[Archers] Absurd Bow

[Garth Groff]

Noble Friends of the Bow,

This painting, "Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Sylvia" painted in 1682 by 
Claude Lorrain, is a prime example of why relying on artistic renderings 
as a source of historical archery information can be hazardous: 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Ascanius_Shooting_the_Stag_of_Sylvia_1682_Claude_Lorrain.jpg 
. While I will allow that a model may have posed for the artist, and 
will also allow that a bow may have been held by the model, I find it 
dubious that a bow with such an obvious hinge would be typical. In the 
largest blow-up of this painting available on Wikipedia, it appears that 
the upper and lower parts of the string do not even meet the nock of 
that gargantuan arrow.

Claude, as he was generally known, was notorious for his bad depiction 
of figures. The text of the Wikipedia article says:

"Although virtually every painting by Claude contains figures, even if 
only a shepherd, their weakness has been always been recognized, not 
least by Claude himself; according to his biographer Filippo Baldinucci 
he joked that he charged for his landscapes, but gave the figures for 
free. According to his other contemporary biographer Joachim von 
Sandrart he had made considerable efforts to improve them, but without 
success; certainly there are numerous studies, typically for groups of 
figures, among his drawings.

"In Claude's last years his figures tend to become ever more elongated, 
a process taken to an extreme in this painting, of which even its owner 
says "The hunters are impossibly elongated – Ascanius, in particular, is 
absurdly top-heavy". Its pendant has figures almost as extreme. With the 
mid-20th fashion for medical diagnosis through art, it was suggested 
that Claude had developed an optical condition producing such effects, 
but this has been rejected by doctors and critics alike."

Given the artist's reputation, I cannot accept the bow as anymore 
authentic than his grotesque people.

OTOH, I was initially outraged at the ridiculous-looking bulbous arrow 
points depicted in the famous illumination of the men shooting at the 
butts from the LUTTREL PSALTER: 
http://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Geoffrey_luttrell_psalter_1325_longbowmen.jpg 
. Little did I know!  As it turns out, these special arrows allowed 
peasants living within the royal forests to practice archery for war and 
to hunt small game, but prevented poaching of the king's deer. Such 
arrows may be what are referred to as "boults" in various period 
documents (in handbow context, rather than for crossbows). See Mike 
Loades THE LONGBOW (Osprey Publishing, 2013), pages 30-31, for examples 
and further discussion.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Balloon-popper Extraordinaire