_DRAWING_
Ascham seems to be right in declaring that 'Drawyne _well_ is the best
parte of shootyng'; and, as it is in the course of this part of the act
of shooting that all the ridiculous antics already quoted may be
exhibited, and without drawing well it is almost impossible to _take
aim_ or _loose_ with any chance of success, every archer must pay the
utmost attention to the acquisition of the best and easiest method of
drawing. Yet it is not pretended that there is but one best method of
drawing.
Here two things have to be previously considered, namely, the strength
of the bow to be used, and the length of the arrow, or rather how much
of its length must be drawn up. First, as regards the strength of bow to
be used, it should be observed that when, in modern times, the practice
of shooting isolated arrows was discontinued in favour of three arrows
shot by each archer consecutively at each end throughout a York Round,
the possibility of making the delivery of each arrow a supreme effort
became impossible, and the more frequent repetition of an effort, which,
though considerable (as it should always be), is not quite a _tour de
force_, is now accepted as more likely to exhibit grace in the execution
and accuracy in the result, with the natural consequence that the
average strength of bows now in use is scarcely so great as it used to
be; though it must not be lost sight of that bows now are more
accurately weighed, than they were before the invention of the York and
National Rounds; and also that now a large proportion of archers pull
their arrows well up, hold, and aim with them, whereas none did so in
the old times when no archer had so much as dreamed that it was possible
to take an aim with bows and arrows. Yet still at any public archery
meeting it is easy to observe, in one or other of the many varieties of
style of drawing represented, the germs of all possible contortions; but
in nearly all these cases of contortion it will be found that the 'very
head and front of the offending' is in the archer's vain attempt to
employ a bow that is beyond his control; whilst, if the weapon be well
within his control, it is as needless to distort even a muscle of the
face as it is for a short-sighted person to make a grimace when fixing
the glass in his eye. Still it will also be a mistake to be under-bowed
with a plaything, as wasting part of the power of covering distance and
overcoming wind, &c. Whilst bows varying in measure from 40 lbs. to 56
lbs. and arrows varying in weight from 4_s._ to 5_s._ can be easily
procured, every archer's weakness or strength can be appropriately
suited. For ladies there is the range in strength of bows from 20 lbs.
to 35 lbs., and in weight of arrows from 2_s._ 6_d._ to 3_s._ 6_d._
Next as regards the length of arrow to be drawn at each discharge. The
variation in the arrows themselves may be only from 26 to 29 inches in
those of men, and from 24 to 26 inches in those of ladies; but there is
a much wider variation in the part of the arrow drawn up by different
archers. There appears to be a widespread belief that in olden times the
archer soldiers used arrows a yard long; but only a few archers
participate in this belief, and join in treating this as a proof of the
degeneracy of modern archers. Ascham, in his treatment of the subject of
arrows, mentions them of many different lengths and thicknesses, without
any precision, and no doubt they were much more various in his time than
now. The 'clothyard' or the 'clothier's yard,' not the standard yard, is
almost always mentioned by old writers when treating of the length of
draw employed by English archers; and many considerations (supposing
positive proof to be altogether wanting) point to the conclusion that
this 'clothyard' was the length of 27 inches. In the absence of any
representative surviving war-arrow the evidence of an ancient model may
be taken, and such a model exists in the possession of the Royal
Toxophilite Society, described thus in 'A History of the Royal
Toxophilite Society 1870.' 'The most ancient piece of plate possessed by
the Society is an arrow, 28-1/4 inches long, the "stele" being of iron
very thickly plated with silver, and the barbed pile (1-1/4 inch long),
of solid silver. The three feathers are also of solid silver. On the
"stele" are these inscriptions:
SIR REGINALD FOSTER, Kt. and Bart.
WARWICK LEDGINGHAM, Esq.
_Stewards in Finsbury._
Anno Dom. 1663.
