History of the bow in Europe

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Stone Age cave painting of a hunting scene with a bow and arrow in the Cova dels Cavalls , Barranco de la Valltorta , Province of Castellón , Spain, approx. 13,000 years old

The article History of the bow as a weapon presents its historical development.

Stone Age arches

Palaeolithic and Mesolithic

Drawing of a Stone Age cave painting as a hunting scene with a bow and arrow in the Cova dels Cavalls

The oldest stone points, the interpretation of which as arrowheads is controversial, come from the Abri Sibudu (province of KwaZulu-Natal , South Africa) and are around 64,000 years old. In Europe, since the Solutréen (around 22,000 to 18,000 BC), there have been stalked flint tips that were probably arrowheads . They can be seen as the oldest indirect evidence of the arch's existence. These are stalked tips that were placed on wooden shafts about one centimeter thick, which have not been preserved, provided that the shoulder of the tips is a measure of the thickness of the arrow shafts . Alternatively, these can also be points for spears that were thrown with the spear thrower. The oldest spear thrower found dates from the same time horizon as the handle tips of Parpalló (around 18,000 BC). Since spears were usually made from upwardly tapering rungs (saplings) (arrows are called “tapered” shafts), these could also be very slim at the tip.

The oldest archaeological find interpreted as an arch comes from a gravel pit in Mannheim-Vogelstang from the time of the older Magdalenian era . The approximately 40 cm long fragment of a pinewood stick ( Pinus sylvestris ) was dated to an age of 14,680 ± 70 BP using the radiocarbon method ( 14 C)  (corresponds to a calibrated 16,055 ± 372 BC). The complete arch had a length of about 110 cm. Some changes in the wood surface were interpreted as processing features: One side of the fragment has a smooth surface and the deviation on one side has been compensated for. A pressure point at the edge is seen by the authors as a nock for the bowstring . Based on reconstructions, the performance is estimated to be about 25-30 pounds train weight (11 to 13 kg), which allows ranges of up to 80 m.

In addition, there is a possible arch depiction from the late Magdalenian period on an engraved limestone plate from the Grotte des Fadets , Vienne (France). However, the incision is not so clear that the interpretation could be taken for granted.

It is very likely that there are stone arrowheads in the form of so-called penknives . These were used by the penknife groups during the first reforestation at the end of the Vistula Ice Age . The oldest archaeological finds and thus unequivocal evidence for the arch are completely preserved arrows from the Stellmoor ( Ahrensburg culture , around 10,000 BC). The excavator Alfred Rust interpreted two pine wood fragments also found there as parts of rod arches. Rust writes that it is heartwood of relatively thick logs, but that this is on the outside of the sapwood zone . The annual rings of both pieces are about three millimeters apart. The interpretation as bow fragments remains uncertain, especially since the pieces are now lost. Compressed wood reconstructions of Nordic pine prove the firing ability of such a weapon, although pine is not commonly known as a good bow wood. Alternative interpretations of the two pieces by Stellmoor exist, for example, with boat frames or sled parts , for which the use of pine wood would be plausible.

The oldest undoubted arch finds come from the Nordic Mesolithic . They were made from elms . The two oldest specimens come from Holmegård on Zealand (Denmark). Since the five arch finds listed below are constructed and dimensioned quite similarly, this form of the flat arch with a D-shaped cross-section is regarded as the standard mesolithic type.

