# Did Medieval armies have "precision archers" equivalent to today's sniper? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-medieval-armies-have-precision-archers-equivalent-to-todays-sniper/460072 "2008-08-15T06:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-medieval-armies-have-precision-archers-equivalent-to-todays-sniper/460072/41 "2008-08-18T19:21:09Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] So what would you have expected them to call the battle? “The Battle of that place near Hastings where 'arry got his mince pie shot out wiv an arrer” [/QUOTE] They probably called it the “Battle of Hastings” because the “Battle of Battle” sounds stupid. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-medieval-armies-have-precision-archers-equivalent-to-todays-sniper/460072/42 "2008-08-18T20:14:51Z")
If they were in such a hurry to name it then they could have called it **The Haste of Battle**. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-medieval-armies-have-precision-archers-equivalent-to-todays-sniper/460072/43 "2008-08-18T20:54:07Z")
[QUOTE=Oy!] Don’t be so sure. They were, after all, French. 😃 [/QUOTE] Doesn’t sound very surrender-monkeyish to me. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-medieval-armies-have-precision-archers-equivalent-to-todays-sniper/460072/44 "2008-08-18T21:02:35Z")
Oh, the French aren’t known in the long haul for being surrenderers. The French are known for being obnoxious gits. If you live an an Anglo-centric country, that is. Even if the French were key to your getting and keeping your independence from that country and gave you a really nifty statue and have been allied with you in two world wars and in the entire last century. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-medieval-armies-have-precision-archers-equivalent-to-todays-sniper/460072.md?page=2)