ABSTRACT
SKILL in archery is sought after by all the peoples of the North as though it were an inborn vocation; in the main they use handbows, which are allowed to every age-group, and at every time, place, and occasion, as is shown in the picture above; here too are depicted the age-range, the sport itself, and the way of life in which its practitioners engage. Children start in their early years, at which period concerned parents teach their offspring of either sex, but chiefly the males, how to hold their handbows (for they practise no other kind of archery), and raise or lower or deflect them when they discharge their bolts. If they do not hit the target and the bolt or arrow disappears among trees, grass or snow, or if, discharged from high up, it is hidden among shrubs and bushes, the parents show them how it can be recovered, that is, by shooting another arrow, or more than one, and by keeping the bow at the same elevation, maintaining the original height and distance, so that they may trace it from where this second flight falls. It will be found not far from the one which the archer shot before. This method of recovering shafts is followed by bowmen over the whole northern region. So that boys may take greater pains to hit the target, they are presented with a white belt, in which they take wonderful delight, and new bows. In similar manner the girls are given something to wear made of linen. They grow up to be so skilful that they unerringly hit a small coin or a pin at great range, as long as they can actually discern it; I saw this for myself in the year I have mentioned, 1518, when I was living in their territory. 1
Way of life
Handbows Training in archery
Searching for lost arrows
Prize for skill
Pin as mark for an arrow
