The Legendary Bowmen of Wales & the Hobelars
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- čas přidán 4. 05. 2023
- In this video, Kevin Hicks explores the legendary bowmen of Wales and the hobelars, giving an insight into where these brave men were from and where they fought.
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Manorbier Castle by ©Niall Watson/Flickr
I truly enjoy your content. I'm US born and raised, but I have a love for European history with a particular focus on England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. I appreciate all your hard work and research because you often share insights into history that are routinely glossed over by textbooks. Thank you for all that you do for us, your fans. 😁😁
I'm a Californian living in Germany, sharing a love of history with you. schöne grüße aus Nordrhein/Westfalen.
Thanks Brad, much appreciated 👍🏻
What about us hidden Cornish?
@@inyobill Grüße aus Essen/NRW
@@crywlf9103 some much to learn, so little time. Sigh
Cymry history and culture is so rich, i have deep respect for them. God bless Cymru! 🏴🇧🇷
Diolch yn fawr iawn ✨👍❤️🏴
Diolch yn fawr and God bless Ukraine! 🏴 💪 🇺🇦
Diolch yn fawr brawd ❤
Diolch Kev your always very respectful while mentioning the Welsh in your videos and I loved how you covered how we would rebell constantly even when fighting for the English in the 100 years war amazing content as always 🏴🏴🇨🇦
Bending but not breaking ...
@@inyobill yma o hyd
@@welshman8954 Sorry. mate, I understand zero Welsh, would you be so kind as to help me out?
@@welshman8954 ... and thanks for the reply.
@@inyobill Ry'n ny yma o hyd
Still here despite everything
I am an English longbowman and I have the most respect for the Welsh.
Yeah im a conquistodor but I got dumb respect for the welsh
The last bit about only understanding Welsh is only too true. My great-grandfather,born 1838, couldn't speak English at all. Through DNA tests I have found I'm forty percent Welsh and couldn't be more proud.
Your comment also makes me realise how lucky I was - I'm 28, my great-grandfather was born in 1922, and I knew him until I was in my twenties...
Respect to the welsh Bowmen&Hobelars!🏹👍
I really enjoyed this, it’s nice to see someone so knowledgeable, especially on a typically obscure topic such as Wales! The note on the necessity of Welsh-speaking commanders is also really interesting, if I’m not mistaken I believe one of the ancestors of the Tudor family served in such a role, and the commanders as a whole made up a big chunk of the Welsh-speaking government in Edward I’s Principality
I can see Wales from my house - This means it's going to rain.
I can't see Wales from house - It's already raining.
Local joke from my village Porlock
The "biobul" calls forty days and nights of rain, a deluge. We call it summer....
Definition of a calm day on the west coast of Norway? Less than three sheep are blown into the sea....
😂
Love it.
Can see Exmoor from the mountains behind my house, on a clear day, if it’s been snowing I can pick out the fields when it’s been snowing, Exmoor one way Bannu Brechinog the other, the hill over to Lynmouth is a bit of a bugger, got stuck in snow on the top a few years ago, nothing in Porlock about 18” on the top, you live in a lovely area
@@davidharris4062 I can see Brecon beacons when they have snow on them too. Lovely.
The happiness and pride I feel finally seeing someone talking about this part of history, especially being a man of Gwent
I'm also a Lewis. my family is Welsh and came over to the US from Wales in the 1840's they were well off. the family had a woolen mills. and their father disowned them for leaving to join the LDS church. our family home from the 1700's is still standing. its name is "Tawny Paul" and sits right by a castle! I actually have a piece of the roof my dad brought back. The new owner let him take a tour of the house and told him "come on in, this is YOUR house!" i've always wanted to know more about the Welsh so this was very interesting!
Great video Kevin. My grandfather was born in Pontypool, Wales. I can still remember his accent, even though he passed away when I was young. Stubborn as the day was long and ornery as hell. Still miss him. He work as a child in the coal mines before the first World War. Take care and love videos.
Happy memories 👍🏻
Hi, MyMother was born in pontypool too and I worked as a Paramedic based at Pontypool Ambulance Station! Now retired I live just down the Road in Cwmbran! It's a small world!
Great video Kevin! 👏
Food for thought:
Whereas it took the Normans around 5 years to fully subjugate England, it took *216 years* to fully conquer Wales.
Such incredible grit and defiance!
