Mr. Cornwell,

As an archer, I really enjoy your work and the high regard you have for the archer – especially the English medieval archer.

As an archer, I thought I could advance some theorems (based on my usage of a bow) that might help in making your novels regarding archery more authentic. I note you appear to be a historian disguised as an accomplished writer and might appreciate some insights from the shooting community.

In your novels, I note that you have the protagonist unstringing his bow to keep it from losing its ‘spring.’  While this is true for a bow that is kept strung for long periods of time – days and weeks – it is not necessary to unstring a bow for short intervals; in fact, it may lessen the accuracy of the bow.

In your narrations of the processes surrounding the use of the bow, I note you have not used the term ” fistmele ” or ” brace height.” (fistmele is the actual archaic term used for this measurement).  This is the distance between the string and the bow.

It is an amazing measurement because it is the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when stretched.  In other words, it varies for each man’s size. It could be as small as 7 inches or as large as 10 inches; however, if the bow is correctly sized to a man’s height and draw length, the fistmele is the correct distance between the bow and string.

Why is this important?  First, it maximizes a bow’s throwing power – too little or to much causes a loss in the energy imparted to the arrow. Second, it provides uniformity of energy from arrow to arrow. Consistency is the archer’s friend – especially in arrows and bow performance.

Prior to modern bowstring technology, bowstrings would stretch with use. There is a an actual distinction between “stretch” (permanent lengthening of the bowstring) versus “creep” (the minor lengthening of a seasoned bowstring after stringing). New bowstrings will stretch a great deal and must be twisted to get the correct fistmele. (Twisting will shorten a string and cause the bow to bend more and increase the fistmele)

Old bowstrings are good because most of the stretch has been pulled out of them and the only variable is creep. A knowledgeable (old style) archer will string up an old string long enough before using the bow to allow the creep to occur and the bow to settle into its best fistmele.

I apologize if I have been a tad anal on this, but it’s hard to shoot a group of arrows that can be covered by the palm of your hand. I can do this at 30 meters with an Olympic style bow; but after that it gets increasingly difficult and every variable is a factor in how the arrow flies.

Thank you for getting this far and I wish you continued success.

Rob