Yeoman - Yeoman Archers and Yew War Bows

Yeoman Archers and Yew War Bows

The English war bow, known as the longbow, was the main weapon of a yeoman archer. It was typically but not always made of yew wood, often Wych Elm; but other woods were used for making bow staves. However, the Spanish, French and Italian yews were also highly sought after because of their superior growth qualities and the very limited availability of English yew in the late Middle Ages.

The 'yeoman archer' was unique to England and Wales (in particular, the south Wales areas of Monmouthshire with the famed archers of Gwent; and Glamorgan, Crickhowell, and Abergavenny; and South West England with the Royal Forest of Dean, Kingswood Royal Forest near Bristol, and the New Forest). Though Kentish Weald and Cheshire archers were noted for their skills, as well the Ettrick Archers of Scotland, it appears that the bulk of the 'yeomanry' was from the English and Welsh Marches (border regions) and the Scottish Borders.

The original Yeomen of the Guard (originally archers) chartered in 1485 were most likely of Briton descent, including Welshmen and Bretons. They were established by King Henry VII, himself a Briton who was exiled in Brittany during the Wars of the Roses. He recruited his forces mostly from Wales and the West Midlands of England on his victorious journey to Bosworth Field.

The Welsh were the first to be attested to have used the 'longbow' made of yew and elm (c.AD 650) either against the Mercians, or as allies of the Mercians against Northumbria. The incident at Abergavenny Castle, where a Welsh arrow pierced through armour and the legs of an English knight, was certainly known to King Henry II, and his grandson Henry III who created or signed the Assize of Arms 1252 identifying the 'war bow' as a national weapon for classes of men who held land under 80s or 100s annually. The 'Yongermen' fell under this classification. By Edward I's reign the bulk of the archers were Welsh, who defeated the Scots and would later be employed with great success by King Edward III in the Hundred Years' War. The famous yeoman archers drawn from the Macclesfield Hundred and the Forest districts of Cheshire were specially appointed as bodyguard archers for King Richard II.