  • Holmegård IV, Zealand ( Congemose culture , approx. 6000 BC): These are two flat arches made of small elm trunks ( mountain elm ), one of which has been completely preserved and one about half has been preserved. The insides of the arches are flat, the outsides rounded. The grip areas are clearly indented. The original lengths are 154 cm for the complete copy and are estimated at 184 cm for the half-preserved one.
  • Ageröd V, southern Sweden (in the Atlantic , 14 C-dating 6860–6540 BP ): a flat arch made of elm ( Ulmus sp. ), Approx. 170 cm long; a flat arch made of mountain ash or rowan tree ( Sorbus aucuparia ), 61.7 cm still preserved in fragments; a stick arch. According to Bergman, the bow tie is less efficient and, according to his speculation, may have been built by young people.
  • Ringkloster, Denmark: Arch from the Ertebølle culture , dating 5400-3550 BC. Chr.
  • Tybrind vig , Denmark: arch made of elm wood, approx. 160 cm long, Ertebølle culture, dating 4600-3200 BC It is a largely completely preserved specimen. The arch has a rounded back and a flat stomach. The tips are shaped differently, which indicates the use of a tension cord.
    Tips on a Tybrind Vig style bow

The flat arch with a D-shaped cross-section (also known as the "propeller type") was common until the Bronze Age . The arch of Møllegabet II (Denmark) ( Ertebølle culture ) is the only mesolith arch with narrow and high limb ends, in which the outer limb ends do not bend with each other. At the same time there were Mesolithic trap arches from the Vis Moor ( Komi Republic , northwestern Russia ), which mostly do not have a flat arch design. There are a total of 31 arches made of softwood, mostly simple and with little effort, which were used in permanently installed arch traps. The radiocarbon dating is about 6000 BC. Chr.

Neolithic

The Neolithic Age in Central Europe was characterized by two arches: on the one hand, arches with high cross-sections and, on the other, the “propeller- shaped type”. Yew was now used as the preferred bow wood . Despite the rural economy, bows and arrows always retained their meaning as status symbols, as shown by grave goods from the oldest agricultural culture in Central Europe (the so-called linear ceramics ). No archaeological finds, but images of recurve bows (with a very likely composite construction ) have been on rock carvings in Spain since the early Neolithic . Rock paintings in Tassili , Algeria, also show Neolithic bow hunters.

The finds from the Schnidejoch date back to the early Neolithic (around 4300 BC) , the entire arch equipment of the glacier mummy Ötzi comes from the late Neolithic and is around 3300 BC. Been manufactured.

Graves of the end-Neolithic bell - cup culture also show in the form of so-called arm protection plates and arrowheads made of flint that the bow equipment was one of the most important weapons. Arrows and armguards were found in the tomb of the Amesbury Archer .

One of the few surviving examples from the late Neolithic is the Meare Heath Arch. It is a single specimen made of yew wood that was found in June 1961 in the Somerset Levels in England. Compared to other bows, the limbs are very wide and run largely parallel until just before the tips. In addition, they are wrapped with leather cords. The age is estimated to be around 2700 BC. Estimated. The unusual design, which sometimes strongly contradicts the principle of modern bows, basically suggests that it could be a purely ceremonial weapon. Nevertheless, several replicas have shown that the arch is in principle functional.

The short arch probably developed with and in the steppe equestrian cultures . The first evidence can be found on ancient representations and in the Kurgan . Because of the less favorable mechanical conditions compared to the longbow , they have bent back bow ends (recurves) and tendon / horn reinforcements ( composite bows ).

Arches of antiquity

Bronze and pre-Roman iron ages

Skythe stretching the reflex arc, drawing from the gold cup from Kul'-Oba ( Crimea )

Arch finds from the Bronze Age and Iron Age are extremely rare in Central Europe. The Amesbury archer from the late Neolithic - Early Bronze Age bell beaker culture was buried with long bows, arrows and arm protection . Often only the arrowheads, stone armguard plates or arrow shaft straighteners remain in end Neolithic graves , which indicate the status of the bow as a weapon. This burial gift also remains in the early Bronze Age Aunjetitz culture . From the end of the Early Bronze Age , an antler arch ( red deer ) from England is known, which is only 45 centimeters long and is one of the miniature arches. The 14 C dating of this singular find shows an age between 1750 and 1605 BC. For the Middle and Late Bronze Age no arches have been found so far, only two quivers from Urnfield graves: one with eleven arrows from Ockstadt (Wetteraukreis), and one with six arrowheads and remains from Behringersdorf (Kr. Nürnberger Land). For climatic reasons, imports of composite bows from the Middle East cannot be assumed in Central Europe , but predominantly pure wooden bows ( Selfbow ). On the other hand, so-called "Graeco-Eurasian" arrowheads from the Hallstatt period are often found , such as in the cemetery of Hallstatt , in Salzburg , Mellrichstadt , in a cave near Ebermannstadt , on the Ehrenbürg near Forchheim, the Heuneburg (Kr. Sigmaringen). These are regarded as imports from Greece and the Scythian area or as technical imitations of these forms.

