"After the destruction of the Spanish Armada, fears being entertained lest the King of Spain should (out of revenge) send an emissary to attempt the life of Queen Elizabeth, a number of noblemen of the Court formed themselves into a body guard for the protection of her person, and under the denomination of the 'Companie of Liege Bowmen of the Queene,' had many privileges conferred upon them. The famous Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was captain of this company, which was distinguished by the splendour of its uniform and accoutrements. Upon the accession of James I. the company was disbanded, although those who composed it retained the privileges which had been conferred upon them by Elizabeth. Upon the breaking out of the Civil wars Charles reorganized this bodyguard which attended him against the Parliamentary forces, and afterwards emigrated with Charles II. At the Restoration this company was maintained, and under the title of 'Royal Company of Archers' received a new Charter, being the origin of the present 'Royal Artillery Company' of London. About the time of the institution of the Liege Bowmen of the Queen, a new kind of cross-bow was constructed in Holland, by one Vander Foheman, having many advantages over the old one. This he brought to England and it was purchased and adopted by the Company. 6

"An ARBALEST of Foheman's construction, bearing the date 1579, 3 feet 3 inches long, exquisitely carved out of black oak, is now in the possession of A. Nossoc, Esq., the proprietor of a rare and valuable collection of paintings by ancient masters. By this gentleman's kindness I have been able to take a sketch of it, a copy of which I enclose. In these instruments the impulse is not communicated to the arrow directly by the string, but by means of a movable iron bridge, placed behind the string. I subjoin outlines of the arrow used with this kind of bow, and also of its lock.—(See Cuts.)

"The end (a) of the arrow, Fig. 1., was placed against a small square plate of metal (a) of the bridge, and the other end of the arrow rested on the steel bow. The string pulled upon the hook, (d) Fig. 2, and the end (c) acting with a lever advantage communicated its impulse to the bridge, (b) against which was placed the arrow. The figure 3 will explain the rest of the contrivance, (f) being a spring to keep the trigger down.

"The wooden part of the arbalest is beautifully carved with figures; its front extremity is a lion's head holding in its mouth an acorn originally of gold, for which a wooden one is substituted, as is the round stock at the other extremity which was of silver; its lower side has a figure of Bellona, a terminus, &., carved out of it; its upper, a sphynx, head of Medusa, leaves, and numerous other ornaments upon it; the sides are also beautifully carved, and two steel escutcheons on its sides before the bridge have engraved on them a trophy, and two roses.

"As these cross-bows are now extremely rare, I should feel gratified if any correspondent could inform me whether an arbalest of this description is preserved in the Tower, or in any public or private collection of ancient armour; and whether it was used by the Company of Archers after the Restoration."

The Steel Bow is of the shape annexed, Fig. 5, being a resting-place for the fore end of the arrow.

We may here add that the Cross-bow was also called a Steel-bow, because the horns were usually made with steel; and others were called Stone-bows because they were modified to the purpose of discharging stones. The cross-bow makers used to exercise themselves in shooting at the popinjay, or artificial parrot, in a field called Tassal Close in London, from the number of thistles growing there, now called the Old Artillery Ground. 7

The following description of an archer, his bow, and accoutrements, is given in a MS. written in the time of Queen Elizabeth. "Captains and officers should be skilful of that most noble weapon, and to see that their soldiers according to their draught and strength have good bowes, well nocked, well strynged, every strynge whippe in their nocke, and in the myddes rubbed with wax, braser, and shuting glove, some spare strynges trymed as aforesaid, every man one shefe of arrows, with a case of leather defensible against the rayne, and in the same fower and twentie arrowes, whereof eight of them should be lighter than the residue, to gall or astoyne the enemye with the hail-shot of light arrows, before they shall come within the danger of the harquebuss shot. Let every man have a brigandine, or a little cote of plate, a skull or hufkyn, a mawle of leade of five foote in lengthe, and a pike, and the same hanging by his girdle, with a hook and a dagger; being thus furnished, teach them by musters to marche, shoote, and retire, keepinge their faces upon the enemy's. Sumtyme put them into great nowmbers, as to battell apparteyneth, and thus use them often times practised, till they be perfecte; ffor those men in battel ne skirmish can not be spared. None other weapon maye compare with the same noble weapon."

Even in Elizabeth's reign the bow was thought to be more advantageous than the musket; because the latter was at that period very cumbrous, and unskilful in contrivance, while archery had been carried to the highest perfection. Mr. Grose tells us that an archer could formerly shoot six arrows in the time necessary to charge and discharge a musket; and, as a specimen of the aim to be taken, even in modern days, a practised bowman has been known to shoot twelve arrows in a minute, into a circle not larger than the circumference of a man's hat, at the distance of forty yards.

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The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 538, March 17, 1832

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