the Sackett Companion (1992) Read Online Free PDF Page B

even taller, measuring as much as seven feet. What was called the warbow was usually six feet with a pull of one hundred pounds, and it needed a strong man to handle it. Good yew was rare in England, and even more scarce in Wales, so the first bows were also of ash or hazelwood. The appearance of the longbow on the field of battle spelled the death knell to the armored knight, although they were slow to accept the idea.

    The armored knights were an undisciplined lot, unaccustomed to any but individual battle, and either unwilling or unable to work in concert. The archer well knew where his arrows were most effective, and his marksmanship was excellent. Every battle had its tales of some phenomenal shooting by archers with the longbow. In the earliest days each man made his own bows and arrows, but later these were provided for him, and had some uniformity.

    By the time of Ivo, most English soldiers had seen the longbow in action, and many favored them over the crossbow as quicker to loose a second arrow, and easier to replace if lost or broken in battle. The effective range was considered to be 200 to 240 yards, although there were many stories of effective shooting at greater distances by archers of skill.

    CORVINO: Former acrobat, injured in a fall, who lives by his wits in London, a man who once belonged to a troupe of acrobats and jugglers, and who wishes to belong again, who seeks someone worthy of his loyalty.

    JUBLAIN: A former soldier from Mayenne, in France; a difficult man, cross-grained and cynical, but a fine swordsman. Returned to England with John Tilly, in TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS, but a bad penny always turns up, so. . . .

    RUFISCO: A Neapolitan shipmate of Barnabas who deserted the Jolly Jack with Barnabas and Sakim. Dies in a boat after being shot with Indian arrows.

    THE HULK: The wreck of a ship, half-buried in sand, where Barnabas took shelter. It also appears in TO the far BLUE MOUNTAINS, and in a future book, as yet unwritten. If you wish to know its origin you might read FAIR BLOWS THE WIND, a story of Tatton Chantry. A ship with a cargo of silver bars and perhaps other treasure, left to the mercy of wind, wave, and whatever chance might bring, but buried at last on a small, sandy islet in a Carolina river.

    JOHN LELAND: An historical character, author of Itinerary in England and Wales. Supposedly born in London in 1506, but it could have been a year or so earlier, and died in 1552. Perhaps the most dedicated antiquary in English history, he devoted much of his adult life to wandering the English countryside noting old castles and ruins, searching out the histories of towns and scholars, recording whatever he discovered. What we have, however, are only notes taken en route, for Leland did not live to write the work he planned.

    No doubt much was lost, for if I were to judge him by my own practice, I know his notes might serve only to fix certain places or ideas in mind that he planned to develop later from memories. The notes were merely keys to unlock memories he had filed away for future reference.

    Leland had demonstrated considerable scholarship, and his education was excellent. Offended by what he considered slighting remarks about England and her kings, he had followed his studies by on-the-spot research. The map he planned was never drawn, yet his books remain a fascinating area for research on the England of his time, and offer significant clues to a sometimes unrecorded past.

    PETER TALLIS: A man of varied talents, providing from a booth in St. Paul's Walk legal papers of various kinds, and purveying information for all those who could pay. A man of considerable education but no wealth; an interesting rascal, but a good friend to those to whom he took a fancy. Whatever you wanted, he either had or could acquire for you, always for the proper payment. A man not above ignoring business for good conversation, a sifter of truth from gossip; a man aware of who was plotting against whom,