In 1363, and again in 1388, statutes were passed in England calling upon people to leave their popular amusements of “ball and coits” on their festivals and Sundays, and to practise archery instead. “Servants and labourers shall have bows and arrows, and use the same on Sundays and holidays.” By an ordinance made in the reign of Edward IV., every Englishman or Irishman dwelling in England was required to have a “bow of his own height, either of yew, witch-hazel, ash or auburne, or any other reasonable tree, according to their power.” Butts were encouraged in every parish, and traces of them still remain in the names of places, as “Newington Butts.” Henry V., who was very proud of his English archers, ordered the sheriffs of several counties to obtain geese feathers for his archers, plucking six from each goose. The arrows were carried in a quiver, or bound together into a sheaf, suspended from the waist-belt. When the battle was about to commence, the archer placed his arrows under his left foot, point outwards, or stuck them, point downwards, into the ground, or into his girdle. He was able to discharge his bow twelve times in a single minute, at a range of 240 yards, and “he, who in these twelve shots once missed his man, was very lightly esteemed.” In the reign of Edward III., a painted bow sold for 1s. 6d., a white bow for 1s., and sharp-pointed arrows at 1s. 2d. per sheaf of twenty-four. As is well-known, at Crecy, and in many other battles, the English archers shot down or wounded the horses of the French knights so considerably that, in their pain and terror, the maddened horses upset the ranks of the cavalry and quite destroyed its efficiency. At first, archers were not protected by body armour, but in later times they wore _jazerine_ jackets, consisting of overlapping pieces of steel, fastened by one edge to a garment of canvas, and then covered over with velvet or cloth. A similar defensive garment of the 15th and 16th centuries was the _brigandine_, a specimen of which may be seen in the Tower of London. Archers often wore _salades_, or shell helmets, which covered the head and eyes, and sometimes had movable visors. [Illustration: PLATE 25.