Ahh rain and bow strings - well keep this under your hat... but that is what it means. In the rain archers would remove the bow string and coil it, pop it under their hat. Used a spare string to tie hair back etc, also kept dry, could be used for stringing the the bow (a second string or another string to their bow.
Benefit over the crossbows of the mainland was that a long bow could be strung by hand, whilst a cross bow with all the poundage they pull could not, thus the crossbowmen had to keep the whole bow out of the rain as opposed to just the string.
Compound bows - horn, bone and ligament laminate etc. Not sure but I do not think the made it into Europe, let alone off the edge of Europe and into our sodden land. Some of them had to be kept dry else the laminates would come apart.
Great bow (longbow) originated in Wales (allegedly) and was made of elm or witchelm rather than yew. The good yew came from Spain or Italy, not the UK and there were laws requiring the importation of bow staves with other goods.
Bayonets - a bow is pretty pointy
and most of the archers would have a variety of daggers etc for despatching the wounded - so I guess something could have been arranged, mind fitting a spike to a bowstave should not be too difficult.
BIkes - wot are they?
R
