XPost: soc.history.war.misc, soc.culture.scottish, alt.religion.   
   hristian.presbyterian   
   XPost: alt.religion.christian.baptist   
   From: noone@privacy.net   
      
   "Raktizer Omheit"  wrote in message   
   news:454fc810_1@news.iprimus.com.au...   
   >   
   > "Don Phillipson"  wrote in message   
   > news:eio3oo$ral$1@theodyn.ncf.ca...   
   >> "Raktizer Omheit"  wrote in message   
   >> news:454ec049_1@news.iprimus.com.au...   
   >>   
   >>> The Scottish aristocracy was so arrogant and snobbish that they refused   
   >>> to   
   >>> grant to their middling class or middle class peasantry the right to use   
   >>> longbows on a large scale when fighting in major battles against English   
   >>> longbow archers. This led to disastrous and humiliating defeats for the   
   >>> Scottish armies against English armies at the Battles of Dupplin Moor in   
   >>> 1332, Halidon Hill in 1333, St. Neville's Cross in 1346, Flodden Field   
   >>> in   
   >>> 1513, Solway Moss in 1542, and Pinkie Cleugh in 1547.   
   >>   
   >> Why should anyone think bowmen on either side were "middling   
   >> class or middle class peasantry" in 14th-16th century wars?   
   >>   
   > Don, many historians whom I have read have described the English longbow   
   > archer as belonging usually to the yeoman class, which in its day formed a   
   > well-to-do class of farmers who were neither rich nor poor.   
   >>   
   >> A principal difference between Scotland and England before   
   >> recent times was the weakness of the Scottish class system,   
   >> mainly the equality of everyone (except the 5 per cent wealthiest)   
   >> in schools, churches, law courts etc.   
   >>   
   > Don, if that's the case, then why did the English longbowmen, with the   
   > help of knights and pikemen, defeat the Scots so many times in battle? Why   
   > did the Scots fail to use the longbow to the extent that the English did?   
      
   The longbow was a relatively expensive weapon which took a long time to   
   learn. You could teach the basic pike moves in half an hour.   
      
   Neb   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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