ddle ages, they
were short, the greatest length of the strung bow being about four feet.
They seem to have been made of a single piece of wood, which in the
angular bow was nearly of the same thickness throughout, but in the
curved one tapered gradually towards the two extremities. At either end
was a small knob or button, in the later times often carved into the
representation of a duck's head. [PLATE CIII, Fig. 3.] Close above this
was a notch or groove, whereby the string was held in place. The mode of
stringing was one still frequently practised in the East. The bowman
stooped, and placing his right knee against the middle of the bow on its
inner side, pressed it downwards, at the same time drawing the two ends
of the bow upwards with his two hands. [PLATE CIII, Fig. 4.] A comrade
stood by, and, when the ends were brought sufficiently near, slipped the
string over the knob into the groove, where it necessarily remained. The
bend of the bow, thus strung, was slight. When full drawn, however, it
took the shape of a half-moon, which shows that it must have possessed
great elasticity. [PLATE CIV., Fig. 4.] The bow was known to be full
drawn when the head of the arrow touched the archer's left hand.

[Illustration: PLATE 104]

The Assyrian angular bow was of smaller size than the curved one. It was
not often carried unless as a reserve by those who also possessed the
larger and better weapon. [PLATE CIV., Fig. 5.]

Bows were but seldom unstrung. When not in use, they were carried
strung, the archer either holding them by the middle with his left hand,
or putting his arm through them, and letting them rest upon his
shoulders, or finally carrying them at his back in a bow case. [PLATE
CIV., Fig. I. ] The bow-case was a portion of the quiver, as frequently
with the Greeks, and held only the lower half of the bow, the upper
portion projecting from it.

Quivers were carried by foot and horse archers at their backs, in a
diagonal position, so that the arrows could readily be drawn from them
over the right shoulder. They were commonly slung in this position by a
strap of their own, attached to two rings, one near the top and the
other near the bottom of the quiver, which the archer slipped over his
left arm and his head. Sometimes, however, this strap seems to have been
wanting, and the quiver was either thrust through one of the
cross-belts, or attached by a strap which passed horizontally round the
body a little above the