Archery is the art of shooting with the bow and arrow. The use of these weapons was probably known to man at a very early period of his history, and triangular flint arrow-heads, clipped into the requisite shape, are found in all parts of the world, showing that they must have been known and largely used at a period anterior to the discovery of the working of metals. The bow is mentioned in Scripture as having been used in patriarchal times, and we know that all the leading nations of antiquity were acquainted with it. Assyrian sculpture and Egyptian hieroglyphics testify to its use among these peoples, and the Thracians, Cretans, Parthians, and Numidians were held in high estimation as archers. Homer frequently mentions bows; that of Pandarus was made of a goat's horns 'joined and shaped' 'with artful toil,' and tipped with gold. The poet alludes to it as being used, not only as a weapon of war, but in the sports of the arena, and describes a contest at what would now be called 'shooting at a popinjay' or bird fastened to the top of a mast. The Romans, too, did not disdain the use of the bow in warfare, though it probably did not form part of the arms of the regular legions, but was confined to the auxiliary troops. Procopius mentions that in Justinian's African campaign, the cavalry were clad in coats of mail, and were armed with swords and bows and arrows. The emperors themselves occasionally displayed their skill with the bow, and we are told that Gratian, Commodus, and Domitian were all accomplished archers. Asia, however, and not Europe, must be considered the home of the bow, and almost all the oriental nations have excelled in its use. The practice of archery is still a favourite sport among the Tartars, Chinese, and Persians; while the Scythians gave their name to a peculiar shape of bow like a crescent moon, which was at one time extremely popular in the East. But no one country or continent can lay claim to the bow as exclusively its own: wherever man is found, he is almost certain to have taken with him his bows and arrows. They are used within the frigid regions of the north, as well as under the burning tropical sun. The Hottentots, Bushmen, South Sea Islanders, and the Indians of South America, and a few still in North America, are expert in the use of the bow. As a part of military warfare, however, archery was never brought to greater perfection than it was in
England in the time of Edward III. That monarch devoted much attention to the encouragement of the art among his people, and the consequence was that English bowmen were the foremost in the world; and their prowess was amply proved by the large share they contributed to the successes of Cressy, Poitiers, Agincourt, and other battles. The English archers were all armed with the longbow, while the French principally depended on the arbalest or crossbow, a powerful, but clumsy and unwieldy weapon. Archers continued to form a part of the English army long after the introduction of gunpowder; in 1572 Queen Elizabeth promised to place at the disposal of Charles X. six thousand men, of whom the half were archers. Archery decayed as firearms came into use. Charles I. endeavoured to revivify the art; and at the breaking out of the civil war, an attempt was made to raise a regiment of archers for the service of the king. Highlanders armed with bows, arrows, and quivers, were in the Covenanters' army at Dunns Law in 1639. Cossacks similarly armed entered Paris in 1814.
In Scotland, archery never took such deep root as in the sister country, notwithstanding frequent statutory enactments regarding it. Doubtless owing to legislative encouragement, archery was, however, practised with some success throughout the country; but the people did not seem to take to it as they did in England, and Scottish archers never distinguished themselves on a field of battle.
Bows have assumed various forms in different countries, and have been made of several substances. The bows used in England were at first what are called self bows—i.e. made of one piece of wood, generally yew, throughout. Yew, however, being often difficult to procure, backed bows were introduced formed of two pieces of wood glued and pressed firmly together; and at the present time bowyers largely make three-wood bows, a method which is found to give additional pliancy and strength to the weapon. The weight of bows varies according to the requirements of the archer. A lady's bow may be bent with a pull not exceeding 28 or 30 lb., while a man may use one of double that strength. On an average, however, it will be found that a bow of about 42 lb. is most suited to ranges up to a hundred yards, while for greater distances one of between 50 and 60 lb. may be employed.