Classical antiquity

Already described in Homer's Iliad in the 8th or 7th century, came around 400 BC. BC with the Scythians a composite bow as a riding bow. The Parthians also used such arches. The Greek city-states also used a composite bow, but only for foot troops. After the Roman conquests of the eastern Mediterranean, arches based on these models found their way into the Roman army , where they were used by auxiliary troops .

More precisely, the Romans recruited after fighting the Parthians, particularly in the Battle of Carrhae in 51 BC. BC, had got to know the effectiveness of the use of bows and before that Pompey 67-62 BC. BC had taken possession of the Middle East, appropriately equipped auxiliary troops. The Itura tribe in particular is mentioned in this context. Arches played a major role in the civil wars of the late republic and were then an integral part of the Roman army during the imperial era. The composite arches used special bone, skin or isinglass glue in their construction. Because some of these traditional glues are sensitive to moisture, the arches were often taped or wrapped with birch bark, rawhide, or fabric. In this way, the bonds could not come off again in damp weather. The composite bows were carried by some Asiatic peoples in special quivers on a kind of belt to which the short arrow quiver and a horsemen's saber were also attached. He was mostly shot with the thumb, with the help of various types of thumb rings.

Peter Connolly describes the typical bow used by Roman auxiliary troops as a composite bow . When relaxed, it was about three feet long and shaped like a crescent moon . To tension it, it was bent in the other direction, which gave it the shape of a 3 and was operational. He was used to fire arrows (in Latin: sagittae ) that were stored in quivers on the hip. This bow was used by lightly armed people.

Thomas Fischer also mentions simpler arches that were only made of wood and that did not survive within the Roman Empire.

Bows were also used by gladiators in the arena. Gladiators equipped with bows and daggers are called sagittarius . However, 'Sagittarius' is also generally the Latin word for 'archer'.

The term 'Arcus' for arches of classical antiquity

Arcus is not a well-defined term, but a designation under which different authors treat different arcs, which is why its use can lead to misunderstandings. The name is taken from the Latin vocabulary.

Arcus (old Latin: arquus ) is the Latin word for the bow with which arrows are shot, the rainbow, the arch in architecture, triumphal arches, honor arches, every arch-shaped curvature and the arc of a circle. In modern times, as I said, the word was used as a lemma to describe, depending on the author, various bows of classical antiquity for shooting arrows. The uses mentioned below were particularly widespread.

William Smith used the Latin word 'arcus' in his Lexicon of Greek and Roman Antiquities in 1875 as a lemma to represent the ancient arches. He assigns the bow as a weapon to Asia and names the Scythians , Parthians and Cretans as particularly skilled in handling bows and arrows and says that in Greek armies they are “as a separated corps” and also subordinate the auxiliary troops ("among the auxiliary troops") of the Romans would have served. It describes the different appearance of Scythian and Greek arches and gives a description based on Homer (Iliad IV, 105–126.). He also lists some representations of quivers and depicts the statue of an archer whose bow is missing today. He does not mention Roman arches. But he gives 'cornu' as a translation of the Greek κέρας (kéras).

