Bows in castle Forchtenstein, Austria

Kyudohund · Post by **Kyudohund** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:27 am

i took this picture in summer this year. note the twist in the bow left in the picture.

Kyudohund · Post by **Kyudohund** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:45 am

interesting detail on one bow: on both sides of the grip this halfrounded hollow on belly.

Uli · Post by **Uli** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 3:02 pm

can that be the remains of the central hollow of the horn ?
(e.g. when the horns are joined with the tips at the grip)

Kyudohund · Post by **Kyudohund** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:32 pm

hi Uli,

don?t think so. the hollow is on the outside of the horn.
looks like a kind of decoration. have no idea what else, or which practical advantage.
has anyone another explaination?

Peter

Kyudohund · Post by **Kyudohund** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:47 pm

another pic from this bow.

Tawfiq · Post by **Tawfiq** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 6:19 am

From what period are these Ottoman bows? Were these bows still in use in the second siege of Vienna?

Kyudohund · Post by **Kyudohund** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 8:34 am

these bows are dated 2nd half of 17th century, exact the time of the 2nd siege of vienna.

Tawfiq · Post by **Tawfiq** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 9:50 am

Kyudohund wrote:these bows are dated 2nd half of 17th century, exact the time of the 2nd siege of vienna.

?very interesting that very late use of the bow in war.
The latest pictorial evidence of the Ottoman use of bows in war was in the taking of Tunis from the Spanish Hapsburgs in 1574, which was their reply to the defeat they had suffered just two years before in the naval battle of Lepanto ( were the bow was also very much used from the Ottoman side).
Is the Vienna siege of 1683 that the latest attested use of the bow in a major battle in Europe?
Those bows look as if they could still function today?

Kyudohund · Post by **Kyudohund** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 11:06 pm

Tawfiq,

the bows are in very bad condition!
most are delaminated, at the grip, at kasan-end, ..... one a small part of the horn-belly broke out (like bracing in the wrong direction) .......
for me it looks like beeing in the wrong hands for a long time, having no idea how these artefacts are to handle!

jack farrell · Post by **jack farrell** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:33 pm

I have a Philippine bow with a very deep groove on the belly side. This is a palm wood long bow. This has always puzzled me.

In the case of this Turkish bow, I would assume that the person who put the groove on assumed that it would relieve some stress in the change of cross section endured by the bow being drawn.

I have come to think that the grooving on the glued surfaces is, to some degree, to keep the laminates together ACROSS the limb as much as along the limb. The cross section changes during draw. My theory.