The trusty old leather tube with shoulder strap can still be found, other shapes appear like European adaptions of models used mainly by Central Asian horseback archers. If it is true that Edward III brought between one and two million arrows for his 7,500 archers at Crécy in 1346, then in order to transport these alone a convoy of up to 200 carts would have been necessary.Ĭomparatively few depictions of quivers exist from the High Middle Ages, c. From notes of Henry VIII in 1513 we learn that 26 carts were needed to transport 240,000 arrows.

It is known from later sources that large numbers of arrows were stored and transported in boxes and barrels. But since the illustrator indiscriminately mixed contemporary, antique, and Byzantine motifs throughout his work, perhaps these quivers should not be considered accurate depictions of Carolingian means of arrow transport.īerner Chronik: Two English archers with over-sized arrow bags on their belts.

Carried with shoulder straps, the long tubes of unknown material seem to have a dome-shaped lid, and the arrows are shown with their heads upwards. 820–835 AD) appear like a mix of central Asian and central European traditions. The bulging rim at the opening was fringed, and in the upper third of the tube two triangular pieces of leather with oval slits were attached, probably in order to insert a shoulder strap.Īs far as they can be interpreted as realistic representations at all, the quivers in the Utrecht Psalter (ca. Their total length was only 62 cm (not quite 25“), of slightly conical shape, with a diameter of 9 cm (3 ½“) at the top. They may well have been the standard model of the low-ranking infantry archer, while the more sophisticated Eastern type has been found mostly in well equipped burials of the Merovingian period.įragments of leather quivers have also been found in archaeological digs at the Viking age settlement Haithabu (Hedeby) in today’s Northern Germany. Quivers of this description are worn by the Norman archers depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry, created around 1070 AD. Arrows were inserted with their heads down, the fletchings protruding over their entire length above the upper opening.ĭetail from Sébastien Mamerot’s Les Passages d’Outremer, showing mounted archers on crusade with arrow bags tucked under their belts It is in the shape of a round tube with a bulging upper rim, mostly made from leather, and worn on the right hand side with a shoulder strap. While the English word ’quiver’ derives from the Old French quivre, cuevre or coivre, the German term ’köcher’ can be traced back to the Turko-Mongolian word kukur, which became cucura in Latin, thus betraying its Eastern origin.Ī very simple form of quiver has probably been in use at least since the Iron Age. They were carried on belts, attached by metal rings and hooks, on the right side of the hip. Arrows were inserted with their tips up, so that specific arrowheads could be chosen, and the sensitive fletchings were well protected. They resemble long conical tubes of oval cross section made of birch bark or leather covered wood, usually equipped with a lid or flap. Many of them were of Eastern origin, introduced by the invading Huns and Avars. A few remains from the Iron Age migration period, and early medieval graves offer clues as to the shape, construction, and ways of carrying these quivers. However, since these containers were invariably made of organic materials such as wood, leather, or fabric, only few specimens or fragments have survived. A variety of means to transport arrows were used instead. Most probably, real medieval archers were well aware of the disadvantages of carrying their precious arrows on their back and thus out of sight. However, there is absolutely no historical evidence for its use in Europe during the Middle Ages. 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.Įver 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. Tubular quivers with shoulder straps.Īchery and Hollywood – not often a great combination.

Norman archers on the Bayeux Tapestry, c.

Arrows in a quiver