This arrow was presented to the Society by Mr. Philip Constable.' This
Mr. Philip Constable is mentioned as one of the oldest Finsbury archers
in Dailies Barrington's essay on Archery in the seventh volume of
'Archæologia.' The ancient Scorton arrow (1672) is of no greater length,
but has been broken and repaired and has no date on it. There is an act
of Parliament (Irish?) 5 Edward IV. ch. 4, which provides that every
Englishman, and Irishman dwelling with Englishmen, and speaking English,
being between sixteen and sixty years of age, shall have an English bow
of his own length, and a fistmele at least between the nocks, and
_twelve shafts of the length of three-quarters of the standard_. This
points to the length of 27 inches as the regulation length for the stele
of an arrow. The danger of breaking a bow increases the further it is
drawn up, and there is no scarcity of bows that are broken at even a
shorter draw than 27 or 28 inches. How many more broken bows would there
have been then if the usual length of arrows drawn were 36 inches; and
this in the course of a battle, when a broken bow meant an archer
temporarily disabled, as an archer? The material used in the
manufacture of bows, the wood, must have been the same as now, and, from
the specimens extant, their length does not appear to have been much
beyond those now in use. In fact, the length of a bow must always be
limited so as to be within the reach of the archer who strings it, and
the average stature of the human race does not appear to have
diminished.
It is not pretended that no arrows were longer than 27 inches. Doubtless
long and light arrows were employed to annoy an enemy whilst still at a
distance; but for a war-arrow, with a heavy barbed pile, to be an
effective missile, it must have been provided with a strong and stiff
stele, and this cannot also have been unusually long.
As dictionaries seem to avoid the compound words _clothyard_ and
_clothier's yard_, no better evidence can be found than the statement
that the 27 inches constitute a Flemish yard, and that Flemish bows,
arrows, and strings were always in high repute. So the dispute must
still be left for further consideration.
Hansard, in 'The Book of Archery,' 1840, treats the matter as fully as
possible perhaps, and apparently leans towards the belief that the
tallest and most stalwart archers may have drawn up huge bows a full
yard of the standard; yet, as he contends, at p. 191, that 'great
numbers of Welsh served at Crecy and Poictiers, and it is somewhere said
that a considerable portion consisted of archers,' it seems unlikely
that at the same time the average archer at those battles was of
gigantic stature. Ascham might have settled the matter, but he ventures
no further than the statement (p. 87 of Arber's reprint) that 'at the
battel of Agincourt with vii thousand fyghtynge men, and yet many of
them sycke, beynge suche archers, _as the Cronycle_ sayeth, that mooste
parte of them drewe a yarde,' &c.
Apart from the historical consideration of what used to be the average
draw of the old English archers, it must be admitted that modern
archers err on the side of not pulling up enough rather than on the side
of overdrawing. Therefore it is strongly recommended to every archer to
employ as long an arrow as he can conveniently use, and to bear in mind
that the portion of it to be drawn up at each loose should bear some
reasonable proportion to the length of arm, &c., in each individual
case. It may be safely stated that no archer will find that he can
conveniently draw fully up and loose evenly an _arrow of greater length_
than the space between the left centre joint of the collarbone and the
knuckle of the left-hand index-finger when the bow-arm is fully
extended.
But few experienced archers now extend the bow-arm fully and take their
aim before they commence drawing at all. Neither can this method be
commended, as it has an awkward appearance, from the necessity that
exists of stretching the other arm so far across the body in order to
reach the string, and it materially increases the exertion necessary to
pull the bow. Yet this method is not without its use as a preliminary
drill for a beginner, that he may learn the necessity and the difficulty
of drawing his arrow up, whilst keeping it constantly and exactly on the
line which the arrow is afterwards to follow towards the object to be
hit when it is loosed; at the same time not yet attending to the second
and equally great difficulty of a beginner, namely, that of shooting the
exact length as well; also that he may learn how to cover different
lengths by higher and lower positions of the bow-hand.
Much diversity of opinion exists as to the best method of getting the
bow-hand into position for the aim and loose, as to whether, in the
course of drawing up, the arrow shall be brought into the line of aim
from below or from above, or from the right to the left; and here it
would seem that to make the motion of drawing from the right to the left
and upwards at the same time is the simplest and most direct plan,
since, after the nocking of the arrow, the drawing commences most
naturally from beneath and to the right of the object to be hit.