*Cymru am byth* - *Ry'n ni Yma o hyd* !
✊ 🏹⚔️🏴
Indeed, they couldn't read the roadsigns 😜
That was great , thank you for making the video . I'm from Gwent and , when I was a young man my local pub was called The Man of Gwent and the pub sign was a Bowman 😊😊. It's still there today .
By the way, if you are a tourist in Wales it is customary when visiting Welsh castles to show the v sign with two fingers to anyone in uniform that is present, as a way of expressing appreciation of the service given by Welsh archers to The Crown.
There's a manga called Hawkwood that takes place during the 100 Years War, and the Welsh bowmen in it are depicted as these absolutely _massive_ titans because of how strong they were. It's amazing.
I love this comment. How interesting. There are many good additions to our understanding of the times depicted by some very knowledgeable viewers. How good is that 😀
You are one of my all-time favorites. Thank you for your wonderful work during an age of revisionist history.
Love this video about my country, I live about 5 minutes away from Caerphilly castle in South Wales which is breathtaking to see up close. Would love you to do a video on the battle of Crug Mawr between the Welsh and the Normans. I think it would be a great follow up to this video. Many thanks Kevin!
Been learning about Caerphilly Castle its really impressive! Ive only walked past the front and seen it from the train but am planning to visit the castle =]
@@yugenheorte6828Yeah mate it’s incredible to see the scale of it from inside. They even have working replicas of the Ballista, Trebuchet and Catapult which they use on display days. Nice little gift shop in there too!
I knew a little about Hoblars from Cornwell, but this was great. Hard for us Americans to understand English-Welsh stuff, glad you fleshed that out as well.
I enjoy how you weave your personal family connections into the historical discussion, as well as mentioning the historical characters by name. It gives your presentations color and depth - it gives the historical events meaning and added context. History isn’t just a bunch of facts, it is the stories of the people and their actions in their time. Just like we are doing now. It’s important to remember that. You do it well.
Thanks Andrew 👍🏻
Thanks for the tribute. I was born here in South Wales and taught in Welsh schools. There are half a dozen ancient castles and ruins in my home town alone and I'm only an hour or so from Caerphilly Castle, Cardiff castle or Manobier. All totally enchanting places. Were surrounded by history. I love hearing about our history in warfare especially 👍
Fascinating as always. It's interesting that you didn't mention the Welsh archers employed by the English at the battle of Bryn Glas in June 1402, who helped win the battle for Glyndwr's army. The English had a very steep hill to climb to get to the Welsh army camped near the top, so obviously the Welsh had better range and were inflicting heavy casualties. When the English army was part of the way up the hill, a hidden force of Welsh soldiers attacked from the side/rear causing even more casualties. At that point, whether it was pre-arranged or whether it just happened spontaneously, the Welsh archers among the English ranks opened fire on the English soldiers too. So they weren't *totally* loyal... 😉
I visited the site of the battle a couple of years ago. I wouldn't have liked to have been in the English ranks on that day. It's an incredibly steep hill to climb in full gear!
A great comment thank you and yes, I hope to cover Glyndwr and some Welsh battles in due course 👍🏻
The Welsh seem like some hardened troops for sure. Being shot through the thigh might be one of the most painful things I can think of. Thanks for another great video Kevin.
I’m welsh myself. Thanks as always for an interesting and informative.❤
Great video, shared it with a Czech bowman friend of mine!
Great stuff, thanks very much 👍🏻
Thanks Kevin, for the latest history tidbit. And thanks for the shout out as well. Cheers from Texas.
You're most welcome David, glad you enjoyed this one 👍🏻
I just discovered your channel. I love your passion. I have a huge affection for English, Welsh and Scots. I wish I could sit down in a proper pub and have a pint, or three, with you. Cheers, mate. schöne grüße aus Nordrhein/'Westfalen,
Thanks and welcome to the channel, it's always good to sit and chat history over a pint 👍🏻
Thirty years ago I walked into a shop on main street Mena, Arkansas called Uniforms of Antiquity. I was there to get my husband a American Civil War cap with his Army National Guard unit insignia on it for his birthday. The gentleman who owned the shop was Welsh and spoke Welsh. His wife translated. It was a fun afternoon.
