| 1. | Memoirs, p. 39. |
| 2. | It is one among many proofs how entirely time and circumstances have changed our
language, that the word artillery, at present specifically applied to cannon, anciently
meant bows and arrows only: "And David gave his artillery to the lad."
Then some would leape, and some would runne,
And some would use artillery. Which of you can a good bow draw, A stout archer for to be ? Robin Hood and the Curtall Friar. The Artillery Company of London was originally a body of archers. |
| 3. | Bankes's MS. |
| 4. | An allusion to the sheaf of twenty-four arrows usually carried into action. The
establishment of a royal body-guard began with Henry VII., who ordered fifty tall
picked archers to be selected out of Lancashire. It is remarkable that the guardsmen
are still extensively recruited there; for, although the ancient motive for this
preference has long ceased to exist, traditionary custom has perpetuated it. Queen
Elizabeth doubled the number of her body-guard, showing much pleasure in being
surrounded by the archers in all public processions; she also took great interest in their
personal appearance and discipline, of which there is a curious instance in some letters
preserved in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. "Queen Elizabeth loved to have all the
servants of her court proper men, and, as before said, Sir Walter Raleigh's graceful
presence was no mean recommendation to him, so I think his first preferment at court
was captaine of her majestic's archer guard. There came a country gentleman, a
sufficient yeoman, up to towne, who had several sonnes, but one an extraordinary
proper handsome fellowe, whom he did hope to have preferred to be a yeoman of the
guard. The father, a goodlie man himself, comes to Sir Walter Raleigh, a stranger to
him, and told him that he had brought up a boy, that he would desire, having many
children, to be one of her majestic's guard. Quoth Sir Walter, 'Had you spoke for
yourselfe, I should readily have granted your desire, for your person deserves it; but
I put in no boys. Said the father, 'Come in boye.' The son enters, about eighteen or
nineteen, but such a goodlie proper young fellow, as Sir Walter Raleigh had not seen
the like: he was the tallest of all the guarde. Sir Walter swares him in immediately; and
ordered him to carry up the first dish at dinner, where the Queen beheld him with
admiration, as if a beautiful! young giant had stalked in with the service."
John Taylor, the Water Poet, thus describes this body from personal observation. Within these few yeeres, I to mind doe call
The yeoman of the guard were archers all. A hundred at a time I oft have seen, With bowes and arrowes ride before the Queen. Their bowes in hand, their quivers on their shoulders, Was a most stately shew to the beholders. And herein, if men rightly doe observe, The arrowes did for two great uses serve: First for a shew of great magnificence, And trustie weapons for to guard their prince. Prayer of the Grey Goose Wing. |
| 5. | The seat of the worthy and hospitable James Evans, Esq. |
| 6. | ----Ormerode, Esq., of Ormerode Hall. |
| 7. | Or thereabouts. The prizes of this company are described elsewhere. |
| 8. | See p. 102. |
| 9. | Prizes unknown. |
| 10. | Sir R. C. Hoare. |
| 11. | Near Bristol. |
| 12. | Many persons yet living have seen the Prince shooting with the Toxophilites in the grounds of Leicester House. |
| 13. | With such tastes, his wealth would be infinitely more surprising than his poverty. It is very remarkable that the "Toxophilus" contains some serious admonitions respecting the destructive habit of gaming; with earnest exhortations, that the youth of his age should forego the dice-box, and follow "the harmless and manly exercise of the bow." |
| 14. | The prince alluded to the well-known comrade of that "strong thief" Robin Hood.
Would the reader like to see the origin of his name?
