A Brief History of Archery
By: Scott Byers
Archery is a sport that dates back years and years before the
modern day version that we have today with all sorts of high-tech
equipment and different techniques of shooting and competing with
other archers. To give you an idea of just how old archery really
is, in approx. 2800 BC, the first composite bow was produced by the
Egyptians. It was made from wood, tipped with animal horn and held
together with animal sinew and glue. Unstrung, it resembled a "C"
shape and would have required 2 people to string it. The bowstring
was made from "catgut" (sheep intestines). The arrows used were
extremely light, could be shot 400 yards using the composite bow
and would easily penetrate the armor of that time period. The
Egyptians used archers on the back of light chariots who were
highly trained and skilled and could easily outflank an enemy army
with devastating effect.
Back in the day of the Roman Empire, they owed much of their
military superiority to their skilled archers. In Europe the bow
and arrow were displaced by firearms as a military weapon in the
16th century. By the time the Spanish Armada attempted to invade
England in 1588, an English county troop levy consisted of
one-third bowmen to two-thirds soldiers with guns, and by century's
end the bow had been almost abandoned as a weapon. Nevertheless,
peoples of the Far East employed archers in warfare as recently as
the 19th century, and the use of the bow and arrow in hunting and
intertribal fighting continues in central Africa and South America
up to the present day.
The bow was retained as a hunting weapon, and archery continued to
be practiced as a sport in England by both royalty and the general
public. The earliest English archery societies dated from the 16th
and 17th centuries. The oldest continuously held archery tournament
still extant, known as the Ancient Scorton Arrow, was founded in
Yorkshire in 1673; and about 1790 the Royal Toxophilite (Greek
toxon, bow; philos, loving) Society was formed to advance the
sport. The Prince of Wales, afterward George IV, became the patron
of this Society and set the prince's lengths of 100 yards (91 m),
80 yards (73 m), and 60 yards (55 m); these distances are still
used in the British men's championship York Round (six dozen, four
dozen, and two dozen arrows shot at each of the three
distances).
Although archery has definitely changed since the people of the
Bible first used it, without it history might have turned out much
differently. Bows and arrows saved many peoples lives, and even do
today. As a means of hunting animals for food, as a defensive or
conquering weapon, or as an instrument in competition, the bow and
arrow has impacted the world. Physically, the structure of archery
has developed, the circumstances for which archers use their bow
and arrow has changed drastically, and the way in which warfare
utilized archery has nearly come to an end. Archery has etched and
will continue to etch an imprint on the worlds mindeven if only in
history, legends, and stories.
Scott Byers is the owner of Absolute Archery, a complete archery resource with articles on archery and archery equipment.
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com