What did a medieval archer take on campaign?

In this video, we explore some of the personal effects a medieval archer would have carried, along with his bow and arrows, when he went on campaign. Kevin Hicks shares with you some of his own bowman’s kit.

#hundredyearswar, #medieval #MiddleAges #medievalweapons #medievalbowman #medievalarcher

[SuperOtter]

"I will pick that up later" is how I've lost a lot of tiny bits of kit.🙂
Great content sir, keep up the good work!

[mathewstoker]

Love your work Kevin. I run D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) fantasy roleplaying games for a small group of family and friends. I watch yours, the Modern History channel and some others to lend a little spark of "realism" to my campaigns and adventure stories. It aids with the suspension of disbelief and helps the players get a feel for the setting; of a world without all of our modern conveniences, like fridges, supermarkets, GPS and vehicular travel.

[jtc]

“Grandad, what is that hanging around your neck?”

“Soil from Agincourt.”

“It smells.”

“Hey, this soil is sacred. I’ll have you know I saved the King himself from a French knight that day!”

“Really? Did you shoot him with your bow?”

“No, slipped on my dung just as he went in for the kill. Fell flat on his arse so he did.”

“Gross.”

“Yes, ” remarked the old yeoman fondly as he clutched the foul vial round his neck. “It was.”

[moccus]

Kevin visited my school years ago, before retiring. Did an awesome presentation and demonstration of some firearms from the English civil war.

[jakekharn]

It's interesting to see what a bow man would have carried, its not miles away from what a modern soldier would carry. Another fantastic video! Thank you Kevin and the team.

[lanzknecht]

Thanks again for this interesting excursion in history! Did the troops cook given rations (like Roman Legionares ) or did they recieve their food already prepared?

[michaelusmc]

Having been in the infantry and known what it's like to live out of ones pack in the field, to me this is really fascinating. I know exactly how much thought each infantryman puts into his kit and seeing someone's equipment from the distant past really brings that person to life for me. Excellent presentation

[wolfgangholtzclaw]

Excellent Kevin, the things an Archer (soldier) carried. I too carried my little things in my butt pack (vietnam era) some coffee, some cocoa, some extra pieces of cardboard, and some soap and a razor for my face and a washcloth. In those days, pre kevlar, we washed our face in our helmet, before day light, shaved in the dark, and by day light were in chow line, getting our grub. In some ways all Armies alike, despite the centuries. God Bless you Kevin!

[owenlindkvist]

I truly appreciate your efforts to educate us about the small, often overlook, yet still important details about history.

[dripwooper]

Had these videos been around when I was a kid in school, it may very well have changed my career path. The way you tell stories from history is amazing and your passion for it is infectious. Thanks for making this channel!

[jackmunday]

During the napoleonic war, after a battle British soldiers would regularly pillage and loot the enemy dead. When it came to the enemy, rank didn't matter. A common private could loot the body of a Marshall, providing he got to him first. What I would like to know though. During the hundred years war, could a common English archer do the same to a French nobleman who had been slain. Or would he face disciplinary action or even hanging for desecrating a noblemens body?

[Smoshy]

Kevin, another insightful bit! A couple of quick questions: Would almost all archers have carried the same things or did it come down to wealth? Would archers perceive other archers as better or worse than themselves (skill wise) by what they carried?

[CMacK]

Honestly, that ampule of soil from Agincourt gave me an idea for a minor magical item for Dungeons and Dragons. Nice little content. I always love the smaller details that get overlooked. The little trinkets and things people would have carried, and the superstitions around them. Makes for great inspiration for fantasy settings.

[charlieross]

What a grand way to talk about the horn cup bought by his wife. So grateful. Lovely to hear that

[hellequingentlemanbastard]

I just started reading - again - Bernard Cornwells Grail-Quest Series about Archer Thomas of Hookton and I'll finish them off with Azincourt.
It's great to see what personal objects an Archer carried besides the obvious, because these things are never shown in books, or at least I never came across one where they talked about it.

[charlyvanbuuren]

Very informative! Though i'am from the Netherlands i have always been very interested in the hundred years war. And the eighties years war that we had to go thru here in the Netherlands and that was the birth of our nation...

[Cahirable]

Just regarding the restringing of crossbows, that's a bit of a myth we can blame the French for. A few medieval French chroniclers, who had no idea about crossbows, got it into their heads that the Genoese failed at Crécy because they couldn't unstring their crossbows in time and the strings became wet. This then got picked up in the 19th century and has become canon. Tellingly, French and Italian authors familiar with crossbows (eg: Villani and the anonymous author of the Cronique du Normandie) make no mention of the rain effecting the crossbowmen's performance and point to a lack of equipment, ammunition and being outnumbered by more than 3:1 as the reasons for their defeat.


Otherwise, fantastic video!

[als]

Loved seeing Momentos and talismans the archers kept on them. From those I have known who served that desire hasn't changed too much.

[gilanbarona]

I enjoyed this, Sir. If we ever meet one day, I'd like to compare notes. I am an archer, but I shoot a horsebow with the thumb. I represent your counterpart from the opposite side of the world, and we have our own stuff with us. They are quite similar to what you carry in many ways.

[kiwifruit]

Awesome stuff as usual and just a whisker away from 70k subs. Watching your subs increasing each video is almost as exciting as your videos. Thanks again for educating us all