The Latin words 'cornu, -us' and the subsidiary forms 'cornus, -us' and, rarely, 'cornum, -i' denote the animal horn and then also objects that are built from it or with it as a component, e.g. B. the horn. It also describes the parts of the bow made from horn and can in a figurative sense - poetically in ancient times - mean the bow as a whole. The plural was also used, since the two tips of the bow to which the string was attached consisted of horn knobs on many bows, on which the Roman auxilia of the imperial period regularly consisted.

August Demmin used the word as a generic term in 1869 to classify several types of arcs:

  • The arch called 'cornus, -u', for whose construction horn was used and which is said to have had a patulus shape,
  • the 'arcus sinuosus' or 'arcus sinuatus', a Greek type of bow, which is said to have already been described by Homer , also built with horn and unstrung forming a “circle” with which Hercules is often depicted in art and
  • the 'arcus scythicus', a Scythian equestrian arch are mentioned.

Demmin shows that both Greeks and Romans used the bow as a weapon of "auxiliary troops". He names three ways of carrying the quiver: "on the left hips, behind the right shoulder and on the back above the hips." He took his information from image and written sources.

Today's indications of the word as Latin translations of 'bow' are to be distinguished from it.

Linda Alchin from SiteSeen Ltd. 'Arcus' as a Latin translation of the English 'bow' and lists the bow as a weapon of gladiators. She describes: “The normal weapon of Roman archers was the classic composite bow made of horn, wood, and sinew held together with hide glue.” In English: “The normal weapon of the Roman archer was the classic composite bow made of horn, wood and Tendons made that were held together by bone glue. ”She specifies a maximum pulling weight of 72.5 kg.

Germania

Germanic peoples built in the 1st – 2nd Century mostly rod arches with a high cross-section, which, since the Iron Age, typically had thick limb ends with a cam notch on the side. They are archaeologically proven in settlements and as individual finds.

Since the 19th century the rumor arose that Roman historians had expressed the Germanic people's contempt for bows and arrows as weapons of war, which was recorded in a kind of code of honor . However, Tacitus said nothing about this in his “ Germania ”. Instead, the inefficiency of the bow can be invoked against armored Roman legions . However, this does not preclude the possibility of its use, and there is evidence that the Gauls used the bow at the same time.

An outstanding collection of 36 arches finds from the Germanic era comes from the Nydam Moor in Sønderjylland . The yew bows were apparently sunk in the moor along with the Nydam ship along with many other weapons . The dating of the arches is given as 100–350 AD, elsewhere as 300 AD. The construction of the Nydam ship itself can be dendrochronologically dated to 310–350 AD, so that the arches can also be dated to the early 4th century. The Nydam type is a slim straight bow from 178–187 cm in length, reminiscent of the later English longbows . The tapering limbs have tips (reinforced ends) made of antler, some of which have an octagonal cross-section. One of these bows has a tip made of iron.

Arches of the Middle Ages

Migration period and early Middle Ages

Depiction of archers in the Stuttgart Psalter (around 830)

The arches of the Merovingians and Alamanni in particular have survived from the time of the Great Migration . A successful deployment of the Alamanni against the Romans in a battle on the Rhine in 354 documents the use of the bow as a weapon of war.

The cemetery of Oberflacht in the Tuttlingen district , which was excavated as early as 1846, offered an excellent source for researching early medieval yew arches . The cemetery was occupied between 530 and 650.

An Alemannic arch studded with an iron spout was found in a grave in St. Martin's Church in Altdorf (Canton Uri, Switzerland). The grave dates from around the year 670. This arch is similar to the D-shaped Nydam arches from the 4th century, which also had a sheet iron or antler socket.

The Stuttgart Psalter (around 830) shows battle scenes with a bow and arrow between Avars and Franks .

High and late Middle Ages

The classic longbow developed in the European high and late Middle Ages into the English longbow with very high draw weights. This development is the answer to the Panzerreiter (see Knight ) , which occurred especially in the High Middle Ages . An arrow shot by a longbowman could easily penetrate chain armor that was in use at the time and, under favorable conditions, even penetrate the plate armor developed in response . The horses of the knights now had to be protected from the effects of weapons as far as possible. However, correspondingly large forces had to be exerted to tension the bow. Approaching cavalry rarely had the opportunity to attack the archers with their melee weapons.

