@@garymurt9112 It was even more than that. When they began to unearth skeletal remains from many English battlegrounds, they could literally tell who the English longbowmen were bc their right arm bones were thicker and denser due to constant loads being applied. It literally made one arm bigger than the other.
@@paulwilliammonks1 Aye, only some 200-250 miles between the places and accents too. With some half dozen fairly distinct other accents in between, maybe a dozen if you've an ear for dialects. That difference gets even more muddy when locals talk amongst themselves, adding slang etc, especially older folks.
During the war with France the French would cut off our bowmen's two fingers so they couldn't fire their bow. The archers would show the two finger salute to show the enemy they were ready for them
Otzi the Iceman had a longbow when he died in 3230 BCE, sometime before Wales became a thing. I think the back story of the longbow may be different to the one you were taught.
@@harryunderhill5041 Not a longbow, it was not near the same as the welsh longbows and if it was, legit every history book needs to be changed. It was just a bow, not a longbow, longbows are specially made with certaint types of wood. Welsh Longbows are not just made from any type of wood.
@@justinprice7484 Welsh longbows are just another self bow with a D cross section. This design has been around for thousands of years before the medieval period. The Nydam bows dated from the 4th century CE for example, Otzi's bow was unfinished but the same design. The impact Welsh archers had on archery wasn't the design of the bow, it was the demonstration of massed archery at a time when the mounted knight on horseback was king of the battle field. This tactic was later adopted by English kings in their armies leading to victories against the French at Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt.
@@justinprice7484 ötzis "bow" was an unfinished piece of yew that was roughly as long as ötzi himself. I'd say that sounds an awfully lot like he had something like a Welsh longbow in mind
Great presentation, thank you. That 'thumbs up' mighr originate with the longbow makes a nice pair with the "two finger salute" which is also said to originate from the longbow. Early forms of digital communication.
@@verybigearsfun fact: the meaning of the thumbs up and thumbs down in this case was probably swapped as we know it, and in gladiator fights a thumbs down was used to signify a sword being put into its scabbard while a thumbs up symbolized a sword raised to strike.
The 2 fingered victory sign came from archery. If archers were caught, their 2 fingers that pulled the bowstring were cut off. Therefore, those who were victorious were able to stick up their 2 fingers at the enemy.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF THE ENGLISH LONG BOW, IT'S CRAFTSMANSHIP & HISTORY; ¡¡WITH THAT TOOL OF WAR, YOU WILL NEVER GO HUNGRY & YOU'LL ALSO BE SAFE!!! YOU'RE FUNNY!! THANK YOU FOR THE HISTORY LESSON!!! A GENTLE MAN'S BET: ¡¡I BET, NO ONE EVER THOUGHT, THAT WHEN YOU MADE THAT VIDEO, IT WOULD BE SO SUCCESSFUL!! ¡¡¡THE FORMULA THAT YOU USED FOR THIS VIDEO, IS REALLY THE SECRET, FOR ALL FUTURE IDEAS YOU COULD HAVE, TO MAKE A PROJECT!!! ¡¡¡WHEN YOU GET ANY IDEA, WORK ON IT, AND IN THE FACE, OF EVEN FRIENDLY RESISTANCE & DOUBT, GET IT DONE!! ¡¡THE MUSIC & THE FOREST SCENERY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM IS EXCEPTIONALLY BEAUTYFULL!!! GOD BLESS & SHOW AND TEACH US MORE
Both island nations with powerful states just across the sea which we were suspicious and concerned about, with enough influence from them while developing our own distinct isolated culture.
Indeed, each Longbowman could, at the average battle pace, shoot 10 arrows per man per minute in volley fire, and up to 12 a minute at an enhanced pace. At Agincourt, the 5,000 English and Welsh Longbowmen could, at a standard pace, release as many as 50,000 arrows every 60 seconds or at an enhanced pace 60,000, an astonishing rate of fire. To give some perspective, the standard pace is around the per minute cyclic rate of 35 German MG42s shooting at 1,500 rpm. The average and more widely used crossbows of the period could, in comparison, release 5 to 6 bolts a minute at a maximum range of 200 yards. The longbow could wound and kill at 300 yards, a distance at the time unheard of outside of siege weapons. Near anything outside of plate armour could be penetrated, but even when clad in plate, the concussive effects would have been massive, especially at close range. The Longbow truly was a formidable multi-purpose weapon.
@@LookHereMars nope ... i would recon you look up to Tods Workshop and see the fieldtest of "Bow vs Plate" 160 pound bow with black AP Bottkins vs a 1mm Air hardened fieldcasted armorplate according to historic reference ... not the outcome you would expect
I was in Liverpool few years ago and ive been told that the 2 fingers, the reversed victory V, is used as an insult because back then the archers would get their fingers cut off if they ever got caught. As a result, they decided to make this sign a sort of "Come get my fingers motherf*cker!" thing.
That's exactly what my history teacher told me a long time ago. I read about some yrs later. Like you say, The French would chop the fingers of englishman to prevent them firing a bow.This was because the longbow would devastate french lines before they were in range to fire their crossbows snd other projectile weapons.It was a beast that could kill at up to 400yrds or more in an experienced archers hands
@mowgli-sz9zu it's the Grail Series. Also, his other books are worth a read. Sharpe's Series, Saxons (Last Kingdom), Arthurian series DON'T watch Winter King!
Contrary to what the recent series has put out and despite what others have said the people of the Two Rivers was based on Wales(and Andor England) which is why the Longbow was featured so much with them...
@@osonhouston The series ran with that to make them both dark skinned but that's not how the books actually describe them Nynaeve isn't described as dark skinned at all and Egwene is described as having dark colouring not dark skin...i make a point of that because Jordan never fudges peoples appearance when they are supposed to be dark/black he tells you like with Tuon ... The series is guilty of changing a lot of characters appearances ...
@wildfire160 Egwene is said to have dark coloring like Nynaeve. What is dark coloring, if not dark skin. They were not as dark as Tuon or Sea Folk, but they had dark skin. I'm doing a re-listen of Eye of the World.
@@osonhouston Look up olive skinned. Think like people all around the Mediterranean, where they are still white or Caucasian but not pale like celts or Teutonic people. I have a friend who all of her grandparents are from Sicily, and when they first got married her husband’s friends kept asking if she was Iranian or something to that effect whenever he’d show them pictures. Her daughter is pale like her husband, and she’s been asked more than once, if she (the daughter) was adopted when they’ve been out in public.
it’s a great story but it’s more myth than truth, I’m afraid. Most bowmen in the later medieval period were peasants and if they’d have been captured they’d have most likely just been killed
I once heard that the middle finger originated from medieval archers, and now we’re suggesting the thumbs up came from them too. At this point, I’m just waiting to find out that sign language was made by them as well.
He's in the right kind of physical condition to be a longbowman (if a little tall). They were renowned as some of the toughest bastards alive. Great stuff.
that story is actually about the 2 finger V sign.. which means the same as the middle finger in England… It’s a great story, but it’s more of a myth I’m afraid
It came about because if they were captured the French would chop off their fingers so they couldn't fire a bow, so flipping them the bird was a taunt like "come get some"
@@jasonpurcellau the story isn’t about flipping the bird, my friend.. that’s how the Americans have adapted it. It’s actually about the two finger V gesture (inverted peace sign) which means the same as flipping the bird in England
@@mrkitcatt2119 ... but the longbow was a Welsh invention... lots of countries adopted and, perhaps, in some cases, improved upon the original, but the Welsh are credited with this military advancement... it was later used by the English to subjugate the Welsh, but that's a different story for another time perhaps
@madheadlesschicken2066 not true longbows have been found all over Europe, Denmark in bogs, the alps with otzi etc all predating any found in wales. Even the norse and normans were said to have a variant.