With all his bowmen, that stood in a ring,
And were of the Nottingham breed, Brave Stukely came then, with seven yeomen, And did in this manner proceed. This infant was called John Little, quoth he, Which name shall be altered anon; The words we '11 transpose; so wherever he goes, He'11 be hail'd as my own Little John. Thou shalt be an archer, as well as the best, And range in the greenwood with us; Where we ne'er want gold nor silver, behold,-- While bishops have aught in their purse. And so, ever after, as long as he lived, Although he was proper and tall, Yet nevertheless, the truth to express, Still Little John they did him call. Old Ballad. A portion of a bow, with his name scratched above the handle, hangs within the hall of Cannon Hall, an ancient mansion in Yorkshire, the seat of Walter Spencer Stanhope, Esq. It was brought from Hathersage, in Derbyshire, an old seat that once belonged to the Ashtons, where Little John was buried, and where his bones, of gigantic proportions, were recently dug up; those of the thigh measured 28 inches, being now in the possession of Sir George Strickland, Bart., of Boynton. As regards the bow just alluded to, it is of yew, and of great power still, six feet seven inches long, although that portion of both ends where the notches for holding the string were, has been broken off. |
| 15. | Since writing the above, I am informed that he died subsequent to the year 1799, a wealthy planter in Jamaica. |
| 16. | "Mr. Waring told me it cost the society twelve pounds." --Notes, Bankes' MSS. |
| 17. | P. 195 |
| 18. | Bankes' MSS. |
| 19. | Roberts. |
| 20. | Ibid. |
| 21. | Ibid. |
| 22. | The Russians levy a tax of two copecs on every Samoiede who can draw the bow. |
| 23. | A coin about the size of a sixpence. |
| 24. | Vol. i. p. 136. |
| 25. | Dumont's Levant, p. 195. |
| 26. | For explanation of this term, see p. 360 |
| 27. | The Prince's bugle, contested at three lengths; viz., 60, 80, and 100 yards.
July 1836. --King's cup, won by Captain Norton; silver cup, by Mr.Haddes. Present-- The Prince of Orange; and the King of Oude's ambassador. |
| 28. | Shakespeare.--As you like it. |
| 29. | NEALE. |
| 30. | To prevent footsteps, or other accidental sounds, from discovering his approach. In hunting, this precaution was observed, because a buck can by his scent, discover the hunters at a considerable distance. |
| 31. | The county of Warwick. |
| 32. | The foresters took care of the venison; the verderers, of the vert or timber. |
| 33. | One very usual tenure by which men held their estates during the middle ages, were
military or personal services connected with archery. The presentation of a barbed
arrow at certain seasons, was, in a hundred instances, the only acknowledgment
required for large grants of land; and by the office of bow-bearer to the king, when
he came to hunt in particular districts, several ancient families, besides that just
mentioned, originally acquired post session of the broad and fertile manors they at
present enjoy.
Sibertoft, county of Northampton.-- This manor was held by Nicholas le Archer, by the service of carrying the king's bow through all the forests in England. Upton, county of Gloucester.-- Geoffroy de la Grave holds one yard of land in Upton, in the county of Gloucester, by sergeantry of following our lord the king, in his army in England, with a bow and arrows at his own cost for forty days; and afterwards at the cost of our lord the king. Molesey county of Surrey.-- Walter de Molesey holds his land in Molesey of our lord the king by the sergeantry of his being his crossbowman (balistar) in his army for forty days at his own costs, and if he should stay longer, at the cost of the king. Waterhall county of Bucks.-- Reginald de Gray holds the manor of Waterhall, in the county of Bucks, of our lord the king by the service of finding one man upon a horse without a saddle, of the price of fifteen pence, and one bow without a string, and one arrow without a head, when the king shall command him for his service for the said manor to be in his army. Petites Sergeantries Aston Cantlou, county of Warwick.-- The manor of Aston Cantlou (so called from the family called Cantiloup) was, by inquisition, after the death of Lawrence Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, returned to be held in this form; viz., that that manor is held by itself of our lord the king in capite, by the service of finding a foot soldier, with a bow without a string (arcu sine corda), with a helmet or cap, for forty days, at the proper charges of the lord of that manor, as often as there should be war in Wales. Chittington, county of Salap.-- Roger Corbet holds the manor oftington, in the county of Salop, of the king in capite, by the service of finding one footman in time of war, in the king's army in Wales, with one bow and there arrows, and one pale*, and carrying with him one bacon or salted hog; and when he comes to the army, delivering to the king's marshal a moiety of the bacon; and thence the marshal was to deliver to him daily some of that moiety for his dinner, so long as he stayed in the army; and he was to follow the army so long as that half of the bacon should last. Brineston, county of Chester.-- The manor of Brineston, in the county of Chester, is held of the king in capite, by the service of finding a man in the army of our lord the king going into the parts of Scotland barefoot, clothed with a waistcoat and breeches, having in one hand a bow without a string, and in the other an arrow unfeathered. Bryanstone, county of Dorset.-- Ralph de Stopham holds the manor of Bryanston, in the county of Dorset, by the sergeantry of finding for our lord the king, as often as he should lead his English army into Wales, a boy carrying a bow without a string, and an arrow unfeathered (buzonem sine pennis), at his own proper costs, for forty days. * Pale-- a stake shod at both ends with iron, carried into the field by each