In 1139 the use of the bow (together with the crossbow ) in armed conflicts between Christians was outlawed by the Second Lateran Council .

High Middle Ages

In the High Middle Ages (approx. 1050 to 1250) the Welsh and Englishmen in the west, and the Turks and Mongols in the east, were feared archers. The English won several battles in the Hundred Years War with their tactically integrated archery force. Last but not least, wood from German forests was also used to meet the need for yew wood for making bows during this war .

In contrast to hunting, the war bows of that time were not aimed, but focused on the volley effect. Due to the large number of shooters and, accordingly, many arrows falling at the same time, the hit probability was still quite high. War bows had a heavy draw weight, typically more than 100 pounds, which is around 45 kg. In old chronicles it was reported that the arrows fell on the enemy "as thick as snow".

Although William the Conqueror had already deployed a large troop of French archers against the troops of King Harald II at the Battle of Hastings , they, like the less numerous English archers, were only equipped with relatively short bows.

As early as the 11th century there were reports of Welsh archers whose arrows pierced oak gates about ten centimeters thick. The longbow was adopted into the service of King Edward I of England after the subjugation of the Welsh in the late 13th century. First Welsh archers were used, later English long archers were also trained. At the end of the 13th century, the English type with a deep D-shaped cross-section developed, which in Western Europe became the most effective long-range weapon that could be operated by a single human. The military use of the longbow was first realized in England in the European Middle Ages.

Years of practice were necessary to develop such an effect with a longbow. In medieval England, therefore, laws were passed that obliged the male population to practice using the longbow. In addition, English fathers had to equip their sons with a longbow when they reached a certain age. In skeletal finds that could be assigned to English longbow archer ( Mary Rose ), remodeling of arm and vertebral bones indicating strong mechanical stress was found.

Modern tests have shown that an arrow shot from a longbow could, under ideal conditions, penetrate the breastplate of plate armor.

For the production of long bows, the English mainly used yew wood, as this can absorb the high tensile and compressive forces that occur. These properties enabled the development of the powerful tied arch, which, in contrast to the flat arch, can be used over long distances. The Welsh archers also shot elm bows . The yew tree is still strictly protected today, because almost all of the stocks in the Alpine region and the Pyrenees fell victim to the need for yew wood at that time.

Most English longbows reached the archer at least up to eye level when untensioned.

Most famous literary (right-handed) shooter with the longbow: Robin Hood - movie poster from 1922

The usefulness of this weapon was also recognized in other European empires, so that the longbow was also spread outside England, but where it did not play the same role as in England due to competition from other long-range weapons, especially the firearms emerging towards the end of the Middle Ages.

Late Middle Ages

In the battles of the late Middle Ages (approx. 1250 to 1500) the longbow proved itself many times over. If opposing cavalry came under the little or no armored archers, they usually only had a light sword or just a dagger or a knife for defense. Such fights usually ended in disaster for the archers, who were difficult to replace due to their long training. This is why the English longbow archers mostly took cover behind sharp wooden stakes that had been rammed into the ground. In front of it, heavily armored knights were posted who fought on foot and were supposed to keep opposing troops at a distance with their lances .

According to legend, during the Hundred Years' War, English archers who were captured had their right index and middle fingers chopped off, which were used to pull the string. Various gestures ( Fuck off -V, victory sign , crossed fingers ) are traced back to this legend.

In 1590, the English nobleman Sir John Smythe defended the use of the longbow against the arquebuses and muskets that were in use at the time . Smythe pointed out that unlike a firearm , a bow has no mechanism to fail. He also highlighted the bow's significantly higher rate of fire compared to firearms. In addition, a dense, approaching hail of arrows would damage the morale of the enemy.

A number of longbows were recovered from the wreck of the ship Mary Rose , which sank during this time , some of which are so well preserved that they can still be fired.