There seem to be three successful methods of drawing--namely, first, to
draw the arrow home[3] at once, loosing when it has been aimed, without
any further draw; secondly, to draw the arrow within an inch or a little
more of home,[3] aiming then, and loosing after the completion of the
draw; and thirdly, the method of combining the operations of drawing and
aiming so continuously that the loose is the uninterrupted completion of
the draw. It is unnecessary to consider the distinct method of drawing
up and letting out again before the loose, or the uncertain method of
fraying up and down, or playing as it were at fast-and-loose a bit
before the loose, as no archer would adopt any such uncertain style as a
matter of choice; though such stuttering and hiccoughing performances
may occasionally bring back an erring arrow to its duty, or may arise
from the loss of nerve and the departure of the crisp finish from what
was once steady and unhesitating. Any movement of the bow-hand in
drawing up from the left towards the right should be avoided, as that
movement tends to contract instead of expanding the chest; therefore
great care should be taken, when lateral movement is used in drawing up,
to avoid passing the line of aim in moving the bow-hand towards the
left.
Though the theory and practice of aiming will be fully treated in
another chapter, some reference must here be made to _aiming_, although
it may lead to apparently unnecessary repetition. Reference has already,
somewhat prematurely, been made to the _line of aim_, and also to the
_length_ to be shot. Now it is clear that the success of a scientific
shot must be the result of the exact combinations of the _right line of
aim_, and the correct _level_ of the bow- and loosing-hands by which to
attain the _length_. In drawing, the process by which the _line of aim_
and the _level_ are arrived at must be associated in _practice_, but may
be _considered_ separately. Advice has already been given to avoid--as
soon as possible after the beginner has got through the first
elements--the setting-up of the bow-hand with the arrow already on the
line of aim to be then hauled at, and this for reasons already given.
But now comes in the apparently contradictory advice, to get it planted
there to be hauled at in good time before the conclusion of the
operation of drawing, so that _that conclusion_ may be certainly in the
right line of aim. And the further advice at this stage of drawing is
that the loosing-hand be kept well back, and never allowed to advance
between the archer's face and the object aimed at. In previous editions
of this book it was laid down that 'the arrow shall be at least
three-fourths drawn when brought upon the [line of] aim.' But this is
far from sufficient at this point of the process. About nine-tenths of
drawing should be by that time accomplished, or the archer will be in a
still worse position for applying his strength to the loose with
advantage should there be any pause at this stage of drawing to combine
the _level_ with the _line of aim_. Next come the considerations whether
the arrow should be held quiescent for a short time, whilst the perfect
aim is found, or whether the entire drawing should be one continuous act
from the first moment of pulling and raising the bow to the loose.
Neither of these methods appears to have much advantage over the other,
if well executed. The former will be a little more trying to the bow,
and, if the finish be imperfect, may lead to letting the arrow out,
which is known as a _creeping-loose_. The latter may lead to an arrow
being occasionally imperfectly drawn; but the bow will have no cause of
complaint, and full advantage will always be taken of all the work that
is done.
The method of drawing the arrow home at once, which has still to be
considered, has this point apparently in its favour--that it ensures the
arrow's being always drawn to the same point. But it is very trying to
the bow, the arms, and the fingers, and, ending in what is called a
_dead-loose_, at the best scarcely produces results commensurate with
the labour undoubtedly taken, and whenever it is imperfectly finished a
creeping-loose results.
Ascham, quoting Procopius, says that 'Leo, the Emperoure, would have hys
souldyers drawe quycklye in warre, for that maketh a shaft flie a pace.
In shootynge at pryckes, hasty and quicke drawing is neyther sure nor
cumlye. Therefore, to draw easely and uniformely ... is best both for
profit and semelinesse.' The modern style of shooting the York Round,
&c., is the same as used in his days to be called shooting at pricks,
and his advice as to the manner of drawing cannot be much improved.
