English Long Bowmen (Medieval) had draw weights of 150lb.
The English longbow is one of those weapons where the myths surrounding it have become so intertwined with the reality that it’s hard to separate one from the other. Various legends exist about English longbowmen being able to hit a man in the crotch from 500 yards or let loose an arrow capable of punching through plate armor like it was made of knock-off iPhone screens.
Weirdly, it seems that there’s a surprising amount of truth to these legends. Historically recovered longbows have been noted to have draw weights (the amount of weight required to pull a bow string taut) inexcess of 150 lbs, which is*almost triple*what you would find on an average bow today. This not only meant that longbows back then were able to hit targets from an astonishing distance away, but that the men using them were almost superhumanly strong. The skeletons of longbowmen are noted as being easy to identify because their right arms are almost always bigger than their left, being upwards of*50% more dense*due to years of repeated longbow use. Longbowmen used bows so difficult to draw and shoot that they left behind*buff skeletons.
Weirdly, it seems that there’s a surprising amount of truth to these legends. Historically recovered longbows have been noted to have draw weights (the amount of weight required to pull a bow string taut) inexcess of 150 lbs, which is*almost triple*what you would find on an average bow today. This not only meant that longbows back then were able to hit targets from an astonishing distance away, but that the men using them were almost superhumanly strong. The skeletons of longbowmen are noted as being easy to identify because their right arms are almost always bigger than their left, being upwards of*50% more dense*due to years of repeated longbow use. Longbowmen used bows so difficult to draw and shoot that they left behind*buff skeletons.
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