I've been making bows from the "white woods" for almost 30 years. I've made several bows from elm and they're great. My everyday bow is 60lbs @ 29" and made of Elm. That passage from Geraldus has inspired me for years. Btw, in one of your other vids you mention your shooting glove to protect your bow-hand. I've had to do that too. I shoot mostly in solitude so it's nice to see someone else having to do the same. When I don't see others using a glove it makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong!
Thanks for the comment, and no, you're not doing anything wrong in using a glove. 👍🏻
5k Bowmen? Can't imagine the carnage from arrow swaths raining down on the field. Scary.
There are estimates that say as many as 6-7 thousand bows.
There was a test done by one of those Time Team shows they used to do.
Basically, they got an archer club (so about 10-20 archers of various ability) to see how many arrows they could loose within a minute and it turned out it was something like 10.
So, theoretically, they could be dropping as many as 50,000-70,000 arrows per minute.
Tod’s Workshop here on YT also does a good “Longbow vs Armour” test series where he shows that the armour of the time was reasonably effective. Stopping maybe 4/5 arrows and making the hits potentially survivable.
However, you would need to be fully kitted out in the best armour available (ie, full plate) because anything less and you may as well not bother wearing armour at all.
Colonel Morgan Morgan (1688-1766) from Glamirganshire, Wales is s my 7th great grandfather on my Mother's side. I am not only Welsh but Scottish and Irish on my Dad's side.
You have officially over taken Attenborough as my favorite English voice. Thank you for these stories my friend, cheers!
Haha, thanks Jonathan, I'm honoured. 👍🏻
Thanks for the lesson; I always look forward to your classes. All hail, thehistorysquad. 🏹
Cheers buddy 👍🏻
Thank you, Sir. I normally shoot a horsebow, as my ancestors are from Central Asia. However, this morning, you have inspired me to go out and practice with my Longbow.
Excellent, have fun!
Was just on holiday in wales. Thanks for the extra history!
Which part? How was it?
@@Inquisitor_Vex visited southern Wales near Cardiff, visited Chepstow, Monmouth, Skenfrith, Caerphilly, Raglan, and Cardiff Castle. Then drove to northern Wales and saw a few of the castles of Edward I, Harlech, Caernarfon, and Conwy
@@isaacmiser2680 you missed my end then, on the southwest?
How was it?
You should come back next year and visit Pembrokeshire. Voted most beautiful coastline a few years back and there’s tons of history in the place.
I'm from the US so it might be a while till I go back bit I plan on it, I wanted to see the Southwest, but didn't have enought time sadly. Fortunately the weather was great while I was there.
Great video, I have read a lot about the Welsh bowmen . Their abilities amaze me
Yay it's Friday and a educational clip from Kevin 🎉❤thanks Kevin for another interesting story ❤❤❤
Great work Kevin. I have read about the battle of Shrewsbury. Been to the site too. It is known as Battlefield. Don't know why. There is a small museum with daggers and arrowheads, and a model of Harry's injury. I went to college in Shrewsbury with a young lady called Jennifer Mottishead. Sadly she is no longer with us. Lovely girl. Mottishead is one of the nobles who fought in 1403.
Yes, I've been to Shrewsbury a few times myself too, I used to present at the Prep school there 👍🏻
Wow, someone who isn’t afraid to shy away from the fact that it was the Welsh Bowmen who inspired the use of such weapons later by England. This is often overlooked in favour of the blanket statement “English Longbowmen”.
Always love Kevin's passion about the topic he is describing...😊
Diolch i chi Kevin, da iawn ar y ynganiad! Iechyd da!
Haha, cheers 👍🏻
Excellent again Kevin, especially interested as an Englishman living in Radnorshire who took up archery here!!
As ever, another great video. I'm part Welsh myself, my Grandad was from Tredegar, South Wales, survived the Cym mine disaster....
One of the pleasures of watching your videos is hearing your Lichfield accent. Born and raised in Nottingham, I lived in the West Midlands for 6 years - almost all my secondary school years - so it brings back memories. I never acquired the accent though. Much later, I learned that the accent difference can be traced back to the Watling Street divide between the Danelaw and English Mercia.
Your content is amazing. I’m from Iceland and have heard a lot of stories from the British occupation in ww2 witch has led me to take a bigger interest in English history as a whole, especially medieval history. Your channel has really expanded my interest in the subject
That's great to hear, thank you 👍🏻
My great grandfather came to America from Flintshire Wales. My grandfather passed on in 1956, I don't know much about family history.
I have a long flatbow, I make my own arrows.
