English longbowとは 意味・読み方・使い方

The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, is a powerful type of medieval longbow (a tall bow for archery) about 6 ft (1.83 m) long used by the English and Welsh for hunting and as a weapon in medieval warfare. English use of longbows was effective against the French during the Hundred Years' War, particularly at the start of the war in the battles of Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), and most famously at the Battle of Agincourt (1415). They were less successful after this, with longbowmen taking casualties at the Battle of Verneuil (1424), and being completely routed at the Battle of Patay (1429) when charged before they had set up their defensive position. The term "English" or "Welsh" longbow is a modern invention to distinguish these bows from other longbows, though in fact identical bows were used across northern and western Europe, indeed a very large proportion of yew bowstaves were imported from Spain from the fourteenth century onward, if not earlier.