The Armour Archive

I've just finished building this for the Archery Champion of the Barony of Iron Bog. Barony's device features black cattails on a white field.

It's a back mount quiver of a design I've yet to see documented historically, but popular among "traditional archers" today.

The decoration in the body is cutout and backed with the same white leather used to make the bib around the top and the straps.

The body is a vat dyed veg tan - about 8 -10 ounce.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80888788@N ... otostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80888788@N ... otostream/

Not a single comment ?

Guess I missed this the first time around. I like it, looks very functional and quite good lines on it. I was trying to remember where I had seen a statue with a back quiver, it was of Artemitis (sp) I believe, the goddess of the hunt. I'll see if I can dig it up. Once again, very nice.

Kilkenny wrote:It's a back mount quiver of a design I've yet to see documented historically, but popular among "traditional archers" today.

FWIW, I've found several more examples of a sort of belt-quiver; they're linked from http://larsdatter.com/archers.htm if you'd like to check those out.

The example of "belt quivers" from Gaston Phebus are actually crossbow quivers. The archers, you can't tell so much, but I suspect that they've resorted to the "arrows in the belt".

Most of the belt quivers are for crossbows (from artwork on Karen's site)

This one (also on Karen's site) shows a belt quiver for regular bow:

http://gallica.bnf.fr/scripts/mediator. ... 3&I=000118

I've seen some other examples of belt quivers, Italian, but can't find the link to the one I'm thinking of. There's an example in the Ducal Palace in Venice that accompanies a lovely recurve. It was more cylindrical in shape.

Most of the belt quivers I've seen depictions of are either mythological in nature, or derived from Eastern sources (Turks, etc). I don't think you'll find many in Europe otherwise until sometime after 1500.

Don't take this as a flame. It's always easy to criticize something you didn't have to do yourself, but I've done dozens of quivers (mainly Victorian vase type quivers that hold only about 6-10 arrows, which were very popular for a time).
As others have noted it's not based on a historical design. It's sort of typical for what you see people using today, and probably very well operationally thought out. But the few pics of arrows slung over the shoulder (16th cen), there is no evidence of the necessary crossing straps that are really required to keep the back quiver in a static position on your back, for the assurance that when you reach behind your ear that is where your finger tips will touch a nock.

I've seen illustrations where it appears that a bag or tube slung from a shoulder strap is possible. And more commonly in late 15th century, I've seen illustrations of military archers with arrow bags (not hard sided leather), where the bag is rolled-up at either end like a tube and it and the arrows are stuffed through the belt.
And lastly, I've seen the quivers (infrequently) as in Fire Stryker's link and at this link on Karen's site...
http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/ConsulterElem ... 01&Param=C

Where the archers appear to be using a victorian type, low-slung, small quantity tubular hip quiver. But the quiver you've made doesn't have a historical example that I'm familiar with. But it does appear to be well-made modern back quiver. For that, I applaud you.
-Cian

Here are the only two "back" quivers that I know of that date to the SCA time period:



They appear to sort of hover on the back, but as we know from practical use, the lack of a check strap (or strap that goes around the torso) connecting to the shoulder strap, the quiver has a tendancy to obey the laws of gravity and slide down your back do your posterior. Operationally, I don't think these are sound. And I'm not sure the predaliction of people to follow blue monkeys for their style of acoutrement

-Cian

Cian, you're right, it's a modern back quiver. It made a good method of displaying the heraldry, and since the piece is intended as a bit of regalia for the office, I opted for the "theatrical" version.

As to the blue monkey -- cool And I wonder about what we can't see in images like that one. Obviously this wouldn't work on the monkey, but what if instead of the third strap around to the back, the one strap is attached to an appropriate point on the front of the archer. Say, for example, there are buttonholes in the strap, and you put the appropriate button on the front of your garment and the appropriate buttonhole in the strap together ?

The overall evidence of arrow quivers in Europe is definitely limited, and much of the evidence I've seen clearly shows an eastern influence.

Leads me to some conclusions about the fundamental differences between a mounted archer and a foot archer.