Modern arches

Early modern age

In the early modern period (approx. 1500 to 1790) the long bows were replaced. Longbows were still used in the English Civil War in the middle of the 17th century, but a short time later the longbow was finally ousted in England. Muskets gained ever greater firepower and range, and could penetrate armor more easily. In addition, the training of a longbow archer was much more complex and longer than that of a musket archer.

See also

literature

  • Volker Alles (Ed.): Reflexbogen. History and manufacture. Verlag Angelika Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2009, ISBN 978-3-938921-12-8 .
  • Flemming Alrune et al. a .: The bow maker book. European bow making from the Stone Age to today. 7th edition. Verlag Angelika Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2012, ISBN 978-3-9805877-7-8 .
  • Peter Connolly : Greece and Rome at War. Greenhill Books, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-303-X .
  • August Friedrich Demmin : The weapons of war in their historical development - from the oldest times to the present. Leipzig 1869, several editions.
  • Thomas Fischer : The Army of the Caesars - Archeology and History. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2012.
  • Jürgen Junkmanns: Bow and Arrow - From the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. Verlag Angelika Hörnig , Ludwigshafen 2013, ISBN 978-3-938921-27-2 .
  • Charles E. Grayson et al. a .: bow, arrows, quiver. The Charles E. Grayson Collection. Verlag Angelika Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2010, ISBN 978-3-938921-17-3 .
  • Richard Kinseher: The bow in culture, music and medicine, as a tool and weapon. Kinseher, Kelheim 2005, ISBN 3-8311-4109-6 .
  • William Smith : A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. John Murray, London, 1875.
  • Peter O. Stecher: Legends in Archery: Adventurers with Bow and Arrow. Schiffer Pub Co, 2010, ISBN 978-0-7643-3575-4 . (English)
  • Manfred Korfmann : Slingshot and bow in Southwest Asia: from the earliest records to the beginning of the historic city-states. Antiquitas: Series 3, treatises on prehistory and early history, on classical and provincial Roman archeology and on the history of antiquity, vol. 13. Habelt, Frankfurt 1972, ISBN 3-7749-1227-0 .
  • Ulrich Stodiek, Harm Paulsen: "With the arrow, the bow ..." Techniques of Stone Age hunting. Isensee, Oldenburg 1996, ISBN 3-89598-388-8 .
  • Dean Torges: On the trail of the Osage arch. 2nd Edition. Verlag Angelika Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2004, ISBN 3-9808743-3-8 .

