| Berukomtouga Selgoi (Bow and Arrow Hunters) | |
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![[defaults to 250]px](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/europabarbarorum/images/4/4e/EB2_Celtic_Archers.png/revision/latest?cb=20160112103704) Berukomtouga Selgoi (Bow and Arrow Hunters) | |
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Berukomtouga Selgoi are Keltoi archers that can provide support for their compatriots. Poorly equipped for melee and with relatively low morale, their spears nevertheless afford them some offensive capability.
Description[]
(Beh-roo-com-too-gah Sell-goy - "Arrow and Bow Hunters")
The tougi, the bow, lacks the prowess of the blade but in the right hands it can be just as deadly. When the gods crafted man they did not give him skins of iron, nor bones of bronze. Instead they furnished him from the flesh of other animals, as such weapons with which the deer is hunted have no problem in slaying a man. Although by no means common on the field of battle, the Berukomtouga Selgoi are still a useful addition to a force. Although they lack the power of their stone throwing comrades, they employ greater accuracy and in situations, such as the forests where these men ply their trade, they are superior to javelins and slings.
Historically the bow and arrow, in contrast to the Bronze Age, appear to have been rare in Iron Age Europe. The reason for this is surely a social one. The bows which were in use in Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe were not complex devices, being constructed from single pieces of wood. Nor was the skill required to produce arrows particularly complex, indeed during the Iron Age it was easier to produce metal arrowheads than it was in the Bronze Age. Instead it seems that the bow and arrow, which during the Bronze Age was strongly associated with the elite, fell from favour as a weapon of status. Instead of bows and arrows melee weapons became the mark of status, with continental La Tène graves, such as those from the Marne and Hunsrück-Eifel cultures of Gaul, showing a preference for swords and spears. The decline in the use of the bow may be linked to the decline in hunting which can be observed in the archaeo-zoological record at this time. Evidence, in the form of reliefs from Mycenaean Greece, Egypt and Mesopotamia show that, at least in these regions, hunting and the use of the bow were closely related and strongly associated with the ruling elite. The evidence from faunal remains from Iron Age sites in Gaul and Britain shows that the vast majority of animals which were eaten were domesticated, with only a few regions and time periods, such as Late Iron Age Picardy displaying sufficient levels of wild fauna to suggest that hunting was a frequent pastime for the elite. Although surviving Keltoi legends show that projectile warfare often had divine connections, especially for the god Lugus, it was in the form of javelins and spears, not arrows. The use of the bow and arrow was more commonplace in some areas than others. For example central western Gaul appears to have made greater use of the bow than other areas, but in most regions the bow was a rare weapon, whilst in some regions, such as Britain, at least until the Late Iron Age, it appears to have vanished completely. Finally, it is interesting to note that this evidence does not support Caesar's assertion that, during the revolt of Uerkingetorix, there were large numbers of archers in Gaul.