The commonwealth., 1912-03-14
ARLEEHY In ENGLAND.
Few Eng|!shmnn Tanqhi and Studied
:he Use Of TEe Few and Arrow.

tleeth ofttimes fer,
2ut the fnole's bolte and The marke
few sim IS ner
th4 re'ort Of az ignorant n1an tc the
united arrow Of an unskii'ed arch
~. BIO is fheir explanation of
he differe ce between testimony
nj argument: '.Ta- tim4ny IS like
the shot Of the ,ong-bow. which
owes its efficacp 10 the force Of the
a'.' er; ar nrfert IS Ike the shot of
=, foss-bow, equally foreible, wheth-
-r discharged fy dwar f o. a giant ="
The Scandinavian skalds claim for
heir counfry's heroes superior skill
in archery Certainly he bow was
4 use throughout the British Isles
enturieS before he coming of the
mans. Offrid, kind of Norrhum-
ri nd, was killed by an arrow in a
,att of 633 King Allied had a
4rge number Of :.rchers III his army j..
edmund, king of the East Ang ,es,
net his death Fl ON Danish arrows.
No one could bend the bow of Will
lam the Conqueror. Under Henry
II the bow contributed materially to
the conquest of Ireland. In the days
of chivalry the usage Of the bow was
essential in the education of any
Gentleman. Chaucer says Of Thopas:
"He was a good archere." English
nen scorned the cross-bow, as sign
If effeminacy. Perhaps the fact
hat a cross-bow caused the death Of
,ichard the Lion Hearted heiyhten-
d the English hatred Of that weap-
~. It the battle of CresSy (1346)
hen a shower Of rain wetted the
i,gS If he Genoese boNmen and
evented their usual execution, the
ings of the English l'nw-bows
we're undamaged. Pr, baby this
"a because the long-hoWmen always
ept a canvas bow-case to draw over
Ell b W. " hen they were nof IN
= a rate. though the cross
W was used in af er years by f G.
shuen VIII, battIed on the sea, it
vas cons dered unm,nly t. use L H.
port. r. :, me- rei,.ns ii heavy I'll Z
,as intiictei 0aon any sr5on Hbo
,ept . eros bow III b. house. in
rhe thir eenth century every able
D died man was commanded to own
4 iOue-bow, With sharp arrows It he
iy<eIt without the royal forests,
With round headed ores if he dweit
within. The latter precautiou W@a
f,r the sake Of the kings deer. In
he fit1h year Of Eda aru " every
'nglishrn IL was commanded to have
ii bow cf h oe9u height. At AgiE-
e.urt the t>nrii8ll arrows were d tnil
v4rd in length Carew says OF Cor
nj r arrows tsat their Shaft was &
9th ward m length and fog ST. enagiEl,
they would pierce any ordinary ar
'nonr, and one r bert Arundel,
whpm | well knew, could shoot
welve score PAGES with his right
nond, with his left, and from behind
his head" The old ballads say that
Robin Hoods men had a hundred
'.sheafs of COOS arrows" each an ell
long, and adorned with peacock S
feathers. Chaucer, describing the
~quire's yeomen, says:
"And he was clad in cote and hode
of greene;
A sheafe of peacocke arrows bright
and shene
Under his belt he bare full thrifte-
ly."
Henry VIII showed great skill in
archery on the Field Of the Cloth Ct
Gold. When Cavendish bore this
monarch news Of the deauh of Car
dinal Wolsey, he found him occu-
pi. d in shooting and thought it not
his duty to troubla him" This king
required fathers and guardians to
provide bows for all seven-year-old
bows. and masters had to find their
a .prent,ces in bows and see that
they practiied shooting on every
holiday. He once gave Bishop Lati-
mer five pounds from his private
purse because Of the following words
spoken from the pulpit: The art
of shooting hath been in times past
much esteemed in this realme; it is
gifl ot God, that he hath gpven US
t,.xcel all other nacions withal. 1t
hath zen Goddes Instruments
whereby he hath gwen US victories
agaynste out enemyts. desire yGu,
M ordes, even as you love honore
and eiorye Of God, and intende to
remove his lndienacion, let there be
$ vt forth some proclimacion- some
sharpe pvoclimaci4 n t. the justices
of the peace, for they do not thyr
du We Justi es now pe no justices,
there be nanye good acteS maze for
this matter alrea1ye. Charge them
uno,l their alleCianca. that this sin