Archer (army)

Assyrian archers. Southwest Palace of Nineveh. 700-692 B.C. British Museum.

The archer was a soldier who shot arrows from a bow, a rod made of steel, wood, or other elastic material, held at the ends by a string or staff, so as to form a curve.

History

The use of the bow as a hunting and war weapon dates back to the Upper Paleolithic.

Egyptian, Persian, Assyrian monuments, etc. they bear witness to the existence of combatants armed with bows.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, archers were a weapon of great importance: English archers, by annihilating the French cavalry, were the architects of the victory at Azincourt in 1415. Progressively replaced by crossbowmen and arquebusiers, archers were used in France until the 16th century and in England until the 17th; the Russians used archers in the Napoleonic Wars.

Louis XI created the Corps of Scots Guards Archers in France, and at the beginning of the XVI century, the Royal Guard of Archers of Burgundy was introduced into Spain, who dressed in yellow korean and bohemian clothing, with red and white stripes. However, these should not be confused with archers because they did not use bows and their name came from the weapon used in the guards, the archa.

With Carlos V, the Archeros de la cuchilla formed the King's personal escort, reserved for Flemish hidalgos or of Flemish origin such as the painter Juan van der Hamen, and they continued in office until Felipe V replaced by the Corps Guards. According to the Etiquetas de Palacio of 1647.

All archers must be continually in order, with their horses and weapons, which are gola, peto, back and sleeves of mesh, morrions, tabanillos and guns, and the horses must be of the size and goodness that is necessary and convenient. Being in the war other than those weapons, they have to have celadas, borgoñonas, bracelets and armor.

Bracelet

This was the name given to the piece of leather that Egyptian archers attached to their forearms.

English archers protected themselves from the rubbing of the bowstring and the shock of arrows with bone or ivory bracers.