it. Of these castles, the most elaborate is the castle of
Caerphilly, built by Gilbert de Clare, the Red Earl of Gloucester who
helped Edward in the Welsh wars. And it was by means of these
magnificent concentric castles--Conway, Beaumaris, Carnarvon, and
Harlech--that Edward hoped to keep Wales.

There are many kinds of bows. In war two were used--the cross-bow
and the long-bow. The cross-bow was meant at first for the defence
of towns, like Genoa or the towns of Castile. So strength was more
important than lightness, and the archer had time to take aim. It
was a bow on a cross piece of wood, along which the string was drawn
back peg after peg by mechanism. The bow was then held to the
breast, and the arrow let off. It was clumsy, heavy, and expensive.

The long-bow was only one piece of sinewy yew, and a string. It was
used at first for the chase, and the archer had to take instant aim.
It was drawn to the ear, and it was a most deadly weapon when a
strong arm had been trained to draw it. Its arrow could pick off a
soldier at the top of the highest castle; it could pierce through an
oak door three fingers thick; it could pin a mail-clad knight to his
horse. It was this peasant weapon that brought the mailed knight
down in battle.

The home of the long-bow is the country between the Severn and the
Wye. It was famous before, but it was first used with effect in the
last Welsh wars. It was used to break the lines of the Snowdon
lances and pikes, so that the mail-clad cavalry might dash in. But
later on, the same bows were used to bring the nobles of France down.

From the Welsh war on, archers and infantry became important; battles