pictures of bows in medieval manuscripts

[horsebow]

On Taran's request:
Pictures of bows and arrows in medieval manuscripts are often schematic and of no great value to researchers because of the complicated rules of medieval iconography.
I have found two manuscripts in the internet with very detailed scenes of archery, crossbows and archery equipment:
Gaston Phoebus, Count of Foix: The Book of the Hunt (livre de la chasse), Paris, France, 15th century and
Jean de Froissart, Chronicles, Bruges, Flandres, 15th century.
Gaston Phoebus was a very important french nobleman who fought in the Hundred Years War against England and devoted his life to hunting after having killed his own son in a quarrel. He wrote a book on the theme with wonderfully detailed miniatures showing every aspect of medieval hunting. There are pictures of crossbows and longbows in action, hunting techniques and so on.
Jean de Froissart is perhaps the most important contemporary source of the hundred years war. His book is filled with very detailed miniatures e.g. of the Battle of Crecy or Poitiers and many archery scenes are depicted.

You find the manuscripts on the homepage of the Franch National Library: http://www.bnf.fr/site_bnf_eng/expos/index.htm
when you click on "The Age of Charles V", then on "manuscripts".

I downloaded and commented on some of the pictures in my user's gallery. If you visit my gallery you will also find some pictures of medieval arrowheads, nearly all of them from my own collection.

Regards, horsebow

P.S.: I am obliged to everyone who can tell me about links to medieval manuscripts depicting archers, bows or archer's equipment in the internet!

[John Turtle]

http://www.caama.ca/images/imagemed2.html

A small but fine collection

[horsebow]

Thank you, John T.!

That was exactly what I meant...
compiling a thread full of links to medieval archery illustrations :-)

Regards, horsebow

[locksley]

In the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, there are a lot of Arrows, with different Featherdesigns used in the 15th century.

Also you can find many details of clothing and other kinds of weapons than bow and arrow.

Here are some Links with Examples for Feathers and to the complete Collection of Hieronymus Bosch´s paintings.

The hell right wing

Judgements Day

The Web Museum

Olgas Galery

[Bogi]

Here are some very nice Pictures from St. Sebastians Martyrdom.
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/m/memlin ... oseba.html

Here is a very interesting Page with lots of Pictures of St. Sebastian. Sadly the funktion ist not the best, but you can see any Pictures.

http://bode.diee.unica.it/~giua/SEBASTIAN/pictures.html
From the "English Longbowman 1330 - 1515" from Clive Bartlett, i love this one, the Bows are very crooked and the Arrows are all one the wrong side.

My Scanner unfortunetly does not work with my Windows XP, so i am not able to set some more Pictures in here.
















Here is another one from the flemish Artist Memling, may be a kontinental Longbow?

[Gillean]

In "liber ad honorem augusti" (Italy 1196) the bows seem to be recurve. The picture is an example. The manuscript contains much more bows like this.

[Pictor Lucis]

http://www.camelotintl.com/heritage/bat ... court.html
A review of the Battle of Agincourt. Shows a pic of Yeomen. Three lefthand-shooters an one, just putting up an arrow. But I am afraid, the pic itsself is not medivial
;-)

[Taran]

A lot of medieval pictures referring to archery bowhunting and even fletching, on a Russian site:
http://archers.medieval.ru/reci.htm