A longbow is a weapon used mainly in Medieval England. It is one of three types of bows - the short bow, the composite bow, and the longbow. They were used for battles, sieging castles, and in naval battles. The longbow was about 6 feet long, which varied since every longbow in existence was made to measure, with powerful 3 foot arrows.. It was made out of a yew tree, and arrows would be made out of ash, oak, or birch. There are 3 different types of arrows: Long Bodkins, which were for piercing chain mail armor, Short Bodkins, which were for piercing plate armor, and Swallowtails, which were for taking down horses. Arrows were much stronger than they looked. A skilled archer could shoot an arrow through plate armor from 100 meters. The maximum range was 400 meters. Longbows were even preferred around the time when guns and cannons were invented. Cannons could only be fired 2 or 3 times during a battle, but longbows could…show more content… It spread to England when Edward Ⅰ saw one being used in the 1280's in the battle between England and Wales. Later, England had become known for their powerful armies with longbows.. Longbowmen, as they were referred to, were usually on either side of the military in foot battles when the army was approaching the enemy. The longbow was used in many battles between England and France, but there are three in which the longbow played a key role. First, there was the Battle of Sluys in 1340, which was also the first major battle of the Hundred Years War. English archers took down 190 of 202 French ships with a huge attack. Next, there was the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. The long bow killed over 2,000 French knights. These knights were also the most elite in the French army. Finally, there was the Battle of Crecy in 1356. This is a big example of how effective the longbow can be in battle. About 20,000 English soldiers defeated 60,000 French soldiers, and only 100 men died in battle on the English