War bow string theory

[staveshaver]

 I have read that at the slightest hint of rain, English warbowmen would unbrace their bows and call it a day , if this is true could it be possible that the strings they used were gut? In a beef culture the material would be plentiful, and cheep.  it  is more than strong enough and it may explain why no strings were found on the mary rose .This is pure speculation.I am sure some of you can debunk this theory easily but it is a thought,  I am learning more since I found this forum than in my whole life . I have been a bowyer for half my life and made a lot of long bows but my next project will be a war bow.

[triton]

only input I can offer at the moment is from personal experience as a butcher near 30 years ago.  lambs intestine was used for sausage skins, myself and another trainee had some fun in that shop, tug-o-war with lambs gut.  when it's soaked in hot water it resembles what it was like inside the animal, soft, pliable and very elastic radially but not longitudinally. If it was twisted (as it is between sausage links) and held taught between pegs, it would certainly be very stiff and strong.

[nickf]

as far as I know the warbowstrings were usually made of linen, or hemp. You want to avoid anything elastic on those big bows, trust me. A non-prestretched b-50string will stretch enormously, and slapping the bowhand violently, even with a high brace. It could be the strings were treated with hideglue, or something else, though.

Nick

[Marc St Louis]

A bit of testing was done by someone on PP and he found that linen strings actually gained in strength when they got wet

[nick1346]

A bit of testing was done by someone on PP and he found that linen strings actually gained in strength when they got wet

Really? That is interesting, I'll have to look that up, any idea as to when it was posted?

[Marc St Louis]

I couldn't tell you an exact date but it was not much more than a couple months ago

P.S. I believe it was a thread that dealt with linen strings and was in fact titled that

[nick1346]

Thanks Marc!

[Marc St Louis]

The guys findings made sense to me.  Wood gets brittle when too dry especially in tension and linen is a natural fiber

[nick1346]

Hi Marc,

I found it! IT makes very interesting reading, the thread title is 'Linen strings on high performance bows'.

Nick

[triton]

"In the second part of this book, which will treat of bow strings, you will be told of the number of ways in which strings should be made, and of what the best are made. Bow strings are made of raw green silk and of hemp. Strings made of silk are good for flight shooting for three reasons, as Sexmodus tells us. The first is, that silk is so strong that it lasts longer without breaking than any other material. The second is, that the string can be made as thin as may be desired. The third is, that when properly made the string is so springy that it propels the arrow further and with greater force than when made of any other material The silk should be naturally green, and not burnt by dyeing, for it is spun green by silkworms. The other material of which strings are made is hemp, and this is of two kinds, male and female. The male is thick and coarse, and consequently is worthless for bow strings. The female sort is good, but it must be carefully picked and very well chosen. A good string should be gummed and not glued. The loop should be as small as possible, and well stretched with a stone weight (etendue fort a bonnes pierres de fais). And if you wish to know if a string is good, untwist the middle of it, and if the three strands are separate and distinct, it is a good one, provided always that when the string is twisted up again, it is hard and firm, for the harder it is, the better it will be."

from http://www.archerylibrary.com/books/gallice/docs/chapter04-1.html

[staveshaver]

Thanks for the feedback fellas ,so could we surmise that putting away their bows in the rain is a myth? it is silly when you think about the idea. if such were the case Braveheart just would have attacked in the rain ! LOL

[bow-toxo]

I have read that at the slightest hint of rain, English warbowmen would unbrace their bows and call it a day , if this is true could it be possible that the strings they used were gut? In a beef culture the material would be plentiful, and cheep.  it  is more than strong enough and it may explain why no strings were found on the mary rose .This is pure speculation.I am sure some of you can debunk this theory easily but it is a thought,  I am learning more since I found this forum than in my whole life . I have been a bowyer for half my life and made a lot of long bows but my next project will be a war bow.

 
 Some ot the Roman period arrows from Denmark had nocks a little largrer than the usual 1/8" string, but there is no record of mediaeval European gut strings, period. The military archers did keep their bow strings dry, maybe to protect the 'waterglewe' coating mentioned by Smythe. In the early Middle Ages, strings mentioned in the records were linen and silk, silk being much preferred, but more expensive. Later, hemp came into use. The quote Triton posted [thanks !] is from just a little earlier than Ascham's time, when war bows like the MR ones were of hemp. Even though that quote is from France, there is very little disagreement with Ascham. If you ase interested in Tudor bowstrings, I suggest you read my post on the subject or the one reprinted despite threats to "shoot it down bigtime." It wasn't shot down.

[Rod]

I have read that at the slightest hint of rain, English warbowmen would unbrace their bows and call it a day

That's news to me, despite the account of men  keeping their strings under their hats at Crecy.
There are accounts enough of fights in inclement weather.
What about Towton, for example?

If the string was an unwaxed spare, I might put it under my hat rather than subject it to a soaking, not for fear of it breaking, but not wishing the relaxed string to take on too much moisture.

Having said that it is likely that a well waxed string, twisted and taut under bracing tension, would be far less prone to absorbing moisture.

With a linen string what I do not want are short fibres and dryness.
Our linen industry in it's heyday was based in Lancashire and N.Ireland just because a damper climate was necessary for the machine production of linen thread, it being more too prone to breakage when spun in dry conditions.

Rod.

[bow-toxo]

uote]That's news to me, despite the account of men  keeping their strings under their hats at Crecy.
There are accounts enough of fights in inclement weather.
What about Towton, for example?

If the string was an unwaxed spare, I might put it under my hat rather than subject it to a soaking, not for fear of it breaking, but not wishing the relaxed string to take on too much moisture.

Having said that it is likely that a well waxed string, twisted and taut under bracing tension, would be far less prone to absorbing moisture.

With a linen string what I do not want are short fibres and dryness.
Our linen industry in it's heyday was based in Lancashire and N.Ireland just because a damper climate was necessary for the machine production of linen thread, it being more too prone to breakage when spun in dry conditions.

Rod.

Giood point about Towton. Linen strings have been found to be as strong wet as dry. The only reason I can find to keep them dry would be to protect the 'water-glewe'  with which they were treated. Spare strings for military archers were prepared, even to the bowyers knot, served, no doubt waxed, and ready to clap on the bow at a moments notice.

[Rod]

I have an Aldred kid's bow which has it's original string and it is drying out that most of all causes the glue coating to fragment on the string.
A little humidity would not be much of a problem with such a string, probably a benefit.

Rod.