History of Archery
Archery is one of the oldest arts still practiced. From its early development in ancient times until the 1500s, the bow was man’s constant companion and has been the most widely used of all weapons during recorded history.
Archery ranks in importance as a cultural advance with the development of speech and the art of making fire, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
The use of the bow and arrow first appears in Egyptian artworks and is reported in folklore from more than 5,500 years ago although its invention probably dates back to the Stone Age. English literature honors the longbow for famous victories in the battles of Crecy, Aigincourt and Poitiers. In fact, the bow was the principal weapon of the national defense in England for centuries. Ghengis Khan’s Mongol hordes conquered much of the known world by employing short, powerful bows. For the Native Americans, the bow was both a means of subsistence and existence before and during the days of English and later American colonization.
Many British monarchs, including Queen Victoria, practiced archery. Henry VIII gained considerable renown as a bowman; organized competitions in archery for sport, began during his reign. He helped found the first "club", the Fraternity of St. George, in 1537. As the then - Prince of Wales in 1787, King George IV established the "prince’s reckoning" (values for various target rings of 9, 7, 5, 3, 1 point) and the Royal Toxopholite (Greek for "bow lover") Society was formed.
The first organized competition in archery was held at Finsbury, England in 1583 and included 3,000 participants! The first international competitions in archery began with Anglo-French matches around 1900 featuring both target and flight distance shooting.
In the United States, archery was practiced almost entirely by Native Americans until 1828 when the United Bowmen of Philadelphia was founded by Titian Ramsey Peale. Peale studied Plains Indians as an artist, he learned archery from them and became enthusiastic about the sport and started the club with friends. The club disbanded in 1859, but was revived after the Civil War by Maurice and Will Thompson. Since they weren’t allowed to own firearms because they were confederate soldiers, they took up bow and arrow in Florida. In 1878 Maurice wrote The Witchery of Archery, which inspired more than twenty archery clubs to form that year.
Today, archery is still practiced around the world. As an Olympic sport, on and off since 1900, archery has grown in popularity over the years. Although the technology has advanced the equipment and the rules have changed somewhat over the years, the sport of archery has been essentially the same.
Bowhunting has also recently gained popularity as both a tool for controlling game populations and a way that sportsman can spend more time outdoors. With this new interest in hunting with a bow and arrow, 3-D archery has introduced many new people to the sport of archery.
Another
Link to an interesting site on Archery History
