Here I am, Newbie Archer Girl,  doing my daily Archery Research.

Professional.  Organized.  That’s me.

As if!  In reality, I’m ricocheting wildly about the Interwebs, looking for info on archery science, then suddenly I 

!!!!!  STOP  !!!!!

because I just landed on….

The Archery Library.

Image courtesy of British Library Board

This is SO cool.  A collection of over 20 out-of-print books and articles on archery, with print dates ranging from 1515 to 1945, all digitized and available to anyone who finds the site.

Such RICH material here!

From The Art of Archery:

When an archer shoots, “…all of his arrows must be on his right side, as his sword is on his left.”

But of course.

From the article “On Poisoned Arrows in Melanesia:”

“It is the human bone which… gives to the arrow its efficacy. The bone of any dead man will do, because any ghost will have power to work on the wounded man; but the bone of one who was powerful when alive is more valued.”

Watch out, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  We’re coming for your bones.

From The Witchery of Archery, published in 1879:

“…a drawn bow, in the hands of a resolute woman, will bring the boldest villain to a halt, or to his death, if necessary.”

Joss Whedon must have read that one as a child.

From How To Train In Archery; Chapter X: Archery Terms used in the York Round:

Horn Spoon — Hitting the outer edge of the target, beyond the white.  (NAG - Yeah, THAT makes sense.)

Pair — Three arrows are termed a pair.  (NAG – Really?  Seems counterintuitive.)

He! He! — The time-honored word of call used by archers in hailing each other from a distance.

That last one is priceless.  I have this mental picture of a couple of macho, camo-clad, musky bow hunters crossing paths in the deep woods of a remote mountainside, brandishing their compounds and yelling “He! He! Hunter Ho!“

Because that‘s not going to scare off the buck.  Nossirree, Bob.

Photograph: The British Library Board

Seriously, www.archerylibrary.com is a treasure trove of archery history and wisdom, as well as the amusing archaisms I’ve quoted here.   It is clearly a labor of love, emphasis on both “love” and “labor.”  It is a resource unequaled by any I’ve seen to date.  Take a moment to browse it, and just enjoy the history of your chosen sport.  You won’t regret it.

Because we at Missing Marble are moving Archery into the future with the application of statistical science, we venerate the wisdom of the generations of archers who preceded us.  And we send our thanks to the anonymous Librarian of The Archery Library, an unheralded hero of Archery.

Newbie Archer Girl out…… got a LOT of reading to do….. 

PS:  I just noticed that my acronym is “NAG.”  Hmmm.  My friends are going to have a field day with that one……