Livre de la chasse
Bequest of Clara S. Peck, 1983
Phoebus recommended that bows be made of boxwood or yew and twenty hands long (over three feet). They were to be strung with silk, which was more elastic than hemp. Arrows were to be eight hands long, and the double-edged and barbed head five fingers long and four wide. A hunter stalking for game was always to have his bow ready and partly drawn in order to avoid a quick motion. The arrow was to pierce the animal's breast, but if the animal was not killed, it was to be pursued by a lymer. Here the archers are camouflaged by the trees and their green dress. Phoebus cautioned that one was to shoot only what one clearly saw. In order to avoid accidents in the pursuit of game, care had to be taken not to cross the line of shooters.
Image courtesy of Faksimile Verlag Luzern