Dear Ron,
A couple of sources I have looked at state that the yews in English
churchyards were not used to provide the wood for longbows. Here is
Grigson on the subject:
"The churchyard Yews engendered the tallest tales about archery. But
they cannot have been planted for the bowyer, since he always fashioned
his bow from the trunk; and since a well-grown, straight trunk, free from
knots, gives only timber enough for a bare half-dozen weapons. Anyhow, the
mediaeval bowyer liked yew wood from overseas. The English timber was too
brittle and too knotty."
Cheers,
Martin Howley
Martin Howley, Humanities Librarian, Tel: (709) 737-8514
QE II Library, Memorial Univ of Newfoundland FAX: (709) 737-2153
St John's, NFLD, Canada A1B 3Y1 E-mail:[log in to unmask]
On Thu, 7 Oct 1999, Ron Hornsby wrote:
[SNIP]
>
> ...The proximity of the church, the NE corner yew tree, and
> the well, fit comfortably with your thesis regarding the
> religious associations of yew trees. Many thanks for the
> references which I will follow up in due course.
>
> There are many more yew trees in the churchyard but
> their location would not seem to support a longbows
> source hypothesis. ...
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