A butt is an

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

shooting field, with mounds of earth used for the targets. The name originally referred to the targets themselves, but over time came to mean the platforms that held the targets as well. For instance '' Othello,'' V, ii, 267 mentions "Here is my journey's end, here is my butt". In medieval times, it was compulsory for all yeomen in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to learn archery; see for example An Act concerning shooting in Long Bows, passed in the third year of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's reign. Several English towns have districts called "The Butts", but they may not always take their names from archery. The

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

word "butt" referred to an abutting strip of land, and is often associated with medieval field systems. An example is Newington Butts in south London where contrary to popular belief, the 1955 ''Survey of London'' published by London County Council could find no historical reference to archery butts. It concluded that the name probably derived from the triangle of land between the roads, as the word "butts" is used elsewhere in Surrey to refer to odd corners or ends of land.

Shooting butt

The word is also used today for the earthwork mounds on, or before, which targets are mounted on a

rifle range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue, or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or shooting sport, competitions. ...

, with the purpose of stopping the flight of bullets beyond the range. A butt can also be an earthen bank, usually a horseshoe shape and often lined with sandbags, corrugated metal, or drystone walling, from which sportsmen can take cover, hide, and shoot at game birds. Shooting butts are usually positioned in lines or in small groups of two or three, about 80-100 meters apart.

Notes and references

External links

* {{cite web, url=http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/butts.htm , title=Archery butts , publisher=English Heritage , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060905114227/http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/mpp/mcd/butts.htm , archivedate=2006-09-05 Overview including
definition

Old engraving showing archery butts
History of archery