A few lines before the passage above quoted he says, 'And one thynge
commeth into my remembrance nowe, when I speake of drawynge, that I
never red of other kynde of shootynge, than drawing wyth a mans hand
either to the breste or eare.' This he says when referring to the
invention of cross-bows. But it is curious that to no writer on the
subject of archery it occurred that 'under the eye' might possibly be a
better direction for 'drawing' than either to the _breste_ or to the
_eare_. Yet so it is that until the first appearance of Mr. H. A. Ford's
'Theory and Practice of Archery' in 1855 there existed no intermediate
styles between the one, that was too low, and the other, which, though
in the opposite extreme, was then so highly regarded as the grand old
English style, that the author, though annually Champion since 1849,
must have been a bold man to give the first indication of the new, and
now almost universally admitted, best style for target-practice of
drawing '_to such a distance that the wrist of the right hand come to
about the level of the chin_,' and the level of the arrow shall be a
shade lower than that of the chin; its nock being in the vertical line
dropped from the right eye.
One of the main features of good _drawing_ is that the distance pulled
be precisely the same every time; that is to say, the same length of the
arrow must be drawn identically, whether this length be to the pile, or
any shorter distance. Unless this be unerringly accomplished with every
shot the _length_ must be more or less uncertain, since the power taken
out of the bow will be greater or less according to the longer or
shorter draw.
A great many devices have been tried and practised to make this exact
similarity in the distance drawn a matter of certainty, such as by
notching the end of the arrow, so that the left hand may feel it when
the right length of draw has been reached; or by touching some point of
the face, neck, or chin, collar, button, or other fixed point with some
part of the drawing hand. But it will be found infinitely better to
arrive at an exact repetition of the same action by careful practice
rather than by dodges, which may, however, be useful as experiments.
These mechanical devices are unlikely to have a beneficial result when
constantly in use, as, when the eye and mind are fixed and concentrated
(as they should be) on the aim, if anything occurs to distract either,
the loose is almost sure to become unequal.
The pile of the arrow should not be drawn on to the bow. It is far
better that no arrow be drawn further than exactly to the pile; and
every arrow should be longer, by at least as much as the pile, than the
archer's actual draw. The danger of overdrawing, in that the arrow at
the loose gets set inside the bow, to its own certain destruction and to
the bow's and the archer's infinite risk, is very considerable. Nothing
can be gained by the violation of this rule. In cases where a beginner
may be likely to overdraw, a string of the correct length to be drawn
may be tied between the bow string and the handle of the bow, which will
effectually prevent such an occurrence.
It is believed that all archers, good, bad, and indifferent, are (more
or less) constantly subject to one failing, namely, that in completing
the draw, after the aim is taken, a slightly different line to that
occupied by the arrow (if correctly aimed) is taken, instead of making
the line of finish (as they should do) an exact continuation of the
arrow's axis, dropping the right hand, or letting it incline to the
right, or both; the effect being to cast the arrow out of the direction
it had indicated, and by means of which the aim had been calculated.
Here nothing but the most minute attention and constant practice will
save the archer; but he must be prepared for participation in this
common failing, and it is one of which he will be often quite
unconscious, though the cause of his frequently missing the target. The
very best archer needs to bear constantly in mind the necessary
avoidance of this fault; for, however skilful he may be, however
experienced and practised a shot, he may be quite sure that it is one
into which he will be constantly in danger of falling. Failure in wind
is frequently caused more by this failing than by the effect of the wind
itself; for instance, the aim, perhaps, is designedly taken so as to
make some allowance for a side-wind, and then the loose is delivered as
if no allowance had been made. The difficulty all experience in shooting
correctly on a ground where the distant level is not horizontal is more
or less connected with this dangerous failing. Here, though the archer
be perfectly aware that the distance slopes, however slightly, one way
or the other to the correct horizon, yet at the instant of the loose he
will unconsciously overlook this, and expect to have his unfortunate
arrow travel in a plane vertical to the mock horizon instead of in a
really vertical plane such as it must travel in, unless diverted from it
by wind. Another way of accounting for this universal failing is that
there is an unconscious detection of error at the last moment, and a
convulsive attempt to correct this error before the completion of the
loose by altering the line of the loose. Every archer is strongly
advised, when he detects an error in the aim at the last moment that
cannot be corrected before the discharge except in the action of the
loose, to take down his arrow and begin the shooting of it afresh. The
capacity to do this, when needful, is an excellent test of nerve.
