When was the crossbow first used in europe

December 03, June 01, August 30, The English longbow is laden with myth; of its origins, its power, its achievements. That and the centuries that have passed since it was used in earnest, means that the knowledge of what it was actually capable of doing has also passed.

Menu close Cart. Home Products Blog Gallery. Home Products Blog Gallery Search A Short History of the Crossbow January 16, Crossbows came in a great variety of forms; these changed over time and due to their purpose. What follows is a very concise and general treatise on European bows. The Ancient Greeks had a type of crossbow called a gastraphetes that was described by Heron and was invented at some time prior to BC.

It had a composite flexion bow and a sliding arrow rest, ratchets to hold the trigger back and a simple forked sear held closed by a rotating bar. Also in Tod's Blog Witcher December 03, You all know that Tods Workshop makes highly accurate reproductions of historical pieces, but you may not know we also make film and TV weapons; not really 'props', they are more real than that and a lot cooler. Arrows vs Armour — Agincourt Myth Busting August 30, The English longbow is laden with myth; of its origins, its power, its achievements.

Needless to say, the medieval crossbow survived all the decrees intended to bring about its demise. On the contrary, it continued to be the most favored infantry weapon in Europe, growing in use by leaps and bounds between the 13th and midth centuries.

The reasons for this steady rise in popularity were that the device was inexpensive to make and easy to master. Further, on the tactical level, the use of crossbows proved to be a wise choice owing to the type of warfare conducted between and From the 10th to the 15th centuries battles in Europe tended to be between small groups of mounted knights and their retainers, supported by local levies of peasants armed with spears and bows. Battles were set-piece encounters where both sides had the opportunity to choose their ground, arrange their forces, and either wait to be attacked, initiate their own assault, or leave the scene if that appeared to be the most prudent course.

In these circumstances, the crossbow was perfect. Crossbow units were assigned to those parts of the battlefield deemed to need their firepower the most. The ranges would be preregistered to ensure accurate fire at the proper distances.

In these situations, the crossbow was equally effective in attack or defense. But for every field engagement fought during the period, five or more sieges would be carried out. A siege was considered less risky than open battle, and the rewards could be immeasurably greater. Whereas enemy notables could be captured and later ransomed after a military encounter, the taking of a castle, city, or town would yield not only booty and greater ransom prospects, but also new land and subjects to tax.

In this type of war, crossbows were even more suitable than on a battlefield. Crossbows were primarily infantry weapons during the medieval period, but on occasion they were put to good use by mounted soldiers. Philip Augustus, King of France, used mounted crossbowmen against King John of England during their war in the early 13th century.

In Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, employed a corps of Hungarian mercenary, mounted crossbowmen as rapid-moving skirmishers. They not only harried with impunity the enemy on the march, but also repeatedly severed their lines of supply. Two examples suffice.

Constantly menaced by the trailing army of Saladin, Richard nevertheless favorably completed the two-month trek with his 50,man army. His movement owed its success not least of all to a good plan, strict discipline, and counterfire against Muslim archery by Crusader crossbowmen dispersed throughout his moving column.

Although underrated and unappreciated by nobles and knights, crossbowmen continued to serve well into the 15th century. Their demise came not from the horsey set that always disregarded and derided them—even while fearing them—but from commoners like themselves who were not covered in body armor and who also plied their trade on foot.

Arnold Blumberg, an attorney writing from Baltimore, Md. There are moments in military history that forever alter the flow of human events. Times when the very landscape appears to shift. Below is a schematic drawing of the bronze trigger mechanism, including both an assembled one and the component parts.

From the diagrams, can you see how this mechanism would have worked? Trigger mechanism from a 17th century book source. The scene on the left shows a famous story from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The Shu strategist, Zhuge Liang, successively "borrowed" , arrows from the rival state, Wu.

With his arrows in short supply, he covered the Shu boats with hay, so that the arrows from Wu would stick and could be collected later. Illustration from The Romance of the Three. Kingdoms source. Although the crossbow was a very effective weapon, using one took training.

Below are two crossbows that are armed in different ways. On the left, notice the loop hanging from the armed bow. By inserting his foot into the loop, the soldier could pull down the bow as he pulled up on the string until it caught in the trigger mechanism.

On the right, the soldier uses a "belt-claw," which hooks onto the bowstring so he can pull it back into the trigger mechanism while pushing the bow away with his feet. Crossbow arming methods source. To the left is a triple crossbow from the Song period.

It would have taken as many as 20 men to operate and had an effective range up to yards. The heaviest one was said to take men to operate and had a range of yards. Why would a composite crossbow requiring men's strength but only having a range of yards make sense if the one using 20 men's strength had a range of yards?