English Law Once Required Archery Practice
A bowman is an archer. For centuries English law obliged men to practise with the longbow every Sunday.
A bowman is an archer, and in a boat the crew member at the front. Medieval English law took archery seriously: statutes required men to practise with the bow on Sundays and holidays, and at times restricted other sports that competed for their time. A longbow needed years of training and left visible changes in an archer's skeleton.
- An archer. *A skilled bowman.*
- The forward crew member. *The bowman fended off.*
- Bowmen — the plural. *A company of bowmen.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | bowman | A veteran bowman. |
| Plural | bowmen | Ranks of bowmen. |
| Related | archer | A modern archer. |
| Related | longbow | An English longbow. |
| Related | fletcher | The village fletcher. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Bowmen decided the battle.Medieval warfare.
- The bowman sits nearest the front.Rowing.
- A fletcher made the arrows.A separate trade.
Archery trades and terms
- Bowyer — a maker of bows
- Fletcher — a maker of arrows
- Nock — the notch at the end of an arrow
- Draw weight — the force needed to pull the bow
- Butts — the practice mounds, still a place name in many towns
A compound of *bow*, Old English *boga*, from a root meaning to bend, and *man*. The surnames Bowyer, Fletcher and Archer all come from the trade.
Was archery practice really compulsory?
Yes. English statutes from the fourteenth century onwards required regular practice, and at times banned competing pastimes.
Bowman or archer?
They mean the same. Bowman is the older English word; archer came from French and is now the usual sporting term.