The Longbow

Problem Statement: The English medieval longbow is a socio-technical system for peasant class ascendency and a model for long-range warfare. Although a simple weapon that is unique to England and Wales for a period of 200 years, we found the longbow had lasting effects on the peasant class, helping peasant archers rise from poverty, change English identity, and inspire new folklore around the power of the individual. At the same time, its effectiveness and range in battle helped catapult a military revolution that introduced new defenses and military technology. The long-range projectiles made most effective by the longbow would serve as a model for weapons for centuries to come. 

Introduction to this technology: The longbow is a legendary weapon and socio-technical system. Before development of the English longbow, the cavalry (knights on horseback) were the most essential and fearsome army units. In the middle ages, an army was “raised.” Nobles would implore individuals and knights to fight for them, but a new army had to be built from scratch for every war and sometimes every battle. The knight class was a high-ranking socio-economic level with its own culture and sport. Knights were highly trained and skilled in different battle techniques making them the most formidable and effective part of a campaign. 

With the introduction of the cheaper, effective longbow, the individual peasant soldier who was trained from birth to pull a bow became just as deadly. The longbow ripped through chainmail and made expensive crossbows irrelevant. Peasant soldiers found themselves with more economic and social mobility as they joined a military class. Soldiers could specialize in one skill and volunteer to fight for wages leading to the development of mercenaries, professional warfare, and standing armies. In its extremes the longbow led to an arms race in military technology in Europe that, with new standing armies, provided the basis for today’s military industrial complex.