John. I have found the Article and will set about reproducing it. Also, are you aware of 'Historical Targets' by Anne Braun ?. This contains much information - largely about crossbow tournament arc hery - on the Continent. A good source I think. It is now out of print but might be available from a good second-hand seller. It was originally published in German but the English translation was published by Roydon Pub: Co. 81 Goswell Rd: London EC. If the worst should come and you realy wanted a copy then I have a spare which I will sell. (£10 plus post at cost) Just let ne know sometime.

Dear Hugh, I had never heard of Anne Braun's book before, but afterreading your post I found it via AbeBooks for 3,40 Euros and of course instantly ordered it.
Thanks for mentioning the title here, I'm now looking forward to adding this volume to my little library.

@John: Check http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchR ... ts&x=0&y=0

Hugh

Yes, I have the English translation of Anne Braun's book. It had some useful information, but most of it is of too late a period for what I am looking for. But, still a good reference book that I would recommend.

And thank you, I am looking forward to reading the article.

John

Hugh

Did you ever find a copy of that article?

John

Sorry John. I can only find a single sheet. I'l still keep looking but it seems to have disappeared for the time being. .

Hugh

Thank you. Around my house, when something disappears, we blame it on the poor old dog. ;-) She is 18 years old now and has been blamed for a lot.

John

I thought I should mention that I finally completed the article on medieval archery competitions on which I had been working. It is titled: "European Medieval and Renaissance Archery Contests And Targets" . It was written for members of the "Society for Creative Anachronism" to encourage their archers to use more period style targets.

It can be found at: http://www.modaruniversity.org/Archery8.doc

My thanks to those of you that offered help with it.

John Edgerton

John. Looking again at this subject, a rather basic source is in the early medieval ballads of Robin Hood and Adam Bell etc. There is an enigmatic reference to 'shooting under the line' which has some similarities to shooting beneath the screen in l'Art d'Archerie.
'Pluck, Buffet' may have been intended as military practice perhaps, with the tyro receiving a buffet if he did things incorrectly. 'Pluck' presumably concerns drawing the string.

John - I have just read your splendid article and must congratuate you on your dedication. You have brought together much interesting information, and it was great to see you pictured at the end - now we know what you look like !

A few comments: We had always considered the pointing archer in the Luttrell Psalter to be the instructor, trying to lick some useless yokels into shape. [*] The image of the archer shooting on Finsbury Fields is king Charles II. [*] When you hit a 'wand' which is made from a lathe it goes off with a very satisfying crack.

There were round targets with coloured circles before the time when the prince Regent laid down the requirements for the competition for the prize he had donated; but they were not standardised.

The use of a small round target at ground level for clout shooting is of great antiquity and therefore is just as acceptable as a flag. The Woodmen of Arden, who have shot clout continuously since the 18th century refer to the distances of the arrows from the target thus: 12feet = two bows. 9feet = a bow and a half. 6 feet = a bow. 3 feet = half a bow. One and a half feet = a foot.

You will be able to read much of this in Hugh's latest book, due out February 2012

Kind Regards Veronica-Mae

Thank you for your kind words about the article. I did what I could with the sources I had available. It would be great if members in other countries could research sources in their languages and write up an article on what they can find. Then it could all be put into one article.

I am waiting for Hugh's latest book. I ordered it two months ago from Amazon.

John
Newark, California, USA

John I do hope you have not sent money to Amazon yet, they are very naughty, implying that the book is available. We are still working on the illustrations !

I do wonder whether your article might be acceptable for the Journal - the Editor IS a bit picky, but why not give it a try ? Nothing ventured nothing gained.

regards Administrator