Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Peer review/English longbow

English longbow

I freely admit that I haven't had much to do with this article; however, I think it's really good and, with some tinkering, could reach A-Class or Featured Article status. I'd like to improve it, and I have some ideas for how to do that, but I'd also like to hear some opinions from experienced editors. Stilgar135 17:29, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Please see automated peer review suggestions here. Thanks, AZ _t 22:43, 30 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Kirill Lokshin

I'm not an expert on this topic by any means, so my suggestions are more of a general nature:

The lead section should be longer—about three paragraphs, usually—and should summarize the entire article.
Using {{Infobox Weapon}} may be appropriate here; there are a number of fields that would make sense for bows.
More inline citation throughout would be a good thing.
Are there any photographs of the actual bows available? Or arrowheads?
The use of bulleted lists should be avoided where possible. The one in the "Tactics" section, in particular, could easily be replaced by prose text and a diagram.
I would actually suggest that an "In popular culture" section might be appropriate here. The longbow is a staple of artistic depictions of the medieval period, so a decently scholarly treatment of it there ought to be possible, I think.
The "See also" section should be trimmed.

I would also suggest asking oldwindybear and Wandalstouring to take a look at this review, as I recall they had some interest in bows. Kirill Lokshin 02:10, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

old windy bear

This article has great potential, but needs some work:

citing, we have nowhere near enough citing and sourcing. In an article such as this, virtually every fact should have a source and cite with it;
the introductory paragraph should be expanded, to the normal three paragraphs;
An "in popular culture" would be quite appropriate here;
the only fact clearly wrong is that Crecy, rather than Agincourt, typified the longbow's triumph over armoured knights, and signaled the onset of a new age in warfare. Henry used the same tactics that had been used at Crecy, except for the stakes driven into the ground in front of the archers on the flanks to make cavalry veer off from the points, and the incredible mud, which did more to defeat the French than the archers did.

Other than these relatively minor points, the article is a good one. I personally would also like to see a comparison in this article between the English longbow, and the Mongol long and compound bows. old windy bear 23:46, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wandalstouring

The section about the Neolithic bows has nothing to do with this weapon. It was adopted from the Vikings (Scandinavia) and derived from the Germanic longbow which had been improved after fatal contact with Eastern horn bows such as the Huns carried. The Vikings already used longbows to a great extend.

Missing is the impact of the longbow on Scottish military. The French king had a Scottish mercenary force (one third of them was equipped with English longbows). Some English longbow archers are also mentioned among the mercenaries of the Teutonic Order, so it would be a good idea to make more research on the impact of this weapon in Europe as a whole.

If possible you could make a comparison section with other longbows of this time and area, like the Nubian longbow (a wooden double-layer bow), the English encountered during the crusades. oldwindybear can perhaps help you. Wandalstouring 00:37, 19 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wandalstouring is right, I also would like to see a section comparing longbows, like the Nubian longbow, the Mongol bows, et al. He is also right that the Neolithic weapon had nothing to do with this bow, and the article should discuss it's impact on Europe as a whole, not just on England. old windy bear 10:30, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a short note on the use of longbows by the Scandinavians Leidang equipment of ship crews. So about half of them had a longbow with 24 arrows.

I found this picture of Nubian archers (they served as mercenaries from the days of the pharaos on. Some of them in the Roman and later Byzanthine Army. [1]

The nubian/kushite god Apedemak is often depicted with archery utensils.Wandalstouring 11:07, 21 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I remember seeing in an exhibit bows of the Abyssinian warriors, circa 650, when they were intervening in the Middle East. Those bows were much like the ones you have linked to. old windy bear 19:45, 29 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]