Longbow(s)

[Tuuvi]

If longbows were so clearly superior, why had they disappeared in most European countries by the middle ages?

I did not mean that longbows were vastly superior, what I meant is that the longbow design has some advantages over shorter bows. I will have to do some reading in order to remember what exactly they were, however I believe it has something to with the length of the string when drawing the bow. I would also like to point out that shorter bows can be just as powerful as longbows with the right design (Asiatic composite bows being a great example).

You're also forgetting that the English longbowmen have a reputation for having been the best archers in medieval Europe.

Were longbows used for hunting, or were they specifically warbows. It seems that any attempt to stalk prey with a bow the size of a man is not going to be successful.

Foot

Longbows can be used for hunting quite successfully. Today in the U.S. there is a small niche of people who prefer to use real wooden bows for hunting over the modern compound bow; longbows are a pretty popular choice among these people. There are also historical examples of longbows being used for hunting. The Eastern Woodland Indians used longbows for hunting. I believe that the bows I mentioned in my earlier post were used for hunting, but the book does not say what the bows were used for so that is a guess on my part.