archer, and planted obliquely on the ground before him, on the approach of
cavalry. |
| 34. | Wardmote of August, 1832, won very dexterously by the Hon. and Rev. Charles Finch, who gained three successive ends. |
| 35. | Lieut. Colonel Stewart, first shot in the gold. |
| 36. | Hon. and Rev. Charles Finch, second shot in the gold. |
| 37. | By the present secretary, Rev. Thomas Coker Adams. |
| 38. | By the same Woodman, 45 hits. The possessor of this prize ranks as Captain of Numbers. |
| 39. | By the Hon. and Rev. Charles Finch, 42 hits. The silver medal confers the Lieutenancy of Numbers. |
| 40. | The following anecdote has relation to an illustrious ancestor of this gentleman. As King Charles I. marched to Edgecott, near Banbury, on 22d Oct. 1649, he saw Richard Shuckburgh, Esq. hunting in the fields, not far from Shuckburgh, with a very good pack of hounds. Upon which, it is reported, he fetched a deep sigh, and asked who the gentleman was, who hunted so merrily that morning, when he was on the way to fight for his crown and dignity. And being told it was this Richard Shuckburgh, he was ordered to be called, and was by him very graciously received. Upon which he immediately went home, armed all his tenants, and the next day attended the king on the field, where he was knighted, and was present at the battle of Coghill. After the taking of Banbury Castle, and his Majesty's retreat from those parts, he went to his own seat, and fortified himself on the top of Shuckburgh Hill, where being attacked by some of the Parliamentary forces, he defended himself till he fell, with most of his tenants about him. Being picked up, however, and life appearing in him, he was taken to Kenilworth Castle, and there forced to purchase his liberty at a dear rate.-- Dugdale |
| 41. | Given by the Countess of Aylesford. |
| 42. | One of the Royal Toxophilites. |
| 43. | Secretary. |
| 44. | Sloane MS. Rymer's Foedera. |
| 45. | See Welsh Archery. |
| 46. | Johannes Cornwall cepit Ludovicum de Bourbon Comitem Vendosme, apud bellum de Agincourt; cui Johanni, Rex dedit dictum comitem financiam suam. See Sir N. H. Nicholas; also Rolls of Parliament, vol. iv. p. 30. |
| 47. | Ray's proverbs |
| 48. | Leland's Collectanea. |
| 49. | In this list of the different societies, only one or two names from each are selected, as having chiefly distinguished themselves. |
| 50. | This very pleasant society owes its origin to Thomas Hastings, Esq., of East Cowes Cottage, Isle of Wight, a good archer, and author of a good book, " The British Bowman." The Carisbrooks recently issued a challenge to all England. |
| 51. | A pleasant handicap match for a subscription plate, given by W. Merry, Esq.,
honorary secretary to the East Berks Club, took place at Benham Park, in the autumn
of 1835, between the Royal Toxophilites, the East and West Berkshire Clubs, the
Windsor Foresters, and the Wellbourne and Clapton Archers distance 100 yards;
seventy ends; three arrows each.
They scored as follows:--
--Marsh, Esq., Clapton - - 286 70 hits.
--Moore, Esq., West Berks - 285 75 hits.
--Peters, Esq. Royal Toxophilites, and --Meyrick, Esq. West Berks, scored very near the above. The prize given by Mr. Hughes for the actual numerical superiority of hits, was gained by Mr. Moore. Contribution gold prize --Atwood, Esq., West Berks. The Benham handicap is open to every archery society of England. |
| 52. | For the names of other societies, see p. 285.; where particular descrip- tion is omitted, the author was unable to obtain the necessary details. |
| 53. | A very curious volume has recently been printed by --Dunlop, Esq., for private circulation only, containing a history of the Scottish archer guard described in " Quinten Durward," which for ages served in France, and was retained about the person of its monarchs. These, however, were quite distinct from the body guard of which I am speaking. |
| 54. | Their dress has recently undergone some considerable codification. |
| 55. | "That come to pass in an instant, which is not expected in a year," in allusion to the successful arrow. |
| 56. | I believe this gentleman to have been Dr. T. C. Hope, brother to James Hope, Esq., W. S., whose name is inscribed on the seventy-seventh medal. |
| 57. | There is this distinction, however, between the Greek and the Flemish mode: Merrion, Teucer, and Pandanus shot at a living dove; the Flemish archers use a small wooden figure, about the size of a sparrow, See a future portion of this work. |
