VEMBRACES

[Alanus]

Yes, but if you're an archer you only need one

I have read and heard in the past some explanations, that : "roman legionaires could have them .. stealing idea from archers. And that this is very important item for archers .. and that it was very common in middle ages for archers "

etc ... bla bla bla.

Wrong wrong wrong ...


We need to understand that this leather "something" was invented in Holywood and Robin Hood movies in modern times etc.




When you look into the sources for many different cultures and historical periods, you will clearly see .. that PEOPLE in the past didnt need such invention.

Its all about knowing how to keep the bow in correct position.

No vambraces at all ....

You nailed it on the head-- keeping the bow in correct position. I teach this position to my archery students. HOWEVER, mounted archers firing arrows at various degrees from a moving horse DID wear a single "wrister" on the bow-arm. Perhaps they were not technically "vambraces," but we have enough archaeological examples surviving made of wood and even carved stone. When firing arrows at many angles and twisting your body, you cannot always shoot from a "correct" position. Look at modern photos of competative horse-archers... and they are using bows oft less than a 40-pound draw-weight. Out on the steppes, the bows usually exceeded 100 pounds of pull, and when that string slapped a wrist it drew blood. :wink:

The pictures you show are all of standing or kneeling archers in the "correct" postition on the ground. (Frankly, some of the illustrations are not even technically or historically accurate, while others are.) This is not a fair representation of horse archery. :roll: