Papingo Target

The archery form of popinjay dates back to at least the fifteenth century. The annual papingo tournament (popinjay) of the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers from Ayrshire, Scotland, is held at Kilwinning Abbey, with the "papingo target" on the end of a pole protruding from the top of the tower.

The event is believed to have been held since 1488, although the earliest records are in a Society Minutes from September 1688.

There were several ways to shoot a popinjay: one bird on a pole/perch or a series of birds on perches. The goal of popinjay is to knock artificial birds off their perches.

The perches are crosspieces on a 27-meter-high mast. The "cock" (the largest bird) is placed on the upper crosspiece. Four smaller "hens" are placed on the next crosspiece below. About two dozen "chicks" (the smallest birds) are placed on the lower crosspieces (according to the Grand National Archery Society UK (GNAS).

The archer stands near the base of the mast and shoots arrows upwards at the birds. The arrows have rubber blunts rather than sharp points. The blunts have a diameter between 19 mm and 25 mm.

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Eric Lindemann is... a trained typesetter, then studied printing engineering in the USA, and then studied communications management. He has been involved in sports for over 45 years, a competitive swimmer, then handball for 15 years, and archery for over 20 years. One of the founding fathers of the TBVD (German Association of German Archers) and co-founder of the TAI (Trade Association of German Archers).