Quote Originally Posted by Planopiper
Again, I don't have any experience in this kind of situation, but I think that archers are only really effective for shooting people that are a long ways from your troops. They didn't shoot people that were right up close because either your own troops would be in the way or they'd be too far away to get a good shot. Archers shot at crowds, I think, not individuals. Just guessing here. In my mind it still beats the other ideas, but I still think there's just as good a chance that someone made it it.
Well, on the field, masses of archers would fire at masses of troops. Archers behind battlements also fired in this way, but would also individually fire at targets of opportunity. This would include enemy archers, siege engine crews, and maniacs running at your battlements with a log.