Wiggy
|
Re: 'Mary Rose' Longbows
May 11, 2005, 12:12
|
|
That's especially true if one falls on you.
|
nigelswift
|
Re: Circles under churches
May 11, 2005, 12:19
|
"Don't be too dismayed at the statememt that only 6% of yew place names are near churches - that was a figure from a survey made in Cheshire. - there is still a very strong link with places of worship."
Thanks for the reassurance. It's important to my personal sense of place - my earliest memory was of the village church through my bedroom window - new pinnacles at the top, Norman halfway down, Saxon at the bottom - and right next to it a "pagan" 2800 year old yew. To me growing up, in a less than Christian family, it was all part of a seemless line that defined our village, now and then.
The vicar never said so in the pulpit but he confided he felt the same thing in private. Much like the old antiquarian clergy I guess.
|
PeterH
|
Re: Circles under churches
May 11, 2005, 12:21
|
FW- "There are no surviving examples of ye olde yew bow and the tax of imported yew staves does point to foreign yew being used in very large quantities."
There are surviving long bows - even one from the Neolithic ( Handbook of British Archaeology - L and R Adkins)
Confusion is probably arising from the term "English Yew" - there is no such thing.
Leaving aside the Irish Yew which is a female form of the common yew, but with a more erect growth described as "bland and fastigate".. Far too young to be used for any kind of longbow except modern repros.
There are 8 species of yew in the Taxus genus. They occur in Europe, Asia minor, east Asia and North America. On the basis of probability rather than proof, we can discount the American yew from Agincourt and also the far eastern ones from east Asia - China, Himalaya, Japan.
That leaves good old Taxus baccata - the common yew. This is native to Great Britain and Europe and also from North Africa to Iran. Granted, some yew staves were imported from Europe, but the source is still the same type of yew - knots, warps and all. The tax could have been introduced to discourage cheap foreign imports and there may well not have been enough suitable trees in Britain to provide sufficient wood. Remember that archery became compulsory at one time. A statute of Edward I in 1307 forbad the felling of trees in graveyards. "Ne rector arbores in cemeterio prosternat."
So with a big demand for yew bows, wholesale harvesting of suitable wild yew and a prohibition on cutting churchyard yews - what to do? Import from Europe - but its still the same sort of yew.
|
Littlestone
|
Re: 'Mary Rose' Longbows
May 11, 2005, 12:49
|
> I seem to recall that there were a number of longbows found within the wreck of the Mary Rose.
Yes, I can confirm that; there have been a couple of TV and radio features on the Mary Rose longbows - now possibly the finest collection of longbows anywhere.
|
mort
|
Re: Circles under churches
May 11, 2005, 12:54
|
stop making silly statements, and put down facts. i just know a bit bout the subject as i work with yews on almost a daily basis!
and of course its hard to pull a 60-90lb draw on a 6ft yew bow, but most archers would have been raised practising.
i'm only stating facts, so dont take it personal.
sometimes contributors on this forum maybe should spend time cluing themselves up on such things before answering, and that goes for not just you.
whats that saying, "a little knowledge"....
|
follow that cow
|
Re: Yew grown up yet?
May 11, 2005, 12:58
|
Again, 'not an expert on yew trees but I believe them to be one of the slowest growing species.
I bought one for a pub in Worcester about 8 years ago(as a replacement for an ancient one that a contractor had killed) it was 25 years old and was only about 4-5ft tall, I remember thinking that as far as pounds per foot went there must be better value trees. If my memory is correct I think it cost about £500.
FTC
|
moss
|
Re: Circles under churches
May 11, 2005, 13:16
|
|
A visit by Cambrensis should have read an Irish visit, home of the Celtic Tiger and its destructive force.
|
follow that cow
|
Re: Everything you want to know about Longbow
May 11, 2005, 13:27
|
Sorry, my previous link seems to be out of date, but the one below is better anyway!!
http://encyclopedia.lockergnome.com/s/b/Longbow
|) ---> ---> FTC
|
Littlestone
|
Re: Circles under churches
May 11, 2005, 13:57
|
> whats that saying, "a little knowledge"....
Actually, I've never really liked that little homily, believing instead that 'a little knowledge' in one person is something to be admired, respected and nurtured by those who are fortunate to know more.
I know very little about circles under churches, even less about yew trees, and next to nothing about the longbow, but after nearly a hundred posts on this Thread from people all adding a little more knowledge to those subjects (thank you for your info as well I should add) I now know considerably more than I did two weeks ago. Who knows, perhaps what began as a little seed of knowledge will one day grown into something as great as an oak or as inspiring as an ancient yew :-)
|
follow that cow
|
Re: ditto
May 11, 2005, 14:10
|
>Actually, I've never really liked that little homily, believing instead that 'a little knowledge' in one person is something to be admired, respected and nurtured by those who are fortunate to know more.<
"Wish I'd said that, Oscar"
"You will, FTC. You will"
|
