The Origins of The Crossbow

A Simple Weapon That Could Bring Down a Knight in Full Armour

Oct 5, 2009

The crossbow looks every inch the modern weapon but its origins date back over 2,500 years,

As a weapon there is evidence to suggest that the crossbow was in use in ancient China between the 5th and 6th century, though it was not the hand weapon known today. A closer comparison would be to describe it as a giant catapult. However, more reliable records indicate the crossbow was in use in 341 BC during the Battle of Marling. Certainly crossbows have been found amongst the Terracotta army found in the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang 260-210 BC.

The First European Crossbow

Evidence of the first crossbow in use in Europe was the gastraphetes which was described in the 1st century AD by Heron of Alexandria but is believed to have been invented some 400 to 500 years previously. The gastraphetes was powered by a composite bow. It was cocked by resting the stomach in a concavity at the rear of the stock and pressing down.

European crossbows date back to Roman times. Unlike a long bow, which is faster and more accurate and competency in its use was a skill which took years to acquire, the use of a crossbow could be learnt within about a week, so far more European armies began to use the crossbow in favour of the long bow.

Often mounted and un-mounted crossbow men along with javelineers and archers would occupy the central positions in the battle formation and the rank of commanding officer of the crossbowmen corps was one of the highest ranks that could be achieved. This formation proved almost invincible against knights with lances but the invention of the pushler and ratchet drawing mechanisms enabled the use of crossbows on horseback.

The Workings of a Crossbow

A crossbow is a bow mounted on a tiller or stock with a mechanism that holds down drawn bowstring. The bow which on a crossbow is called a prod or a lath, on early crossbows was a single piece of wood, usually ash or yew. This differs from a composite bow, which as the name suggests is made up of more than one material, usually layers of wood, horn and sinew which are glued together and then bound with animal tendons. The composite bow is considerable stronger than wooden bows.

In comparison to a long bow the prod of a crossbow is very short. Traditionally the prod was secured to the stock with rope or other cord which is called the bridle. The string of a crossbow was made from strong fibre, usually whipcord but linen, hemp and sinew was also used and, surprisingly, sometimes twisted mulberry root !

A variety of cocking devices were used. These were attached from a simple hook in the archer's belt and the bow was cocked by straightening the legs. Another method would be to use a lever or crank on a ratchet which is called a windlass crossbow. This method allowed greater tension to be applied than just 'brute' strength making the crossbow the ideal weapon for all ages. They were certainly much easier to aim and required a lot less upper body strength than a long bow.

Types of Crossbow

The copyright of the article The Origins of The Crossbow in Hunting is owned by Lynda Osborne. Permission to republish The Origins of The Crossbow in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.