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A comparison between the Bow of the Ancient Archers and the
Modern Rifle-Guns.
THE dexterity of the Ancient Archers was celebrated by the
Poets of their own times in songs, many of which are yet
extant; in one of these (see page 107,) William Cloudesley
is said to have shot an apple off his son's head at 120
paces distance: the same story is told of William Tell, an
Archer of Switzerland, to whom the Swiss are said to owe in
a great measure their present freedom. These feats seem at
this day mere poetical fictions, and to have originated
merely in the heated imaginations of the Bards of those
days: but if we consult a very learned author, the
celebrated Roger Ascham, who in the year 1544 wrote his
Toxophilus, or Treatise upon Archery, we shall find
some reason to give credit to these marvellous tales.
As Ascham's Treatise is extremely scarce, I hope it will not
be disagreeable to the curious Reader if I give some
extracts from it: to me indeed this seems necessary, in
order to understand at all the effects of the bow, and the
attention the Archers shewed to their weapons. He begins
with the Bracer, or leathern guard, worn by Archers
upon the left arm, to prevent it from being cut or bruised
by the string of the bow: this was in his time precisely the
same as is used by our Modern Archers; but he recommends
shooting without any bracer, as its use may be superseded by
giving the bow a greater bend *, viz. about nine
inches. The shooting-glove was likewise the same as
at present. The bow-string was, (if I understand him
rightly) thicker in the middle that at the ends, and was
made either of silk or hemp; it seems, sometimes, to have
been platted like the thong of a whip, at others twisted
like a rope, and to have been made of different thicknesses,
for different purposes; small for long shots, and thick for
short ones; the middle, however, (where the notch of the
arrow was placed,) was required at all times to be perfectly
round.
The bow, he recommended to be made from the bole of
the tree; that at first it should be made clumsy, and
afterwards dressed into a more perfect shape; its strength
ought to be such, that the Archer, with a moderate, (though
not very slight) exertion, could draw an arrow to the head.
As to the materials of which it should be made, he
reprobates every thing except yew. It appears from other
authorities, that the length of a bow was generally five
feet eight inches; but this was no invariable rule, for I
have seen them both longer and shorter.
The arrow was made of ash, oak, or birch, and was of
different weight and magnitude, according to the different
purposes it was intended for; a weak Archer or one who shot
† under-hand, requiring a lighter shaft than a strong
man who shot ‡ over-hand; the length of the arrow was
likewise various, but was generally from 27 inches to a
yard; the longest arrow was used in war, and seems to have
been a yard §. The feather of the shaft, was
generally a goose's feather, tho' some-
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