: : -Thentaran

: The English (Welsh) longbow of the medieval period was highly effective at a distance of 200 yards, and it is estimated that such a bow had a maximum range of 400 yards (this varies depending upon wind and other factors). Mind you that at 200 yards a specific target would not be chosen but the arrows were launched in potentially devastating flights. Some bows were made from ash or other woods but the very best bows (known for flexibility, strength and longevity) were carved from yew.

Spanish yew was especially favoured, and any English ship trading with one of the Spanish kingdoms had to bring back a quota of bow staves with every cargo.

As regards range, this depended on the "pull" of the bow, ie how much force was needed to draw it. The Mediaeval English archer was trained to use the bow from childhood, skeletons have been found where the stress of constant archery practice had visible effects on the bone structure. So an expert archer was also strong in the arms. There is a trade off between the pull of a bow and accuracy, if a person tries to fire an arrow using a bow with too strong a pull the tension in the arms leads to an uncontrollable tremor which ruins the aim.

As for killing distance, that would depend on where the arrow hit and what the target was wearing. At extreme range an arrow would be unlikely to kill outright even an unarmoured man. At twenty to thirty yards a bodkin arrow (narrow three-sided armour-piercing head) would stand a reasonable chance of penetrating even plate armour if it struck at right angles to the surface.