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Saethwyr are a type of missile infantry in Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms.
General Information[]
Saethwyr are the finest longbowmen the Welsh army has to offer. As inventors of the longbow, the Welsh are among its finest users.
While Saethwyr have a poorer missile attack strength than earlier archers such as Helwyr, they have unusually large regiment sizes (150 men on largest settings instead of 120). This more than compensates for their lower damage.
History[]
According to Gerald of Wales (writing in his "Itinerarium Cambriae" in 1188AD) the South of Wales had a strong archery tradition that the North didn't share.
Gerald also mentions the Welsh attacking the English at Abergavenny Castle (Castell Abergavenny meaning Castle on the mouth of the River Gavenny) and how brutal the longbow was.
The English would go on to conscript Welsh longbowmen who brought with them their tradition which the English later adopted so much so that Edward I would ban all sports other than archery in the 14th century.