Animal product
Feathers
Feathers → Arrows
Picture to come.
Feathers plucked from fowl, above all geese. Goose feathers were the preferred fletching for arrows, split and fixed to the shaft to steady its flight; later English kings ordered them collected in bulk for war. Feathers were also used as quill pens and to stuff bedding. Geese were kept widely on English farms and commons.
Caveats (confidence: medium)
The fletching evidence cited is 15th-16th century; quill and bedding uses are general medieval knowledge not checked for this century.
Sources: fletchers.org.uk
Made by
- Slaughter
- Fowl
Used to make
- Fletch arrows