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Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Archers:<br>
<br>
Today in 1545 the English ship <i>Mary Rose</i> sunk (or was sunk)
in the Solent while fighting against a major French invasion of
England: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rose">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rose</a> .<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
The French claimed that they holed the <i>Mary Rose</i> 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.<br>
<br>
The significance to Scadian archers comes from the wealth of bows,
arrow shafts, and other equipment which was preserved in the
wreckage. The <i>Mary Rose</i> archery artifacts are the best
window we have into English archery of the time.<br>
<br>
Yours Aye,<br>
<br>
<br>
Lord Mungo Napier, The Archer of Mallard Lodge<br>
<br>
<br>
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