Praetorian Archer Letting Loose (ROM099)

A Roman archer had no sights, so he used the arrow. The bow was held vertical, the left arm straight, and the string came back to the chin, the shoulder or the ear; then he aimed over or under the arrowhead according to range, the point itself serving as the foresight, raised for distance and dropped for close work. That much the sources agree on. What they do not agree on is the thing you would expect to be settled first — which fingers held the string. Petru Ureche states it flatly: every archer in the Roman army, foot and mounted, used the Mediterranean technique, three fingers on the string and the arrow on the left of the bow, the oldest draw known. Against that sits the thumb ring, which reconstructions of these units routinely put on the archer's hand — and a thumb draw sends the arrow down the other side of the bow entirely. Tens of thousands of men did this for several centuries, and the most basic question about how they did it is still open. This is the half-second after the loose. The string hand has snapped open beside his jaw, fingers spread, and the bow arm is still up exactly where he left it, which is what good release looks like — the follow-through is not a flourish, it is the proof that he did not snatch. The arrow has gone, and that is why this particular figure cannot settle the argument above: with nothing on the string, there is no side to read. Worth noticing instead is the dark red band on his bow forearm. That is where a bracer belongs, taking the string's slap on the arm holding the bow, and K&C have put it on the correct arm. He wears mail over the white tunic, the same dark-edged hem and purple leggings as the rest of the set, and he carries no shield at all — which is the bargain an archer makes. Praetorian Archer Preparing To Fire is the second before this one and Praetorian Archer Reaching For An Arrow is the second after, so the three stand together as one motion broken into thirds — the obvious diorama, and a better one than three identical archers in a row. Kneeling Roman Legion is the man who does have a shield, and the reason this one does not need one: he is standing behind him. Model: ROM099 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set