MEDIEVAL ARROW TRANSPORT

Archery and Hollywood – not often a great combination. Particularly when it comes to quivers, film-makers can’t seem to resist the urge to place them on the actors’ backs, where the arrows will rattle, be prone to falling out or getting caught in overhanging trees, and have to be pulled out blindly over the shoulder in a long and cumbersome motion. Ever since Errol Flynn’s ’Robin Hood’ (1938), the leather back quiver appears to have been a favourite accoutrement for ’medieval archers’ in film and television. However, there is absolutely no historical evidence for its use in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Most probably, real medieval archers were well aware of the disadvantages of carrying their precious arrows on their back and thus out of sight. A variety of means to transport arrows were used instead. However, since these containers were invariably made of organic materials such als wood, leather, or fabric, only