Crossbow

You may have heard about the word crossbow. It was one of the most accurate and powerful weapon before the invention of musket. A crossbow is a type of weapon, based on the bow, consisting of a horizontal bow-like assembly mounted on a stock, that shoots projectiles called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion siege engine resembling a crossbow.

                                                          The invention of the crossbow revolutionized warfare, and the technology would spread from Asia through the Middle East and into Europe by the medieval period. Crossbow triumphed over bow as to use crossbow neither skills were required nor power. To master in the bow and arrow many years of hard work and practice was needed but it took very small time for a person to learn to deliver a death bolt from a crossbow.  

                          The first crossbows were likely invented either in one of the states of early China, or in neighboring areas of Central Asia, some time before 400 BCE. It's not clear exactly when the invention of this new, powerful weapon took place, or who first thought of it. Linguistic evidence points to a Central Asian origin, with the technology then spreading to China, but records from such an early period are too scanty to determine the origins of the crossbow beyond a doubt. Certainly, the famed military strategist Sun Tzu knew about crossbows. He attributed them to an inventor named Q'in from the 7th century BCE. However, the dates of Sun Tzu's life, and the first publication of his Art of War, are also subject to controversy, so they cannot be used to establish the early existence of the crossbow beyond a doubt.

                                  In the Greek world, the earliest documented evidence for crossbow use was during the Siege of Motya in 397 BC, described by the scholar Heron of Alexandria in his book on war machines from the 1st century BC. Of course, since the gap between the event and the book’s composition is quite wide, there is speculation over the authenticity of the report. Regardless, Alexander the Great is known to have used crossbows for the siege of Tyre in 332 BC – and his crossbows were the first to have documented use of ballista construction, which used torsion spring bundle technology to increase projectile force. Ballistae could actually the shoot lighter projectiles, providing they had higher velocities, over a much longer distance. 

                                       The use of crossbows in Medieval warfare dates back to Roman times and is again evident from the battle of Hastings (1066). They almost completely superseded hand bows in many European armies (England being a rare exception) in the twelfth century for a number of reasons. Crossbowmen from the Italian city-state of Genoa became legendary for their mastery of the weapon and were employed as mercenaries by the English and the French, as well as others. But soon this weapon lost its value as well as honor. Back in the 12^th Century it was considered by many to be a weapon of mass destruction. It was feared and hated not just because it was capable of eliminating anyone on the battlefield from great distances, but because it allowed any lowly peasant to kill a high-born professional knight with the simple squeeze of a trigger – something that many elites feared could shatter the natural order of society. Crossbows weren’t just battlefield weapons that could quickly win battles, to the ruling class they were downright terrifying. Accordingly, Pope Urban II banned the use of crossbows in 1096; a prohibition that was upheld by Pope Innocent II in 1139.

                                               The Medieval crossbow was reintroduced to England by William the Conqueror and the Normans in 1066. The correct term for a crossbow is an Arbalest. The crossbow range was 350 – 400 yards but could only be shot at a rate of 2 bolts per minute. The crossbow was easy to use, requiring minimal training and required little strength to operate. The medieval Knight was the most powerful and effective warrior and said to be worth 10 foot soldiers, who were regarded with the lowest esteem and considered expendable. The crossbow could be used by an untrained soldier to injure or kill a knight in plate armour. The crossbow, itself, was therefore viewed as an inhuman weapon which required no skill and had no honour.

                                   Crossbows were eventually replaced in warfare by more powerful gunpowder weapons, although early guns had slower rates of fire and much worse accuracy than contemporary crossbows. Later, similar competing tactics would feature harquebusiers or musketeers in formation with pikemen (pike and shot), pitted against cavalry firing pistols or carbines.