Re: bows in the cold?

From: James Frusetta <gerakkag_at_...>
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 11:51:11 -0800 (PST)

Brian wrote:
> apparently). The steppe nomads in asia must have
> had to deal with
> deep cold, but I don't know if the necessarily used
> them much in winter (not the best time for war, and
> much hunting may have been done by other means)

If I remember right, the Mongols actually invaded (and defeated) Russia during the winter (and the 1241 invasion of Poland was definitely in the winter), so either it wasn't a problem or any increased fragility was offset by other advantages. (And they may have been fairly light winters, too.)

Which seems odd, in a way, since you'd think the various materials (horn, wood, sinew, glue) in Mongol bows would respond to temperature differently. Huh.

Cheers,

James

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