[Steppes] For the archers...

[Sluggy!]

Chiara wrote:

> I found this on Ebay and they claim a great deal of history on it, it is
> called an archers ring. Can anyone confirm its historical existence?


The link did not work, but a quick search on eBay for "archers ring" returned this one:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=868986625

I was personally unaware of a Roman connection, but such thumb rings are
very common in Middle Eastern and Asian archery disciplines. Where most
European archers use two or three fingers hooked around the bowstring to
draw, Asian archers often use a thumb protected by a ring. The apparent
benefits to the shooter are that your fingers don't get squeezed by the
string. Asian bow designs are typically very short and the string is at
a much more acute angle at full draw. It also seems that for any given
person, the thumb could potentially be stronger than the other fingers,
facilitating a greater pull weight. Dunno about that one, but it is
likely that my practiced fingers are stronger than my unpracticed thumb.
I have attempted to shoot this way and it is not a particularly easy
transition for me, but then the ring I procured does not fit well. The
ring must be the right size and fit or it will be either ineffective or
can acutally injure the user.

I need to find it again (misplaced since I moved, about 1.5 years ago.
I'm pretty sure it's in a box in the garage), but I have the English
translation of a 15th century Arab archery textbook, with illustrations,
that includes descriptions of the use of a thumb ring. The same book
describes how to make and choose arrows, points, etc, as well as
detailed shooting technique and philosophy. It's a fascinating book.

Modern examples made from horn or bronze can be purchased from several
sources, but my favorite is from where we got our Scythian bows. :)

Their main page in English,
http://www.traditional-archery-scandinavia.com/englisch/englisch.html

For the page showing the rings,
http://www.traditional-archery-scandinavia.com/englisch/quiver.html

Sluggy!


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