The manner of shooting with the bow has varied in different periods and peoples. In ancient times, it seems to be certain that the bow was pulled towards the breast, but it was latterly discovered that by drawing it towards the chin or right ear, much greater force was obtained. Of the different modes of quitting the arrow, an elaborate monograph has been written by an American author, Mr Morse. What he designates severally as the 'primary,' 'secondary,' and 'tertiary' release, have all the same inherent fault—viz. that the arrow is held between the finger and thumb while being quitted. This form of release is still practised by some of the North American Indian tribes. The 'Mediterranean loose,' as practised for ages by nations north and south of that sea, is the best practical mode of releasing the arrow. In it the bow-string is drawn back with one, two, or three fingers, or with one and two only, the balls of the fingers clinging to the string, the terminal joints slightly flexed, the arrow kept in its place between the first and second fingers; the thumb straight, taking no part in the release. This method of quitting is found to be practised in regions as far apart as Siberia and the Andaman Islands. Assyrian sculptures show both the primary and the Mediterranean release, but it is probable that the latter was introduced only after the 9th century B.C. It is supposed, however, to have been known to the Egyptians long before that date.
There is no doubt that early training and constant practice conduce to a wonderful degree of accuracy in the art of shooting with the bow, but the record of many feats of the kind must be taken with a considerable amount of caution; the amount of exaggeration contained in many such narratives has probably given rise to the proverbial phrase, 'drawing the longbow.' As a general rule, it may be held that at a greater distance than a hundred yards, great accuracy of aim is not attained, though marks may occasionally be hit at double that distance. Longer and lighter arrows are used for shooting at the greater distances; for butt shooting they are shorter, heavier, and blunter in the point. It was the boast of the English archers of the olden time that every man pulled a 'cloth-yard shaft.' Such an arrow, however, would be too heavy for very long distance shooting. One of the longest recorded shots in modern days was made with a very light arrow of about 25 inches length, by the secretary to the Turkish embassy in London, in 1794. He shot against the wind 415 yards, and back again with the wind 463 yards. This, of course, was a mere trial of distance shooting, and did not profess to be aimed at any particular mark.
The old English arrow was made of ash, weighed from 20 to 24 pennyweights, and was tipped with steel and feathered with goose feathers. South Sea Islanders show great ingenuity in tipping and barbing their arrows with fish bones and teeth. In South America the arrow-heads are steeped in a strong vegetable poison called curari or wooral, the basis of which is the juice of Strychnos toxifera, and which has fatal results in a surprisingly short time. The Bushman employs serpent poison and euphorbia juice. Putrid flesh is said to be used in some South Sea Islands, the poisonous effect of which is more frequently painful than fatal.
The ordinary mode of practising archery as a pastime, with most of the clubs in England, is shooting at targets placed at distances varying from 50 to 100 yards apart. The targets are 4 feet in diameter, and have a gold spot in the centre surrounded by rings coloured red, blue, black, and white with a border of green. Each of these rings possesses a different value, every hit in the gold being counted nine, in the red seven, in the blue five, in the black three, and in the white one. Whoever gets most value in hits wins the match. Another method of shooting is practised by some clubs, especially by the Royal Company of Archers in Scotland; in this, the targets are placed 180, or even 200 yards apart, and are only 3 feet across, or even less. The arrows used are lighter and longer than in ordinary target shooting, and every arrow hitting the target on whatever part, or 'making a clout,' as it is termed, scores two. Should no arrow hit, the nearest within four bows' lengths counts one.
There are a large number of clubs and societies formed for the practice of archery throughout Great Britain. Of these, the oldest is, curiously enough, a Scottish society—the Royal Company of Archers—who constitute the sovereign's Bodyguard for Scotland. Their records extend back to 1676, and there are traces of an earlier existence. Almost every notable Scottish family has been at some time or other represented in its ranks. Its affairs are directed by a council, but there are a large body of field-officers; the captain-general—who is always a nobleman of high rank—being Gold Stick for Scotland, the corresponding Gold Stick in England being held by the colonel of the Life Guards. In terms of a charter granted the Royal Company in 1703 by Queen Anne, they perform a service of presenting three barbed arrows to the sovereign when residing at Holyrood. Queen Victoria had this reddendo presented three times. There are many ancient prizes competed for in the Royal Company, including one of the value of £20 annually presented by the Queen.
The oldest existing society of archers in England, if we except the Honourable Artillery Company of London (which was originally a body of archers incorporated by Henry VIII.), is the Royal Toxophilite Society, founded by Sir Ashton Lever in 1780. The Woodmen of Arden was founded five years later. There are about a hundred archery clubs throughout the kingdom.
See Ascham's Toxophilus (1545); Ford's Theory and Practice of Archery (new ed. by Butt, 1887); Fittis, Sports and Pastimes of Scotland (1891); Archery, by Walron and others ('Badminton' series, 1894).