Arrow Catching

An extract from the book 40 Humourous British Traditions

In days of old it was a huge honour to be chosen as captain of the line to lead the nation’s troops into battle.

This honour was decided by firing an arrow into the air from a longbow – whoever caught the arrow upon its return to earth would win the prize. Some knaves without armour did try and use their hands to catch the arrow but didn’t appreciate its speed of flight and ended up with it embedded in their head, which meant they couldn’t lead anything as they were dead. This is why knights were always heavily favoured to win the honour.

his tradition has led to two different annual events in separate parts of the English Midlands.