Edward’s forces were continually tracked by a much larger French army, until they finally arrived at Crécy in 1346 with a force of 8,000. Battle of CrécyĪfter landing with some 12,000 men, including 7,000 archers and taking Caen in Normandy, Edward III moved northwards. It was perhaps due this continual state of war that so many historical records survive which raise the longbow to legendary status first at Crécy and Poitiers, and then at Agincourt. It is however during Edward III’s reign when more documented evidence confirms the important role that the longbow has played in both English and Welsh history.Įdward III’s reign was of course dominated by the Hundred Years War which actually lasted from 1337-1453. With the conquest of Wales complete, Welsh conscripts were incorporated into the English army for Edward’s campaigns further north into Scotland.Īlthough King Edward I, ‘ The Hammer of the Celts’, is normally regarded as the man responsible for adding the might of the longbow to the English armoury of the day, the actual evidence for this is vague, although he did ban all sports but archery on Sundays, to make sure Englishmen practised with the longbow. During the Anglo-Norman invasion of Wales, it is said that the ‘Welsh bowmen took a heavy toll on the invaders’. The Welsh however, do appear to have been the first to develop the tactical use of the longbow into the deadliest weapon of its day. It is thought that even earlier finds have been uncovered in Scandinavia. Although generally attributed to the Welsh, longbows have in fact been around at least since Neolithic times: one made of yew and wrapped in leather was found in Somerset in 1961. Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset andbegan mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeatedFrench, saying, See, we can still pluck yew! Since 'pluck yew' is ratherdifficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning hasgradually changed to a labiodentals fricative F', and thus the words oftenused in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of thepheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolicgesture is known as "giving the bird.The longbow as we recognise it today, measuring around the height of a man, made its first major appearance towards the end of the Middle Ages. This famous English longbow was made of the nativeEnglish Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as pluckingthe yew" (or "pluck yew"). Without the middle finger it would be impossible to drawthe renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable offighting in the future. Isn't history more fun when you knowsomething about it? Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victoryover the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all capturedEnglish soldiers. "The History of the Middle Finger Salute Well, now.here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it,I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hopethat they, too, will feel edified. The following text was forwarded to me today and I was wondering if anyone knows if it is valid or not? Interesting to think that it may be.
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