Web links

Commons : Bow (weapon)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Arches in Heraldry  - collection of images, videos, and audio files
Wiktionary: Bogen  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marlize Lombard, Laurel Phillipson: Indications of bow and stone-tipped arrow use 64,000 years ago in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa . In: Antiquity . 84, No. 325, 2015, ISSN  0003-598X , pp. 635-648. doi : 10.1017 / S0003598X00100134 .
  2. ↑ L. Pericot Garcia: La cueva del Parpallo. Madrid 1957.
  3. ↑ Ulrich Stodiek, Harm Paulsen: With the arrow, the bow. Oldenburg (Isensee-Verlag), 1996, pp. 37-38.
  4. ↑ a b c Gaëlle Rosendahl, Karl-Wilhelm Beinhauer, Manfred Löscher, Kurt Kreipl, Rudolf Walter, Wilfried Rosendahl: Le plus vieil arc du monde? Une pièce intéressante en provenance de Mannheim, Allemagne . In: L'Anthropologie . 110, No. 3, 2006, ISSN  0003-5521 , pp. 371-382. doi : 10.1016 / j.anthro.2006.06.008 .
  5. ↑ calibrated with CalPal online (accessed on January 18, 2014)
  6. ^ Henri Breuil : Une visite à la grotte des Fadets à Lussac-le-Châteaux (Vienne). Bulletin AFAS Paris, 1905, p. 358.
  7. ↑ Jean Airvaux, André Chollet: Figuration humaine sur plaquette à la grotto of Fadets à Lussac-les-Châteaux (Vienne) . Bulletin Societe Prehistoire Francaise 82 (1985), pp. 83-85.
  8. ^ Alfred Rust: The Palaeolithic and Middle Stone Age finds from Stellmoor. 1943.
  9. ^ Alfred Rust: The Palaeolithic and Middle Stone Age finds from Stellmoor. 1943, pp. 192-193; Plate 97/98
  10. ↑ Ragnar Insulander: The Arch of Stellmoor - The oldest in the world? Traditional archery, issue 16/2000, pp. 38–39.
  11. ↑ G. Burov: The Mesolithic sled forms in Northeast Europe. In: Tension the bow ... (Festschrift for B. Gramsch on his 65th birthday). Contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe 20, Beier & Beran, Weissbach 1999.
  12. ^ CA Bergman: The Development of the Bow in Western Europe: A Technological and Functional Perspective. In: GL Peterkin, HM Bricker, P. Mellars (Eds.): Hunting and Animal Exploitation in the Later Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of Eurasia. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 4 (1993). Pp. 95-105.
  13. ^ G. Rausing: The Bow: Some Notes on is Origin and Development. Acta Archaeologica Lundensia 6, CWK Gleerups, Lund 1967, p. 49.
  14. ^ L. Larsson: Ageröd V: An Atlantic Bog Site in Central Scania. Acta Archaeologica Lundensia 12, CWK Gleerups, Lund 1983, pp. 57-59.
  15. ^ CA Bergman: The Development of the Bow in Western Europe: A Technological and Functional Perspective. In: GL Peterkin, HM Bricker, P. Mellars (Eds.): Hunting and Animal Exploitation in the Later Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of Eurasia. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 4, 1993, pp. 98-99.
  16. ↑ SH Andersen: Tybrind Vig: A submerged Ertebolle settlement in Denmark. In: JM Coles, AJ Lawson (Eds.): European Wetlands in Prehistory. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1987.
  17. ↑ Tybrind vig buen. Bue Westh, July 19, 2012, accessed July 19, 2012 .
  18. ↑ G. Burov: The arch among the Mesolithic tribes of Northeast Europe. Publications of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History Potsdam 14/15, 1980, pp. 373–388.
  19. ↑ Leif Steguweit: Bow Traps - From the bag of tricks of the Stone Age. In: Traditional archery 21, 2001, pp. 21–24. ( PDF download )
  20. ↑ J. Junkmanns: bow and arrow. Manufacture and use in the Neolithic. , Museum Schwab, Biel 2001.
  21. ↑ J. Junkmanns: Neolithic arches. In: The bow maker book . A. Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2001, pp. 47-55.
  22. ↑ M.-S. Hernández Pérez, P. Ferrer Marset, E. Catalá Ferrer: Arte rupestre en Alicante. Alicante (Center d'Estudis Contestans), 1988.
  23. ↑ Leif Steguweit documents for recurve bows in the European Neolithic. In: Volker Alles (Ed.): Reflexbogen. History and manufacture . Angelika Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2009, pp. 10–25.
  24. ^ Jörg W. Hansen: Tassili. Rock art in the western and southern Algerian Tassilis. Somogy èditions dárt, Paris 2009, ISBN 978-2-7572-0251-7 .
