How the Russian military bow was made: Complex construction and high-quality arrows

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The bow has long been considered one of the most basic types of weapons - it has been used for more than one thousand years. And in the Middle Ages, infantrymen began to use it at all as often as horsemen-knights with a sword or a spear. However, the bow, like the arrows to it in Europe, could radically differ from the same weapon in the armies of the eastern peoples. And if many people know about the Mongolian specimens, then not everyone knows what the Russian military bow was.

And in vain, because in some respects he even surpassed both the eastern and western "colleagues".

In the countries of the Middle Ages, bows and arrows were used by the troops almost everywhere. However, in terms of the complexity of their design, they differed mainly depending on the region. So, the most primitive was considered a simple arc bow, which was used in the armies of Western Europe. The most famous version of such a weapon of that period is considered to be the traditional English longbow, which was not very durable and was afraid of damp and frosty weather.

Research by historians has shown that in the East - among the Turks, Mongols and Slavs - bows were of a complex design, or "compound", which favorably distinguished them both in terms of efficiency and durability. But this region can boast not only of Mongolian weapons - the Russian military bow is not inferior to its Asian neighbor in quality.

The same applied to the qualifications of the shooters themselves: studying the evidence of the archery range in different countries at about the same period, historians concluded that the distance that was considered a record for the British and other European archers, for the warriors of the East, including and the ancient Slavs, was something that did not exceed the standard of qualifications of an ordinary fighter.

The battle bow of the warriors of Ancient Russia had the most complex design among all those existing then: the so-called "retroflex" bow with four bends, that is, it had the shape of the letter "M" with smooth bends. This type of weapon was already familiar to the ancient Scythians, who were always reputed to be first-class archers. The length of the Russian combat bow with the bowstring stretched over it averaged 1.3 meters.

Turning to the question of the choice of material, several types of wood were also used here, and not only. To prevent such a bow from breaking, it was glued together from different types of wood. The Russian combat bow was often made from birch and birch bark, juniper, and bone grips were also added. For a bowstring in Russia, they preferred to use silk, rawhide or tendons.

As for the storage and carrying of bows and arrows, the bow was most often used. It was a special cover that was used by both horse archers and infantrymen.

Interesting fact:in Western Europe, such taxes did not exist at all - they were used only in the armies of the East.

With regard to arrows, it is more and more traditional - ancient Russian archers used a cylindrical case. However, contrary to popular belief, it was called "tul", and the more familiar term of Turkic origin "quiver" appeared only in the 16th century.

However, the most interesting are the arrows of the Russian military bow, as striking elements of weapons, as well as the process of their manufacture. It is important to understand that all the parts from which they are assembled must be of the highest quality, and the arrow itself must be perfectly balanced. Therefore, manufacturing required skill and a considerable amount of time.

There were several requirements that a quality boom must meet. Perfectly flat shaft, plumage, attached in a special way, depending on the type of weapon use. The length of an arrow in Ancient Russia averaged 70-90 centimeters. In addition, a properly balanced boom should have a slightly off-center center of gravity towards the tip. But the characteristics of the remaining elements also depended on the type of the latter.

The production of arrows from the shaft began. The material for this was selected depending on the application. If the arrow was made for hunting, then the choice was stopped on a reed shaft. But for combat bows, only wood was used, but they differed rather due to the geographical location of production sites. So, in the southern regions, cypress was widely used, and to the north - birch, spruce or pine. In any case, upright trees were taken for the manufacture of the shaft, and they must be old, since they are more durable.

The manufacture of the shaft began in the fall - this time of the year was considered the most suitable due to the less moisture in the wood. The tree was cut into small blocks along the length of the future arrow, after which it was left to dry for two to three months. The dried wood was cut into smaller pieces along the grain, which were then carefully planed and sanded to achieve ideal smoothness and proportions.

It is interesting that the choice on which side of the shaft which elements of the arrow are attached was not made at random, but was subject to the rules. So, the tip was located at the end, which was facing the root system of the tree, and the plumage and the bushing for the bowstring, respectively, where the wood went into the crown. After fitting the tip, the shaft underwent a final "finishing" to fit the iron element of the arrow, but on average the wood was cut to a thickness of 8-10 mm.

The plumage is attached next. This process also had a number of important nuances, the observance of which ensured the quality of the arrow itself. First of all, it was necessary to choose the right raw material: flight (sometimes - tail) birds of prey, such as eagles, falcons, less often - vultures and crows, and also, as a kind of exception from this list, swans were suitable.

The selected feather was processed by cutting off the fan with the thinnest possible rod layer. Then, with the help of fish glue, it was attached to the shaft in the direction of the arrow's flight in such a way that the plumage was inclined to the bushing or bowstring eyelet. The feathers were located according to the traditional principle: at an angle to the axis of the arrow - so it could rotate in flight.

The location of the plumage relative to the sleeve for the bowstring was also different. The choice of distance depended on what was required from the arrow - a high flight speed or better accuracy of hitting a target. If you glue the feathers close, 2-3 centimeters from the end of the shaft, the arrow will fly slowly, more accurately. And if further, then the flight will be faster, but the accuracy may be lame.

The number of feathers on one boom also varied. The plumage could consist of two, three or four feathers. True, the fourth was fastened less often, because it did not affect the functionality of the boom, in addition, it often simply deteriorated during operation, therefore, they mainly stopped at a smaller number of feathers.

Separately, it is worth dwelling on the process of making the tips. Since most of them began to be made with iron in Russia since the 10th century, the technology for their production was well established. This also explains the huge number of their forms and types.

The most common before the 11th century, and therefore the most ancient, were three-bladed tips (also often called "Scythian"), much less often four-bladed ones were made. Later, they practically did not occur - they were replaced by flat and faceted versions, the latter being used as armor-piercing.

Flat nibs were the most common and varied in shape. Accordingly, the scope of their application was different. For example, one- and two-pricked, rhomboid and cut-off were used everywhere, but forked and rounded tomars, which were rarely found in Russia, were used during hunting, especially for fur-bearing animals, so as not to spoil the valuable skin. In addition, flat points were widely used against unarmored horsemen.

The process of placing the tip on the arrow shaft also has a number of nuances. In Russia, two types of fastening were used, depending on the type of the tip itself. So, the socketed options, which were quite rare, were simply attached with glue.

But the installation of petiolate tips, which make up the majority of the total, was more difficult. A hole or groove was made in the shaft, which was smeared with fish glue, then the tip was inserted, driving it by tapping it with a wooden tool. After fitting, the joint was tied with a tendon, and from above it was additionally strengthened with birch bark.