[Archers] Wikipedia: Mary Rose Sinks

[Garth Groff]

Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Archers:

Today in 1545 the English ship /Mary Rose/ sunk (or was sunk) in the 
Solent while fighting against a major French invasion of England: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rose .

History tends to overlook the seriousness of this French invasion. It 
was actually larger in both men and ships than the later Spanish Armada. 
Many French ships were rowed galleys mounting a single large gun, which 
were very dangerous to the becalmed English ships. The French actually 
landed on the Isle of Wight and burned many of the towns there. English 
archers from the local militia (which some sources claim included 
women), plus a change in the weather which allowed the English to 
finally get underway, convinced the French to leave while they could.

The French claimed that they holed the /Mary Rose/ with shot from their 
near-suicidal galleys. Maybe. The presence of the skeletons of many 
archers on the orlop deck (the waterline gun deck) suggests they may 
have been doing damage control. The English claim the ship healed over 
too far with the gun ports open, blaming bad seamanship. Possibly. One 
has to account for spin from both sides.

The significance to Scadian archers comes from the wealth of bows, arrow 
shafts, and other equipment which was preserved in the wreckage. The 
/Mary Rose/ archery artifacts are the best window we have into English 
archery of the time.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, The Archer of Mallard Lodge


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