Women Who Ruled, 17th century edition

The Sudbury Bow

From Peabody: Made from hickory, the bow measures over 5 feet high. An inscription on the bow reads: "The bow was taken from an Indian in Sudbury, Masstts A,D, 1660 by William Goodnough, who shot the Indian while he was ransacking his house for plunder." This description was interpreted literally, resulting in the title “The Sudbury Bow.” While the Indigenous maker of the bow is unknown, it is believed to be one of the only surviving examples of a seventeenth-century Native American bow. The bow was also used as inspiration for the bow depicted on the 1898 Seal of Massachusetts.

Hickory wood

17th century

Americas

Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe

Algonquian

Wampanoag

Bow

Weapon

Weetamoo

The Sudbury Bow

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