London, from the number of thistles growing there, now called the Old
Artillery Ground.[7]

The following description of an archer, his bow, and accoutrements, is
given in a MS. written in the time of Queen Elizabeth. "Captains and
officers should be skilful of that most noble weapon, and to see that
their soldiers according to their draught and strength have good bowes,
well nocked, well strynged, every strynge whippe in their nocke, and in
the myddes rubbed with wax, braser, and shuting glove, some spare strynges
trymed as aforesaid, every man one shefe of arrows, with a case of leather
defensible against the rayne, and in the same fower and twentie arrowes,
whereof eight of them should be lighter than the residue, to gall or
astoyne the enemye with the hail-shot of light arrows, before they shall
come within the danger of the harquebuss shot. Let every man have a
brigandine, or a little cote of plate, a skull or hufkyn, a mawle of leade
of five foote in lengthe, and a pike, and the same hanging by his girdle,
with a hook and a dagger; being thus furnished, teach them by musters to
marche, shoote, and retire, keepinge their faces upon the enemy's. Sumtyme
put them into great nowmbers, as to battell apparteyneth, and thus use
them often times practised, till they be perfecte; ffor those men in
battel ne skirmish can not be spared. None other weapon maye compare with
the same noble weapon."

Even in Elizabeth's reign the bow was thought to be more advantageous than
the musket; because the latter was at that period very cumbrous, and
unskilful in contrivance, while archery had been carried to the highest
perfection. Mr. Grose tells us that an archer could formerly shoot six
arrows in the time necessary to charge and discharge a musket; and, as a
specimen of the aim to be taken, even in modern days, a practised bowman
has been known to shoot twelve arrows in a minute, into a circle not