[David Hohl]

I'm looking for resources about bows and archery in Medieval Europe, EXCLUDING the rightfully famous English long bow. Were there any particular differences in design or construction between the english war bow and those from, say, Germany and France? I am also interested in hunting bows, not just military ones. I know that the crossbow was very popular, but I don't believe it completely supplanted the regular bow. Are there any artifacts from, say 1300 onwards? Does anyone know if they were generally made with yew, in a round cross-section, or were there other styles?

[Lafayette C Curtis]

Swiss illustrations of Burgundian troops show recurved tips and set-back grips on many of the Burgundian bows, so it''s quite likely that not all medieval European bows had the English longbow's simple compass shape. I don't know yet about whether these recurved longbows had simple, laminated, or composite construction, although at the moment I'm wagering on either simple (steamed and clamped into shape) or two-wood laminates.

[David Hohl]

Yeah, since I posted the above I've found some miniatures that do seem to show quite a few recurves in use, both with and without the set-back handle. Some of the Italian art shows distinct "scroll-ends", i.e. curled into a knob at each nock, though i wouldn't be surprised if that was artistic exaggeration. The art I've seen seems to suggest a round cross-section, but since they're usually painted in miniature, that might be necessary just to make the bow visible. It would be great if there were an artifact or something surviving, but given how much trouble we have finding even the numerous and famous english longbows, that's probably too much to hope.