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A '''longbow''' is a long, hand-drawn weapon designed to shoot arrows at a distance and which sometimes exceeded 6 feet in length.  It was made famous from its usage in [[medieval]] [[England]].<ref>http://www.thefreedictionary.com/longbow</ref>  It is a common misconception that the longbow was a uniquely [[British]] weapon, when in reality longbows have been found in various parts of the world. It was the [[Welsh]] who actually developed the longbow that the English later adopted.  

A '''longbow''' is a long, hand-drawn [[bow]] designed to shoot arrows at a distance and which is at least as long as the archer is tall; modern longbows are typically 6' to 6'6" in length, and some recovered medieval examples are over 7' long.  It was made famous from its use in [[medieval]] [[England]].<ref>http://www.thefreedictionary.com/longbow</ref>  It is a common misconception that the longbow was a uniquely [[British]] weapon, as similar bows have been found in Scandanavian peat bogs and are used for elephant hunting by a number of African tribes. The English were first educated in the effects of archery by the [[Welsh]] during [[Edward I]]'s campaigns in Wales, and subsequently developed the Welsh self-bows into a longer, much more powerful weapon, typically made of [[yew]].  

What is unique is the way it was used ''en masse'' and with tactical brilliance by English commanders during the 14th and into the 15th centuries and the discipline and training of the archers - an Anglo-Welsh yeoman archer of the time was trained to loose an arrow, a cloth-yard long, up to 400 yards, with a good deal of accuracy, at a rate of between 6 and 10 arrows a minute. This is a rate of fire not exceeded until the first repeating rifles of the 19th century. As each bowman knelt to reload, the man behind shot, and so on. Arrows literally darkened the sky.  

What is unique is the way it was used ''en masse'' and with tactical brilliance by English commanders during the 14th and into the 15th centuries, and the discipline and training of the archers - an Anglo-Welsh yeoman archer of the time was trained to loose an arrow, generally 32" long, up to 250 yards, with a good deal of accuracy, at a rate of between 6 and 10 arrows a minute. This is a rate of fire not exceeded until the first repeating rifles of the 19th century.  

It should be noted that bow quality changed over time and all longbows were not the same. It was more than just large size that made the English longbow a formidable weapon.  Able to shoot further and with more power than conventional bows, its effect was notable. In fact, at short range, an arrow from a longbow could penetrate 4 inches of seasoned [[oak]].<ref>http://www.archers.org/default.asp?section=History&page=longbow</ref> The longbow proved to be a devastating weapon in the hands of British longbowmen, who demonstrated enormous success against armies with significantly greater numbers of troops.  Good examples of this were the [[Battle of Crecy]] and the [[Battle of Agincourt]] during the [[Hundred Years War]] where heavily armored French [[knight|knights]] were unable to maneuver effectively and suffered prolonged exposure to withering longbow fire.

It should be noted that bow quality changed over time and all longbows were not the same. Recovered longbows from the time of [[Henry VIII]] have draw weights ranging from 120-200lb, far beyond the capabilities of most modern archers or bowhunters, but by this time there were frequent complaints that England's archers were far weaker than they had been during the [[Hundred Years' War]]. While the longbow lacked range compared to Asian composite bows it was capable of launching a much heavier arrow, which gave it a far greater ability to penetrate armor. In fact, at short range, an arrow from a longbow could penetrate 4 inches of seasoned [[oak]].<ref>http://www.archers.org/default.asp?section=History&page=longbow</ref> In addition, its simple design made it much faster to shoot. The longbow proved to be a devastating weapon in the hands of English archers, who demonstrated enormous success against armies with significantly greater numbers of troops.  Good examples of this were the [[Battle of Crecy]] and the [[Battle of Agincourt]] during the [[Hundred Years War]] where heavily armored French [[knight|knights]] were unable to maneuver effectively and suffered prolonged exposure to withering longbow fire.