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Banner image with gratefull thank for use of the photo by Adam Monaghan for Jacobite Enterprises
Banner image with gratefull thank for use of the photo by Adam Monaghan for Jacobite Enterprises
Shooting at the Butts
Go to just about any English town and you'll find streets with names like 'Butts Road', 'Butts Lane and 'Butts Way'. It's easy not to read anything into these names, after all there hardly evocative of the images of warfare or the Battles of Edward III and Henry V. It may surprise many to find out that these places have strong links with the past and the archers of old.
In medieval England, the study and practice of archery wasn't just a pastime or a skill developed for hunting, it was a national obsession. If a man was skilled in the use of the bow not only could he feed his family, but he would gain the respect of his peers and even earn a good living in the armies of England. It became a sense of national pride and identity that the Englishman could "shoot strongly in the bow". This strong shooting demanded constant practice and all towns and villages maintained archery Butts for the local men to train in their art. These places would have become common reference points for the locals and in time became place names in themselves, names which are still in use today.
An archery butt was nothing special in itself; it consisted usually of an earth bank, about the height of a man and probably as wide and as deep again. These would be allowed to grass over and upon which a target of cloth or paint could be put. Sometimes a wooden post, covered in leather would be inserted into the ground just in front of the Butt to serve as the target or indeed a thinner piece of wood, known as a wand would be shot at, the object being the first to split it. The butts themselves would be either a single or pair of opposite earthworks and sometimes a whole series would be laid out, enabling large numbers of archers to shoot at different ranges. These ranges would vary from as little as ten to as much as two hundred yards and as the military significance of the bow became apparent, Edward III made it law that every man had to practice at the Butts.
Butt shooting is still in evidence today at archery clubs all over the world. The earth Butts have been replaced by straw target bosses and many of the archers favour modern high tech bows, complete with sights and release aids, pulley's and stabilisers. But look closely and you may see the longbowmen, shooting as his forebears did, without the use of modern aids and somewhat shunned by those who like the technology. He'll be out there in all weathers, shooting at the Butts and in all the various disciplines that the modern target archer has forgotten and, if you’re lucky, he may just have a Warbow.
In medieval England, the study and practice of archery wasn't just a pastime or a skill developed for hunting, it was a national obsession. If a man was skilled in the use of the bow not only could he feed his family, but he would gain the respect of his peers and even earn a good living in the armies of England. It became a sense of national pride and identity that the Englishman could "shoot strongly in the bow". This strong shooting demanded constant practice and all towns and villages maintained archery Butts for the local men to train in their art. These places would have become common reference points for the locals and in time became place names in themselves, names which are still in use today.
An archery butt was nothing special in itself; it consisted usually of an earth bank, about the height of a man and probably as wide and as deep again. These would be allowed to grass over and upon which a target of cloth or paint could be put. Sometimes a wooden post, covered in leather would be inserted into the ground just in front of the Butt to serve as the target or indeed a thinner piece of wood, known as a wand would be shot at, the object being the first to split it. The butts themselves would be either a single or pair of opposite earthworks and sometimes a whole series would be laid out, enabling large numbers of archers to shoot at different ranges. These ranges would vary from as little as ten to as much as two hundred yards and as the military significance of the bow became apparent, Edward III made it law that every man had to practice at the Butts.
Butt shooting is still in evidence today at archery clubs all over the world. The earth Butts have been replaced by straw target bosses and many of the archers favour modern high tech bows, complete with sights and release aids, pulley's and stabilisers. But look closely and you may see the longbowmen, shooting as his forebears did, without the use of modern aids and somewhat shunned by those who like the technology. He'll be out there in all weathers, shooting at the Butts and in all the various disciplines that the modern target archer has forgotten and, if you’re lucky, he may just have a Warbow.
Gratefull ackwoledge to the British libary for the illustration