We now meet with several enactments by Edward IV. for the appointment of bowmen with the long-bow; but we pass over these and other records to the 19th year of the reign of Henry VII., who forbade the use of the cross-bow, because “the long-bow had been much used in this realme, whereby honour and victory had been gotten against outward enemies, the realm greatly defended, and much more the dread of all Christian princes by reason of the same.”  Statutes for the promotion of archery with the long-bow are now very frequent; but the cross-bow is proscribed in the same proportion:  and, in the time of Henry VIII. a penalty of ten pounds was inflicted on every one who kept a cross-bow in his house.

Though archery continued to be encouraged by the king and legislature for more than two centuries after the first knowledge of the effects of gunpowder, yet by the latter end of the reign of Henry VIII., it seems to have been partly considered as a pastime.

From this period we pass to the date of the annexed cuts, for which we are indebted to the research of an ingenious Correspondent, with the antiquarian subscription of “Jonathan OLDBUCK,"[5] who appends to his sketches the following historical notice: 

“After the destruction of the Spanish Armada, fears being entertained lest the King of Spain should (out of revenge) send an emissary to attempt the life of Queen Elizabeth, a number of noblemen of the Court formed themselves into a body guard for the protection of her person, and under the denomination of the ‘Companie of Liege Bowmen of the Queene,’ had many privileges conferred upon them.  The famous Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was captain of this company, which was distinguished by the splendour of its uniform and accoutrements.  Upon the accession of James I. the company was disbanded, although those who composed it retained the privileges which had been conferred upon them by Elizabeth.  Upon the breaking out of the Civil wars Charles reorganized this bodyguard which attended him against the Parliamentary forces, and afterwards emigrated with Charles II.  At the Restoration this company was maintained, and under the title of ’Royal Company of Archers’ received a new Charter, being the origin of the present ‘Royal Artillery Company’ of London.  About the time of the institution of the Liege Bowmen of the Queen, a new kind of cross-bow was constructed in Holland, by one Vander Foheman, having many advantages over the old one.  This he brought to England and it was purchased and adopted by the Company.[6]

“An arbalest of Foheman’s construction, bearing the date 1579, 3 feet 3 inches long, exquisitely carved out of black oak, is now in the possession of A. Nossoc, Esq., the proprietor of a rare and valuable collection of paintings by ancient masters.  By this gentleman’s kindness I have been able to take a sketch of it, a copy of which I enclose.  In these instruments the impulse is not communicated to the arrow directly by the string, but by means of a movable iron bridge, placed behind the string.  I subjoin outlines of the arrow used with this kind of bow, and also of its lock.—­(See Cuts.)