As far as possible the right hand must always be drawn identically to
the same point for all kinds of target-practice, whatever the distance
to be shot may be. To the left arm alone should be left the delicate
task of the elevation or depression necessary when a longer or a shorter
distance from the target is adopted. It will be obvious that when the
left hand is, according to this rule, higher or lower for the purpose of
shooting a longer or shorter distance the relative positions of the two
hands must vary from a greater to a less divergence from an horizontal
level between them, and this leads to a most important consideration in
the action of drawing, namely, the position of the right elbow. This,
being necessarily out of the archer's sight whilst aiming, is too
frequently forgotten, and a faulty weak position of the elbow is much
more easily contracted than cured. Treated as a mechanical contrivance
for drawing up an arrow, the only correct position of the right elbow
with reference to the arrow is that the arrow's axis should pass through
the point of the bent elbow, and in this position only can the archer
apply his full strength. Yet, probably from the fact that the elbow must
pass through positions of less advantage in the course of drawing before
the full draw is reached, it will be observed that many archers at the
loose have the elbow below the level of the arrow's axis; and not a few
have the elbow projecting forwards from the same axis. These faults are
believed to be the causes of the constant and otherwise unaccountable,
but most frequent, downfall of successful archers, generally attributed
to the failure of nerve. Yet the nerves cannot certainly be altogether
at fault, for the same archer, whose arrow takes its flight into its own
hands, when applied to target practice, can steadily draw and hold the
same arrow when it is not to be shot. It can doubtless be observed that
in such cases the arrow in the one case is drawn up with a faulty
wavering of the elbow, whilst in the other the elbow is brought steadily
into correct position. When a position of the elbow higher than the axis
of the arrow comes to be considered, it appears to partake of the
nature of an exaggerated virtue rather than a fault; is an assistance in
the earlier processes of drawing; and, when in excess though not
graceful, will probably cure itself. Much the same may be said of the
much less frequent fault of drawing the right elbow into a position
further back than the axis of the arrow. This can only be brought about
by overdrawing, and is seldom observable except in beginners who are
anxious 'to do all they know' with too long an arrow.
The treatment of the elbow of the bow-arm remains to be considered. Here
trouble is more likely to arise with beginners than in an archer's
after-career. If a beginner, in obedience to the instructions of Waring
and the older masters of the craft, hold out the bow-arm 'as straight as
possible' i.e. locked tight at the elbow, a sprain difficult to cure may
not unlikely be the result, and, at any rate, a vast deal of unnecessary
arm or armguard thrashing. On the other hand, a bent bow-arm, such as
may appear to be recommended in the earlier editions of this work, will
lead to but poor results if a bow equal to the archer's power be used.
Here again the best advice that can be given is to hit off the happy
mean between the too rigid arm and that which is too slack. Let the
bow-arm be straightened naturally as the strain of the loosing hand is
applied to it, and by careful drill each archer will arrive at a method
of rendering the recoil of the bow string harmless to the course of the
arrow as well as to a naked wrist, which, it is now almost universally
admitted, need not be brought into contact with the armguard.
A marked variation of the method of drawing has occasionally been
adopted, with considerable success, with weapons of light calibre. The
nocked arrow is placed horizontally a little below the shoulder-level.
The draw then commences with the extension of the bow-arm, whilst the
right hand and elbow take the position for loosing, the arrow being kept
all the time on the line of aim.
One not altogether uncommon distortion must be mentioned for careful
avoidance. This consists of a stiffening of the right wrist, with the
hand bent backwards, at the time the fingers are applied to the
bowstring. This antic of course cripples considerably the draw. The
action of the wrist should be quite free and unconstrained until the
commencement of the draw, and during the draw the back of the hand
should be kept as nearly as possible in the same line as the forearm.
The left shoulder requires most careful attention. It must not be
allowed to rise too high when the bow is drawn, nor to shrink inwards,
as it will sometimes do with beginners when using bows that are too
strong. Moreover, this shoulder must be kept so close to the line
between the bow and the right shoulder that it shall project neither
before nor behind that line.
FOOTNOTE:
[3] By 'drawing the arrow home' the full length of the arrow is not
necessarily intended, but so much of its length as each archer _should_
draw.