[Ansteorra-archery] Combat Archery Question

[iaenmor]

Move into Right field it is much safer.  Seriously no matter what
constrictions you put on this game we play somebody is going to complain.
We try to make the rules safe and fair enough that most people do not
complain.  When you have a community as small as the archery one is, of
course it is going to seem as tho we are getting picked on.  Lets face it we
are playing a game in which the heavy fighters set the rules.  In this
Kingdom they are quite supportive of us and for that we owe them some
thanks.  In other Kingdoms this is not the rule.  These fighters are not
used to facing a plethora of archers and thousands of arrows and bolts
coming at them.  Of course they get annoyed and complain.  Right now the
Coastal Kingdom Earl and Archery marshals are doing their dammedist to make
sure that the game we play down here stays as safe as we can play but still
encourage CA.  If you ask me that is walking a fine line.

If you had noticed at Gulfwars this year there was what I would consider a
outstanding growth in archers.  When I see Barons, Knights, Squires and
other people who otherwise had not bothered before picking up crossbows and
bows it make you realize what kind of kingdom we are in.   The one thing to
remember is that this is a game.  Comparing this to fighting that actually
happened in the middle ages could be construed as ludicrous. When the armor
standards are the same as the time period and equipment is the same also
then we can call this a actual reenactment of the middle ages.  As it is
what we do is a sport based on those times.

As to the English they where a anomaly for there time.  No other nation in
the history of Europe ever came close to what they had perfected in their
time.  Not only did they have massive amounts of archers in comparison to
men at arms but, also had a support infrastructure in place to feed those
hungry bows.  The style of fighting they used in the later part of the
Hundred Year wars and the War of the Roses is probably the closest to what
we do in our wars.  dismounted Men at Arms with a heavy concentration of
archers was proved to be very effective against mounted horse.  If you look
at the disposition of the English armies during these times you will notice
that archers were in general out in front as the battles started and moved
back behind there lines or on the flanks as the lines closed.  Once this
happened they were free to shoot targets of opportunity.  The difference
between us and those times is that you do not see the great flights of
arrows at the beginning of battles due to the fact that we do not have the
quantity of archers they had.  Otherwise I believe we do portray the later
part of their battles well.

OK no I am getting off of the lectern and I will give the floor to someone
else.

Iaen Mor
Gate's Edge
Ansteorra
Coastal Region Archery Marshal
iaenmor at swbell.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Haines" <wyrmclaw at sbcglobal.net>
To: <ansteorra-archery at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2003 9:45 PM
Subject: [Ansteorra-archery] Combat Archery Question


> While I haven't participated in combat archery (yet), I have been reading
> this list for some time.  Is it me, or did this air of unrest between
> archers and fighters not also come up after the last Gulf War?  I've slept
a
> few times since Gulf War XI, but I think I recall similar complaints then
> that I'm hearing again now; that fighters are complaining about archers,
and
> that "the man" is trying to impose more restrictions on archers to the
point
> of making the activity obsolete.  All these discussions have brought to my
> mind a couple questions.
>
> 1.  If fighters have a problem with getting picked off by an archer in a
> melee, and then feel the need to complain about it, why don't they just
> avoid melees with archers, and let those that don't mind archers, play on?
> Or better yet, why don't the fighters put some more encourangement to get
> more archers to the field on their side to help take out the archers of
the
> enemy's force?
>
> 2.  From what little I've seen of combat archery, where archers stand
behind
> melee units and intermingle in melees....Is that how archers were
> historically used in field battles?  From what I've understood of history,
> archers were a backfield unit, behind the infantry, used to thin out the
> ranks of the opposing infantry as they approached.  Then when melee
between
> infantry broke out, the archers were halted to prevent friendly fire.
Then
> if the enemy infantry broke through the ranks, the archers could pick off
> those approaching infantry, until they were threatened, at which point
they
> ran for the hills.
>
> From a historical perspective of England, where every male was required to
> learn to shoot the longbow, I would think the English army would have an
> incredibly massive force of archers going into battle.  And with swords
(and
> many of the heavier metal armors) being fairly restricted to knights and
> nobles, and the common footsoldier being given a wide variety of weapons
> they could afford, if they weren't farm tools, I'd be curious to see the
SCA
> fighters in *that* kind of battle.
>
> Alden
> Lurking out in left field
>
>
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