Well this will get you all going 🙂 I have just posted an essay on Substack, about medieval battlefield archery. loadesofhistory.substack.com/p/did-medieval-english-archers-shootIt distills some of my thoughts about the evidence for English longbowmen shooting long range volleys and some of my thoughts on why this may not be the best use of valuable resources of arrow supply and archer stamina. Please note that I will not be engaging in debate about this on facebook! The purpose of this post is to direct those interested to my Substack page (which is FREE). However it does allow me to write a little more thoughtfully than here, so if it piques your interest do take a look. Civil comments will be welcome there.And while you're there - do take a look at some of my other articles and let me know what you think. What would you like to see more of there? ... See MoreSee Less
Those oarsome people who are building a working replica of the Sutton Hoo Ship have launched a public competition to choose a name for the vessel. Entries will be accepted until January 31, 2026; then the top 3 will be put to a public vote.They stipulate no silly names, that it has evoke the ship’s heritage and that it is simple to pronounce.Hmm – that last stipulation really took the wind out of my sails. I fear that my first choice, Brimhengest (Anglo-Saxon for brine-stallion/sea-stallion), founders on the rocks of not tripping sufficiently lightly off the modern tongue.Even so I think that the name should encompass something of the Anglo-Saxon tradition of ‘kenning’ - when a compound word is formed by connecting ideas related to the plain meaning, but which elevates it to poetic metaphor.In that spirit, perhaps something like ‘Wave-eater’ or ‘Wave-splitter’. After all the Anglo-Saxons came over in waves.Given that this particular ship served as King Raedwald’s transport to the afterlife, and also that he hedged his celestial bets by adopting Christianity, whilst continuing to worship the Anglo-Saxon pantheon, it could be called the ‘Waelhaell Ferry” – Waelheall (Hall of the Slain) being equivalent to the Norse Valhalla.I’m sure you all have better ideas. Let the sails of your imaginations unfurl. See the link below for where to submit.saxonship.org/suggest-a-name-for-saxon-ship/... See MoreSee Less
