Because it took a lifetime of training to effectively use a longbow.
Why did only the English use longbows?
Most chroniclers seemed to believe the longbow was the superior weapon if one could find the trained archers (although I guess this may be English bias). England got itself those archers by dint of the famed royal proclamation that all able-bodied men should practice the bow on every holiday.
Why did the French not adopt the longbow?
The French did start to train some infantry in the use of the longbow in the late 1300s but the king was most concerned about peasants having such powerful weapons and the idea was dropped. The training adopted by the English was rigorous.
Why did the English use longbows instead of recurve?
The use of large bows allowed longer draw lengths, and more stored energy for the same draw weight.
Why was the longbow important in the Hundred Years War?
The longbow was vital in the victory of the English over the French in the Hundred Years’ War. The ability of the archers to shoot more arrows per minute than crossbowmen and the long range of the weapon gave the outnumbered English an advantage in the Battles of Crecy and Agincourt.
Did the English invent the longbow?
The longbow was invented by the Celts in Wales around 1180 C.E. but was not really used by the English military until the 1300s. The longbow is an incredibly strong piece of wood roughly 6 feet tall and 5/8 inch wide. The wood would be preferably yew, which was hardened and cured for 4 years for best results.
When did the English start using longbows?
…the Middle Ages, and the English longbow, introduced to European battlefields in the 14th century, that made the arrow a formidable battlefield missile. The longbow, which seems to have originated in Wales, was as tall as a man and the arrow about half that length, the famous cloth-yard shaft.
When did the English stop using the longbow?
1595
In the 16th century the handgun replaced the longbow. The first handguns were primitive but they gradually improved and by the 1580s the longbow was obsolete. The English navy officially stopped using the longbow in 1595. The last battle to involve the longbow was Tippermuir in Scotland in 1644.
Who used the longbow?
the English
In the Middle Ages the English were famous for their very powerful longbows, used en masse to great effect against the French in the Hundred Years’ War, with notable success at the battles of Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and Agincourt (1415).
How accurate was the English longbow?
Accuracy. For its day the longbow possessed both long range and accuracy, though seldom both at once. Scholars estimate the longbow’s range at between 180 to 270 yards. It is unlikely however, that accuracy could be ensured beyond 75-80 yards.
Why was the longbow better than the crossbow?
In fact, during field-battles the longbow had a clear advantage over its counterpart. Not only could a longbow fire further than a crossbow – at least until the latter half of the 14th century – but a longbowman’s average rate of fire was significantly greater than that of a crossbowman.
What was the longbow used for?
The longbow was used in the Middle Ages both for hunting and as a weapon of war and reached its zenith of perfection as a weapon in the hands of English and Welsh archers.
When was the longbow last used in battle?
1644
After three hundred years the dominance of the longbow in weaponry was coming to an end and giving way to the age of muskets and guns. The last battle involving the longbow took place in 1644 at Tippermuir in Perthshire, Scotland during the English Civil War.
When was the longbow first used in warfare?
The first documented occasion of a long bow being used in battle was in 633 in a battle between the Welsh and the Mercians. It also impressed Edward I during his campaigns against the Welsh. It is said that he incorporated Welsh conscript archers in his later battles in Scotland.