What did a medieval archer do after his arrows were spent?

In this video, Kevin Hicks shares his insights into what a medieval archer would have done once all his arrows had been used up in a battle and explores some of the weapons that would have been used. The video provides an informative and engaging insight into the life and tactics of medieval bowmen in battle.

#MedievalWarfare #MedievalArcher #History #HistoryChannel

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[darthchopper]

What I learned from playing a bowman in Chivalry 2 is that a club is the best backup weapon. It's heavy enough to stop anything. I'm glad Kevin Hicks agrees.

[TheJCJexe]

This is what most medieval videogames get wrong about bowmen, they're always depicted as weak and squishy support units. But watching your videos I have learned a great deal about medieval archers. They were extremely valuable troops, very skilled, respected, and feared.

[zali]

I love how you describe such blood-curdling acts of physical mayhem with a slight smile and the wry humour of a historian and reenactor who knows his art! Informative as always, that great big hammer/archer's maul was amazing!

[Thongger]

One of the first games that really captured this was Medieval Total War 1 where longbowmen were equipped with small shields and axes, and were actually quite fearsome in melee especially in the fourth quarter of a battle when they were sent into mop up the mangled stranglers of the main melee

[davidwong]

The hammer and the maul…they were a big hit on the battlefield

[SC]

Always depicted as small little guys, the movie Braveheart was the opposite of history.

Archers are strong and muscular. You try pulling back a bow everyday for hours, and see what your arms, shoulders, and chest look like. Especially in a period where bows were all longbow and recurve, no pulleys to make it easier. You had to be powerful to get a heavy bow back, in that time period

[davidstrother]

I think I would have to go with the "what's left of the pole axe". They never show in the movies about what bowmen did other than loose arrows. Cheers from Texas, Kevin.

[hemaccabe]

I was just writing a battle sequence where because of how numerous the enemy, the archers were running out of arrows. How convenient and timely to address this question right now! Thank-you.

[leon.benedict]

Your knowledge and your storytelling together is something else. Thank you for another great video!

[jodieg]

Watching this on my lunch break in the downtown of a small local town and just as you mentioned shooting your first bow on a green next to the cathedral a local church bells started to ring.
My personal favorite sidearm is a small ax, cheap and multipurpose, though I I love your detail on the comradely of companies, I feel that myself with fellow tradesman. I had noticed that in the trades we get a lot of former or current military members, and I recently asked one why he thought that was, he said that it was very similar to being in the military with similar people, hard jobs and the comradely of your crew members.

[EchoBeach]

Longbowmen would have had years and years of training, and would have developed a lot of upper body strength because you needed that to get the full range of a longbow. So even when their arrows had been fully spent, you would not want to be stuck in a melee against these guys that's for sure.

[Ian-mjpt]

Yippee a Friday treat from Kevin. Thanks

[kellyolson]

Fascinating. The bowmen were the original McGuiverers, using whatever they might have on them once the bows were gone. Love your passion for history.

[Per_Sun]

I like that quote too - thank you for making this and showing such pride in it.

[robertduck]

I look forward to your video every week Kevin! Fantastic as always. Brilliant way to spend a portion of a Friday evening!

[killgora]

I've seen artwork from the period that showed them with swords and bucklers as well. Mainly in the late medieval period based off the brigandines and what look to be visorless sallets, or sallets with visors up in some that I found. I think people tend to forget that peoples kit changed throughout the period especially in the late medieval period when armor even for the common man was more available, and I also believe more affordable than in earlier periods. Obviously not the top end stuff, but something with more protection than just a gambeson or nothing at all.

[jw]

Great to see a local man keeping our great history alive. I'd love to practice some archery with you some day!

[tonymeads]

Thanks for this latest video, FASCINATING ! As a retired gardener I have my late Father's "billhook", or "handbill" as he described it. I keep it with pride because he thought a lot of it as it was handmade by a blacksmith many years ago. It is VERY interesting that a humble agricultural tool was used by those GREAT bowmen centuries ago !

[NLBusiness]

What an absolutely FASCINATING video! As long you keep making videos, I’ll keep watching them! Thanks for doing what you do!!

[phil]

As someone from Beverley, I'm very proud of my hometown's long history 😁