Dark Age Wooden Bows - An Introduction.
By ULFRIC,
Edited by Russ Scott.
This short article covers archaeological finds of wooden bows from
Northern Europe, dated C4th. to C10th. AD.
NYDAM, Schleswig-Holsten; Ancient Denmark.
Over thirty bows were found in a C4th. to C5th. lake or bog deposit. These bows were mostly made of Yew although one or two were made of Fir. Anaerobic conditions have meant that the bows have been preserved remarkably well. They are of ovoid or rounded 'D' section, tapering from the middle to pointed ends. Some were equipped with nocks of horn, others with nocks of sharp iron. Nocks that were cut into the bow, were mostly cut into the side, "Side-Nocked".
On average the bows are about 6' long, whilst one example measured in at 6' 6"! None of the bows show grip bindings, although some were bound with thread at intervals along the bow limbs. The estimated draw weights for the Nydam bows have been put at 45 to 65 pounds at the appropriate draw lengths.
OBERFLATCH, Germany.
Over a dozen bows were found in the Allemanic & Frankish graves, probably dateable to the C7th. Most of the bows are made of Yew, with at least one specimen of Elm. Soil conditions were not ideal for organic deposits and so the bows are badly preserved.
However, It has been possible to reconstruct the typical Allemanic bow. It appears that they were constructed of a complex section, with a thick rigid handle and a polygonal limb cross section. These bow limbs had a rounded back, straight sides and a triangular belly.
Lengths of three recently re-examined bows range in length from 5' 8" to 6'4". All the bows were side-nocked about 2" from the ends. Their draw weights have been estimated at between 45 and 65 pounds.
HAITHABU, (Heddeby) Ancient Denmark.
A well-preserved Yew bow was found in waterlogged conditions dated to the C9th -C10th. The bow has a thick ovoid section, 6'6" long and tapering from the centre to flared flat ends. There is one side nock on the upper limb only, the string presumably tightly bound at the lower end. A bow fragment from Ballinderry in Ireland, exhibits a similar flared tip.
The draw weight of the Haithabu bow has been estimated at between 70 and 90 pounds at over 2'4"
CONCLUSION
Most Dark-age bows so far recovered from northern Europe are of yew wood, with the occasional example of Elm and Fir. The commonest type is a simple tapered stave around six feet long with an ovoid section. Horn and iron nocks existed but are rare and do not resemble either modern or Victorian nocks.
COMPOSITE BOWS
Another type existed alongside the simple wooden bow and this was the Composite bow made of wood, sinew and bone or antler. The average Viking of our period would not have used one of these bows. There is however, archaeological evidence for them at eastern Viking sites, such as Birka and for use in the Norman arsenal. They will be the subject of a future article.