As always Kevin your passion you bring to these stories is beyond reproach. Brilliant
Cheers Michael 👍🏻
Brilliant video. I love Welsh history. One of my ancestors Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd was present at the Battle of Bosworth.
Yet another fascinating account Kevin. I, like you are of English (Father was from Darlington) and Welsh Descent, my mother being a Jones from Pontypool (Cant get more Welsh than that!) I live in Cwmbran which is in Gwent, formally Monmouthshire a county that seemed to go back and fore between England and Wales so this was especially interesting, ( A special shout out to your good lady who I believe is from Cwmbran too!)
Haha, she is indeed born and bred 👍
Gwent or Monmouthshire has never been in England. Confusion arises because for a time its courts were administered from Herefordshire. Also, the border expanded and contracted a bit after battles, which is why you have Welsh place names now in England. But the county has always been Welsh. In fact it was King Arthur’s grandfather Tewdrig who kept the Saxons out of Gwent in battle after battle, leading to the border being drawn where it now is.
There's so much European history that I know incredibly little about. Channel is slowly trickle teaching me where to research. It's cool how the Hobelar is a spear man like the Hoplite in Greece antiquity. Sounds kinda similar too
As a child in Wales, I was told the same story concerning the Welsh long bow.
Your in wales boyo that’s my area , now your talking local,thank you Kevin just across the common from me and just across the marsh so varied terrain here and many rivers for them to cross in armour weapons etc so bowmen travel light if you think about it.
What a gifted storyteller regardless of timeframe. Thanks. May GOD bless
Some say, the strange English tradition of 'half-day-closing', was originally to allow enough mid-week bargaining space for everyone to change sides; good for business etc.
Thanks Kevin, your stories always leave me thinking of how any ad hoc fighting group, then relies on the good teaching skills of it's survivors, - no Sergeants left? - poor new army?
Nice to see the Welsh Bowman given the credit they deserve
Thanks Kevin for some more great stories.
Love seeing my country get representation, thank you!
You're most welcome!
Thats just made me fill up. Everyday when i wake up, i thank the lord i am Welsh.
I have read that the reason that crossbows superseded the longbow was not because they were more effective, but because they didn't require a lifetime to master.
Yup, same reason the musket took over. It takes me about 7 years to train a good archer. In the meantime, I can make a decent crossbowman in about 3 months. A musketeer I can make a pretty decent one in about 3 weeks.
@@als3022 I believe that they estimate the weights of some of the bows recovered from the Mary Rose were in the 180-200 lb range? That knocked me off my chair.
Interestingly I was at the Mary Rose yesterday doing some research 👍🏻
@@inyobill It's crazy how much weight these archers pulled. 180lb is like picking someone up who weighs the same as me, with just three fingers! I shoot a recurve bow with a 30lb draw weight (I keep it light as my shoulders are knackered!). I've shot a 50lb bow a couple of times and probably couldn't manage more than a few shots with it, and I failed to get a 60lb bow back to my anchor point. These people were shooting bows three times heavier than that, and for the duration of a whole battle! And then had to get involved with hand-to-hand combat after they'd shot their arrows or the enemy were too close! A very different breed of people!
@@bujin1977 I used to shoot 45-50 lb. Not any more.
Diolch yn fawr brawd, sometimes it feels like our history is lost amongst wider British history. Great video and much appreciated!
My pleasure 👍🏻
Great way of storytelling and so much information, I'm happy that I found this channel!
Thanks for this show!
Cheers Kevin, History with Heart And And a Brilliant Knowledge of His Subject YOUR THE MAN MR HICKS, THANKS, ALL THE BEST.....WILL AND ELAINE. 🇮🇲👍🇮🇲
Cheers Guys, much appreciated 👍🏻
Reminds me of the medieval town of Chillingbourne.
Ive been absolutely binging this channel since I found it.
Great to hear, thanks & welcome!
Hi Mr Hicks, I wanted to know if you were ever going to make a video about the DEFEAT of the English archers in the Hundred Years War? For example, the battle of Patay (1429)?
Good stuff!!
Another great episode!!
Very interesting episode. Wouldn’t want to meet a mediaeval Welsh bowman in a dark alley.
Love the way this guy narrates
Another great episode! Thank you again!
