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History of the use of crossbows The earliest reliable record of crossbow usage is in the Battle of Ma-Ling, Lingyi, China at 341 BC. By the 200s BC, the crossbow was well developed and quite widely used in China. Crossbows have been found among the soldiers of the Terracotta Army in the tomb of emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 BCE). The first western reference to the crossbow is to the gastraphetes ("belly-bow") of early Hellenistic period (ca. 400 BC). The Romans called the crossbow an arcuballista (hence name "arbalest"). They did not employ it as a massed weapon, but used it as a scout weapon and for hunting. Other sources note its usage in Western Africa, with enslaved Africans bringing it to America. In the American south, the crossbow was sometimes used as a hunting weapon when firearms or gunpowder were unavailable. Light hunting crossbows were traditionally used by the Inuit in Northern America, as well as being found throughout Eurasia and the Indonesian Islands. It was also often used on horseback, especially in Scandinavia. The crossbow became a common weapon of war in Europe in the 9th century, and almost completely superseded hand bows in the 12th century. The Saracens called the crossbow qaws Ferengi, or "Frankish bow", as the Crusaders used the crossbow against the Arab and Turkoman horsemen with remarkable success. The crossbow also became the weapon of choice for peasants in Europe. The Finnish national epic, Kalevala, depicts Joukahainen ambushing the hero Väinämöinen with a crossbow. The legendary hero William Tell supposedly shot an apple from the top of his son's head using a crossbow, and in the process started the war of liberation for Switzerland by ambushing the landreeve Gessler. Mounted knights armed with lances proved ineffective against formations of pikemen combined with crossbowmen whose weapons could penetrate most knight's armor. This led to the development of new cavalry tactics. Knights and merceneries deployed in triangular formations, with the most heavily armored knights at the front. To increase its effect, they would carry small, powerful all-metal crossbows of their own. Later, similar competing tactics would feature harquebusiers or musketeers in formation with pikemen, pitted against cavalry firing pistols or carbines. Although it is an often-repeated belief that both Pope Urban II in 1097 and the Second Lateran Council under Pope Innocent II in 1139 banned the use of crossbows against Christians, scholars who have closely examined the original sources believe that Urban II never made any such ban, and that the Second Lateran Council's prohibition (which has various possible translations) applied to ordinary bows as well as crossbows, and perhaps to all missile weapons in general. Crossbows were eventually replaced in warfare by gunpowder weapons, although early guns had slower rates of fire and much worse accuracy than contemporary crossbows. Modern crossbows are still used for target shooting and in some places for hunting. They are made of the same composite materials as modern bows. Back to home |
