but a modern material.
I chose to make a Viking-style longbow, because I always loved Vikings and not many people know that they were excellent archers. Their bows also look a little more intricate than regular medieval longbows. They have pre-bent, trumpet-style "horns" on both ends, actually.
Anyway, when the string is in place (you should always loosen the string when not using the bow) it measures 184 cm, which makes the bow higher than myself. It has a drawing-strength of about 50lbs, which is less than the historic ones (not by much tho) but still VERY powerful. The bow is quite stiff and shooting is quite demanding, but fun.
Here are some pics (finally):
Enjoy!
Loosened string:
notched string:
Closeup of the top "horn":
Closeup of the middle section:
lol
