Bow (weapon)
- This article is about the weapon. For other meanings, see Bow (disambiguation).
A bow is a weapon used to shoot arrows. It is used in hunting, sport, and a long time ago, war.
Using a bow is called archery. A person who uses a bow is an archer and a person who makes bows is a bowyer.
A bow is a long curved stick to which a string, called a bowstring, is tied to both ends. Ancient bows were made of natural materials like wood or bone, with the bowstrings made of fibers like flax or sinew, but today they are often made of plastic.
To shoot a bow, the arrow is put on the bow, with one end to the string, which is pulled back. When the string is let loose, it throws the arrow forwards.
There are many different types of bows, for example the longbow, the automatic crossbow, and the compound bow.
There are many different ways that people protect themselves from arrow attacks. Shields may have been the most common method in ancient warfare. The Roman Army, for instance, had the testudo formate, or tortoise formation. They first made the shields lock into a somewhat tortoise like formation, which provide a shell that was make out of shields. The arrows would eventually run out, and the Romans would charge. Castles would have battlements on their walls to protect against arrows, as well as let their archers fire arrows.
Reading
[change | change source]- Iggulden, Hal; Iggulden, Conn (2007). "Making a Bow and Arrow". The Dangerous Book for Boys. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 33–38. ISBN 978-0061243585.