@@madheadlesschicken2066 the Welsh absolutely inspired the English to implement the warbow into warfare but it 100% is not a Welsh invention.. there was a yew bow found in the Ötztal alps dating back to around 3300 BC
We had a few bows, but hardly any arrows (not sure how many, but I think it was single figures) until they brought up the Mary Rose, then we had literally hundreds of them...
I mean, you can get a pretty decent compound bow for $100-$200. I like 'em. You get the power of a recurve without needing as much upper body strength which is great for a skinny guy like me lol plus they require less skill to shoot accurately.
So kool that at the end, he mentions some History where it became Law for every able bodied man to practice archery. Neat to learn also about the thumbs up gesture...! Love History. Great video and thanks for this @the_hooded_man_ :D
The peace sign also came from archers. Although instead of "peace and love" out meant "ill pop you in the face you French bastard!" (Aproximately) According to welch rumors the French would cut off a bowman's two fingers as an alternative to killing them to pacify them as an enemy combatant.
@@jacekmakes this is how they portray it in films, mate.. in Ancient Rome the thumbs up meant loss whereas the thumb pressed against a closed fist meant win
@@the_hooded_man_ One thing I have learned from the internet is that there is no point in arguing with fools. As you can see, they rarely admit they were wrong even when it is clear they are.
The thumbs up probably did come from archery but likely from Asiatic archery traditions. In a similar way ✌🏼 (but with the palm facing you) was a way English archers would taunt the French, Mongols would do something similar but with thumb
Thumbs up comes from anchent Rome: At the end of a show, the gladiator winner was judged by the emperor. If the emperor went 👍, he liked the show and the gladiator could move on; if the emperor went 👎, he didnt like it and the gladiator would then be killed.
@@Petruhafication the thumbs up meaning "nice" is exclusively european and was then exported around. Different cultures had different meanings for it, until imperialism happened.
@@ario203ita5 that's not a fact, that's a Eurocentric opinion. The thumbs up gesture has been used throughout history and there is a definite link between Asiatic archery traditions and the thumbs up gesture (as well as the "fig" gesture).
"If the thumbs up came from medieval archers" You're right, in a way, but not in the way you think. Medieval English Longbowmen would have their thumbs cut off by the French in a show of disrespect to the "cowardly" weapon and culture. In reverse, the Longbowmen would show their thumbs upward and bite their thumb as the French past. This is why in Shakespearean plays they would say "I bite my thumb at you." Showing an Englishman your thumb in that position was to say you are currently winning battles, aka "you are fine" yes. Biting it towards them, meant royally, frick off.
ahh that old story.. certainly a great story with several different variations. Unfortunately we’ve no definitive proof to verify their historical accuracy so they’re most likely more myth than truth. Plus during the later Medieval period the majority of English longbowmen were from the peasantry and held no value to the French so if any were captured, they’d of probably been offed there and then.
@@OwtDaftUKthey literally didn't, the English used to hire Welsh longbowmen mercenaries because they were that good. The English adopted the weapon and tactics years later
The Welsh didn't invent the bow, The oldest long bows we have ever found were in Somerset and Scandinavia. They just used larger ones than most cultures which was about 4'-5', the English long bow was 6'. If the Welsh think making an existing weapon bigger counts as a new invention then they can't claim the English Long bow as theirs
Great content as always! I think if you haven't done it yet, you need a short explaining the origin of the English Longbow in particular, and how the Welsh gave the English the idea for massed professional archers in warfare, but the English Longbow itself was an English development of a concept already thousands of years old that differed from the bows the Welsh were using in many respects. There's a lot of back and forth in the comments!
British Bellringers do simular measurement techniques to check the correct distance between themselves and a bellrope, really interesting to see it here too.
Fun fact: alongside the creation on the long bow came the use of the middle finger due to the enemy cutting off the archers middle fingers, which were needed to draw the long bow. This led to the archers pointing their middle fingers at the enemy to piss them off.