  25. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger (August 21, 2008): New finds in the ice - older than Ötzi
  26. ↑ University of Bern, Communication Department: Ice finds from Schnidejoch - 1000 years older than Ötzi ( Memento from August 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  27. ^ Stuart Prior: Recreating the Neolithic Meare Heath Bow - Reassessing the past through Experimental Archeology. In: Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries. Vol. 43, 2000, pp. 44-48.
  28. ^ A b Holger Eckhardt: bow and arrow. An archaeological-technological investigation of the Urnenfeld and Hallstatt period findings. International archeology. Vol. 21. Marie Leidorf, Espelkamp 1996, ISBN 3-924734-39-9 ; b: Cat.-No. 211-212
  29. ↑ Kasia Gdaniec: A miniature antler bow from a Middle Bronze Age site at Isleham, (Cambridgeshire), England. Antiquity 70, 1996, pp. 652-657.
  30. ↑ Ernst Probst: The urn field culture. A Bronze Age culture from around 1300/1200 to 800 BC. Chr. Grin-Verlag, Norderstedt 1996, pp. 43-44.
  31. ↑ Birgit Schmalz: Prehistory. Traces in Rhön-Grabfeld. Edited by the Association for Local History e. V. Königshofen, Bad Königshofen 1998.
  32. ↑ Homer, Iliad, IV, 105-126. See Arcus , William Smith: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities , John Murray, London, 1875, p. 126, accessed May 28, 2018.
  33. ^ Evidence can be found in the works listed under literature, in particular Thomas Fischer : The Army of the Caesars - Archeology and History. Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2012, p. 201.
  34. ↑ Gladiator Weapons , accessed May 28, 2018.
  35. ^ Karl Ernst Georges: Comprehensive Latin-German Concise Dictionary, 1st volume. Reprint of the 8th edition from 1913, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1992, columns 549 f.
  36. ^ Arcus , William Smith: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities , John Murray, London, 1875, p. 126, accessed May 28, 2018.
  37. ^ Karl Ernst Georges: Comprehensive Latin-German Concise Dictionary, 1st volume. Reprint of the 8th edition from 1913, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1992, columns 1698–1701. Peter Connolly : The Roman Army. Tessloff Hamburg 1976, p. 55.
  38. ↑ August Friedrich Demmin , The War Weapons in Their Historical Development - From the Earliest Times to the Present, Leipzig 1869, several editions. Digital copy of a reprint under other title, 2018, p. 269 , accessed on May 28, 2018.
  39. ↑ Gladiator Weapons , accessed May 28, 2018.
  40. ↑ Wolfgang Adler : Studies on Germanic armament: handing over weapons and fighting methods in the Niederelbeg region and in the rest of Free Germania around the birth of Christ. Habelt, Bonn 1993. (Saarbrücker Contributions to Classical Studies 58)
  41. ↑ Thomas Marcotty: Bow and Arrows. Verlag A. Hörnig, 2004
  42. ↑ Hans Delbrück: History of the art of war: History of the art of war: The Middle Ages, the modern times, the ancient world, the Germanic peoples. Nikol, 2006.
  43. ↑ a b Edmund Bulanda: Bow and arrow among the peoples of antiquity . Vienna and Leipzig 1913, p. 131.
  44. ^ A b c Paul Comstock: Arch of European prehistory. In: The Bible of Traditional Bow Making . Vol. 2. Angelika Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2004, ISBN 3-9808743-5-4 , pp. 110-111.
  45. ↑ Tom Mills: A Bow from the Copper Age. In: The Bible of Traditional Bow Making . Vol. 4. Angelika Hörnig, Ludwigshafen 2004, ISBN 3-938921-07-2 , p. 103.
  46. ↑ a b Holger Riesch: Bow and arrow in the Merovingian era. A source study and reconstruction of early medieval archery. Karfunkel, Wald-Michelbach, 2002.
  47. ↑ Wolfgang Menzel: The Heidengräber am Lupfen (near Oberflacht). Opened by order of the Württemberg Antiquities Association and described by K. Württ. Dürrich and Dr. Wolfgang Menzel , 1847.
  48. ↑ Holger Riesch: Bow and arrow in the Merovingian era. A source study and reconstruction of early medieval archery. Karfunkel, 2002, pp. 24-27.
  49. ^ Longbow in the English language Wikipedia
  50. ↑ Alberigo, Giuseppe: Conciliorum oecumenicorum decreta , Canon IXXX, Bologna, 1973³, pp. 195-203