In the movie "Braveheart" Edward I utters a memorable line during the battle of Falkirk "arrows cost money, use up the Irish instead."
So, how much did arrows actually cost during the middle ages? How many would an archer typically use during a battle, and was there any possibility of picking up already used arrows on the field of battle?
/u/celebreth answered a very similar set of questions here.
The same user also answered a question here specifically about reusing arrows.
We have accounts of the cost of arrows withing the Tower armoury (London, England) and they were made and purchased in substantial numbers. These arrows came in bundles of 24 arrows called sheaf. The prices of standard military arrows ranged from 10 pence 1353 to 18 pence in 1399. In July 1381, there was a theft in the Tower armoury. 819 bows and very few sheaves of arrows were stolen. This may indicate the value of sheaves as being affordable, jet analysis of the accounts suggest there was restriction on the number of arrows the archers had available.
Here is a list of prices and how many were purchased, which affected the cost. Large quantity generally meant lower prices, while smaller batches for royalty came at a steeper price. Also included legends of coinage, year and the keeper of the privy wardrobe (who was in charge of the armoury).
£= pound, s.= shilling, and d.= pence.
1323–44, Fleet
60 sheaves at 10d. a sheaf incl steeled heads (asteratis).
1344–51, Mildenhall
37,163 sheaves of arrows (891,912 arrows) purchased in London for £3,538 16s. 9d.
1353-60, Rothwell
400 sheaves at 2s. 6d. a sheaf for the King’s valets
6,000 at 18d. a sheaf,
9,600 at 16d. a sheaf,
5,691 at 13d. a sheaf
2,000 at 10d. a sheaf,
a total of 23,691 sheaves, or 568,584 arrows.
4 special hunting arrows for the king at 6s. a sheaf.
2 sheaves and 18 arrows with broad heads for the queen, fletched with peacock feathers, at 10s. a sheaf.
1360, Snaith
3,000 sheaves at 16d. a sheaf, for £200.
1374-8, Sleaford
1,096 sheaves, 620 of which were supplied without heads, at 18d. per sheaf with heads, without heads at 7d. per sheaf.
Ratio of sheaves during the second half of the 14th century would rise and fall depending on the wars of the time. http://i.imgur.com/lE0WJd8.png?1
The medieval inventories of the Tower armouries 1320–1410, Richardson.
