English longbow superiority required mandatory nationwide training every Sunday under Edward III

What was said

"Under Edward III, the English do something quite smart which is they make it mandatory for everybody on a Sunday to practice shooting a long bow. So you have a whole population that's trained to use this simple and cheap weapon."

Jones reveals that England's military dominance came from a national training mandate requiring all citizens to practice archery on Sundays. This created ranks of skilled archers with cheap, effective weapons that outranged French crossbows. The longbow required years of training to develop the back strength necessary to draw it, making it impossible for enemies to quickly replicate the advantage.