The English Longbowman

The most feared weapon in the English army, the longbow was 2 metres long - taller than the average man.

The arrows were a metre long, with flights of goose feathers. Arrowheads were a mixture of broad heads and bodkin heads, which had a hardened tip capable of penetrating a man's armour at 200 paces.

A trained archer could fire up to 12 arrows a minute. The best bows were cut from a yew trunk with springy outer sapwood for the outside curve and compressible heartwood for the inside edge.