Longbow versus Crossbow?

[Rick]

Yeah, £30 is steep unless you're really, really into archery!
It says it's a balanced book, then makes mention of the 'myth' of the longbow in the title, as if everything about it is make-believe, which appears to be a quite biased position. I'll pass, even if I had 30 quid spare, I'd pass.

[Dice Roller]

Having worked in publishing for a number of years, I would urge you to be aware of the difference between the author and the publisher's marketing department.
The author *may* (and I emphasise it is only a 'may') have gone into it with honest impartial intentions keen on exploring the history of the longbow.
But then the marketing team got hold of it and decided they need to make it sound like a contentious and critical exploration with exposes, revelations, and critical new ideas and opinions. Just to make it marketable.
So they may, in some cases, give the book a title that catches the eye, or add a subtitle like the one presented here. Wrap it in a sensational cover.
The author will have had nothing to do with that and it may not be representative of the author's intentions.
Maybe.
But the old adage is definitely true - never judge a book by its cover.

[Wilgut Spleens]

Yeah, the term 'longbow' itself is worthy of a big discussion.
By and of itself, it doesn't really mean much.
'Longbow' was just used to distinguish it from a crossbow (because, well, it was longer).

The term Longbow was introduced by the Victorians,contemporary accounts just refer to the bow or occasionally the Warbow

[Belligerentparrot]

Nothing of substance to add, but I just wanted to say I've learnt some interesting things from this thread (I have been wondering about whether to differentiate bows vs crossbows in a primitive sci-fi setting) and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it all.  Lead Adventure really is great.

Nowhere in the OP does it mention this is for a Robin Hood game.

But he does mention it in his first reply, it was there on the first page of the thread. 

[Dice Roller]

*must have been typing at the same time as BP. This is in reply to WS*

Ooo...not quite true.
A will from 1444 refers to 'a sadil, alle my longe bowes...'
There are earlier references to the term but may or may not be suspect. 1444 is the earliest definite use of the term and its casual use and assumption that the reader would know what is being referred to suggests the term had been in wide use prior.

EDIT: Sorry, should have offered a source. This was something I remembered from my days doing medieval re-enactments, but after posting the above I suddenly thought to myself, 'are you sure?' So I did some Googling:
https://historymedieval.com/the-longbow-unveiling-the-secrets-of-english-archers/