A fascinating account of the Welsh Bowmen, Kevin - thanks ever so much for the info. I am proud of the support the Bowmen gave us. I have family links to Wales, which makes me twice as proud! I do like your final comments about the Bowmen only obeying commands in Welsh, perfectly reasonable when one thinks about it. At least English Gurkha officers have to reach a certain standard in the Nepali language, so I suppose we learned the lesson eventually!
Absolutely 👍
Fascinating yet again❤️
Hi Kevin! I love your videos. Could we possibly get a detailed look at your archers belt pouch? How its constructed and what an archer might have kept in it? Thanks a lot for the great content!
Welsh is strong through my family. I spent many an afternoon sat on my grandmothers floor watching Welsh rugby. I have read discussions about the origins of the longbow and it is thought it was introduced to these isles by German auxiliaries during the Roman era. Possibly but, you're right in that it was adopted in Wales on a huge scale. I've seen an early illustration of an archer said to be Welsh with only one shoe and a very nobbly longbow which seems to match your description. I understand that the Irish were known to wear one shoe for better purchase on wet ground. I forget which king made practicing the longbow compulsory and outlawed the crossbow but Edward I "Longshanks" made good use of them against the Scots. A bloody but brilliant general way ahead of his time I think.
At the end of the day Kevin I don’t think I’d like to be at the pointy end of either a Welsh or English bowman. In those times they were both formidable both as hard as each other and both with a skill set to be proud of.
Yes but the Welsh did it first at the battle of Crug Mawr when they slaughtered a few hundred Norman knights.
The survivors must’ve gone home like “you wouldn’t believe what just happened…”
A few years later and the English King makes it mandatory for all free Englishmen to practice archery at least 1 day/week or something like that.
Fast forward and he’s then bringing 6,000+ archers over to France and changing the way wars are fought in Europe.
I’m back got a lot of videos to catch up on from you. I hope you’re doing good bro. Love to see the stuff keep it up.
Ah, I only thought of you the other day. Welcome back 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad that’s awesome dude I love your work and you’re just such a fun guy to learn stuff from my son even watches your stuff sometimes now when I am not home he really loves it. He wants to learn how to shoot arrows with a bow.
I see Kevin Hicks, I Kevin Click. It's just that simple.
😜 thanks 👍🏻
great video once again kevin. very informative as always.
Excellent video Kevin!
Brilliant as always Kevin! 👌
You make nice videos with very interesting content.
Thanks
Another great video!
Awesome video, very informative
Very happy I found your channel! The content is top notch and interesting. Keep up the great work! Thanks for sharing!
Great stories, thank you for sharing Mr Hicks sir!
Hello Sir, thank you for the wonderful content! :) I’ve been shooting the longbow for about 1 year now, here in Ottawa. I was wondering if you could please provide us with some info (or hopefully make a video) on making home repairs on longbows? For example: what to do if there is a twist in your bow; or if your horn nocks are at a bit of a diagonal from the rest of the bow; or how to bind a split or splinter in the back of your longbow; etc.? Thanks again for your great videos! I always look forward to your next one! :)
Hi there, thanks for watching and your comment. I'll certainly look into doing a video along those lines for you. I had one planned for repairing arrows, but will look at this as well 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad thank you kindly; I really appreciate it! :)
Thank you as always Kevin (you legend)
I love all your videos x
Fantastic history lessons, unbelievable amount of research. Kevin's knowledge, PRICELESS. SUCH REALISTIC INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY. KUDOS TO YOU SIR. WHAT A FINE GENTLEMAN AND SCHOLAR!👍
Thanks John, you're very kind 👍🏻
Great history and great telling…
Excellent as always kev
Cheers Richard 👍🏻
Absolutely brilliant blog. DIOLCH 👍
I love archery I always look forward to your historical accounts
I love this channel. Thanks for all of your hard work! I'm happy to be a new subscriber.
Thanks and welcome 👍🏻
Diolch am yr fideo yma wedi bod yn ffeithiol iawn ag wedi ei fwynhau, diolchwn eto i chi. Thank you for this video it has been very factual and enjoyed it, I thank you again.
Love the content here.
Makes me proud to be welsh and from gwent! Great vid as always kev
Thanks again for your "Welsh" of knowledge!
I grew up playing D&D and even though that is fantasy this sort of content is still fun for me. Also, super educational. Thanks.
Always Enjoy a history of archery story.
This Channel is soooo underrated. The Energy brought to it is Amazing
Wow, thanks!