Heavy warbows came into their own in western Europe when they began to be deployed in mass volleys, the so-called “arrow storm,” by the Normans. The primary purpose of the arrow storm was to disrupt, weaken, and dishearten an advancing enemy before they could close in for battle. The arrow storm proved more effective at this than firearms until the advent of the repeating rifle and the machine gun—which replaced the arrow storm with a…

   As I noted in my last post on archery tactics, the bow was long used as a weapon of ambush. In the English-speaking world, the yew longbow has become synonymous with noble outlaws, such as Robin Hood, who defied injustice to live in the green woods, where they ambushed the rich and gave to the poor.    As with all myths, the story contains kernels of truth but is historically inaccurate. By the time…

Hi all, I recently came across a translation of a Latin inscription about a Syrian soldier in the Batavian legion of the Roman army named Soranus. He died in 118 AD and left a remarkable epitaph. Here it is: “I am the man who, once very well known to the ranks in Pannonia, brave and foremost among one thousand Batavians, was able, with Hadrian as judge, to swim the wide waters of the deep Danube…

Here is a SNEAK PEEK of the opening to the next book in the Archer of the Heathland Saga: Book V Windemere which is now available for pre-order. Reckless courage, desperate loyalty, and the will to survive. Redmond knows three things about the woman who has imprisoned his archers. She is beautiful. She is cunning. And she cares nothing for their lives. When she drugs his men in preparation for enslavement in the deadly salt…

Welcome to my new series of posts on archery tactics. We are going to go over some general information and also get into the weeds of some historic battles. It should be fun, so hang on to your hats. The bow and the arrow had certain advantages over the atlatl and dart technology that preceded it. It developed primarily as a weapon of ambush (Mercer, “The Origins of Warfare,” 159-160). An archer can shoot from…