Crossbow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles. A mechanism in the stock holds the bow in its fully-drawn position, without human effort or intervention, until it is shot by releasing a trigger. Crossbows played a significant role in the warfare of North Africa, Europe and Asia. Crossbows are used today primarily for target shooting and sport hunting.[1]
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[edit] First evidence
It is not possible to determine exactly where and when the crossbow originated, but there is undoubted evidence that it was used for military purposes from the second half of the 4th century BC onwards.
According to Joseph Needham (known as Li Yuese in Chinese):
| “ | Throughout the southeastern Asia the crossbow is still used by primitive and tribal peoples both for hunting and war, from the Assamese mountains through Burma, Siam and to the confines of Indo-China. The peoples of the northeastern Asia possess it also, both as weapon and toy, but use it mainly in the form of unattended traps; this is true of the Yakut, Tungus, and Chukchi, even of the Ainu in the east. There seems to be no way of answering the question whether it first arose among the barbaric forefathers of these Asian peoples before the rise of the Chinese culture in their midst, and then underwent its technical development only therein, or whether it spread outwards from China to all the environing peoples. The former seems the more probable hypothesis, given the further linguistic evidence in its support.[2] | ” |
The earliest documention of a Chinese crossbow is in scripts from the 4th - 3rd century BC attributed to the followers of Mozi. This source refers the use of a giant crossbow catapult to the late Spring and Autumn Period, corresponding to the 6th to 5th century BC. The date is several centuries before the appearance of the manuscript. As a result the dating from the source can not be used without doubt to determine when the use of crossbows started in Chinese history, although the age of the source can.[3] Sun Tzu's influential book The Art of War(first appearance dated in between 500 BC to 300 BC[4]) refers in chapter V. on the traits and in XII. on the use of crossbows.[5] One of the earliest reliable records of this weapon in warfare is from an ambush, the Battle of Ma-Ling in 341 BC. By the 200s BC, the crossbow (nǔ, 弩) was well developed and quite widely used in China. Several remains of them have been found among the soldiers of the Terracotta Army in the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 BC).[6]
The earliest date for the crossbow in the Greek world (called gastraphetes, which could store more energy than the Greek bows) is the Siege of Motya in 397 BC, a key Carthaginian stronghold in Sicily, as described in the 1st century CE by Heron of Alexandria in his book Belopoeica.[7] This date for the introduction of the crossbow in the Mediterranean is not accepted without doubt because of the temporal difference between writer and event and the lack of other sources stating the same. At least Alexander's siege of Tyre in 332 BC provides reliable sources for the use of these weapons, although the Greek besiegers as well as the Phoenician defenders had them.[8] The efficiency of the gastraphetes was improved by introducing the ballista. Its application in sieges and against rigid infantry formations featured more and more powerful projectiles, leading to technical improvements and larger ballistae. The smaller sniper version was often called Scorpio.[9] An example for the importance of ballistae in Hellenistic warfare is the Helepolis, a siege tower employed by Demetrius during the Siege of Rhodes in 305 BC. At each level of the moveable tower were several ballistae. The large ballistae at the bottom level were designed to destroy the parapet and clear it of any hostile troop concentrations while the small armorbreaking scorpios at the top level sniped at the besieged. This suppressive fire would allow them to mount the wall with ladders more safely.[10]
[edit] Types of crossbows
[edit] Acceleration system
The bow (called the "prod" or "lath" on a crossbow) of early crossbows were made of a single piece of wood, usually ash or yew. During the Crusades, Europeans were exposed to Saracen composite bows, made from layers of different material—often wood, horn and sinew—glued together and bound with animal tendon. These composite bows could be much more powerful than wooden bows, and were adopted for crossbow prods across Europe. As steel became more widely available around the 14th century, spring steel prods came into use. The crossbow prod is very short compared to ordinary bows, resulting in a short draw length. This makes crossbows less efficient at releasing energy, and to compensate they must have very heavy draw weights. Although some crossbows (ancient or modern) are drawn using only the unassisted arm strength of the archer, more powerful crossbows required some sort of mechanical device to draw the string. These drawing mechanisms were of many different forms, using levers, ratchets and pulleys in various ways. The use of these devices allowed soldiers to use and shoot weapons with a draw force far in excess of what they could have handled with a bow. In later years the bolt of a crossbow had enough kinetic energy to penetrate any chainmail and most plate armor hit squarely: some reached a draw force of nearly 1600 N (350 lbf), compared to the 300-900 N (60-180 lbf) draw force for a longbow. Moreover, crossbows could be kept cocked and ready to shoot for some time with little effort, allowing crossbowmen to aim better.
The prod was often lashed to the stock with rope, whipcord, or other strong cording. This cording is called the bridle of the crossbow. Much as a horse's bridle, it tends to loosen over time, and must be carefully re-bound when appropriate.
The strings for a crossbow are typically made of strong fibers that would not tend to fray. According to W. F. Patternson, whipcord was very common; however linen, hemp, and sinew were used as well. In wet conditions, twisted mulberry root was occasionally used.
The mechanism that holds the drawn bowstring, called a nut, was usually made of bone, ivory or metal, and the trigger (originally "tricker") mechanism of metal. Bronze triggers with safety notches are known to have been used on crossbows from at least 200 BC in China. Complicated iron triggers are known in Europe from the early 1400s. Leonardo da Vinci designed many trigger mechanisms for crossbows, ultimately producing a "hair trigger" that could be released with very little finger strength.
[edit] Simple bow systems
A lath or simple bow is utilized as bow without further modifications.
[edit] Recurve bow systems
- See also: Recurve bow
A recurve crossbow is a bow that, in contrast to the simple crossbow, has tips that curve away from the archer when the bow is held in shooting position. The recurve bow's bent limbs allow for:
- A lower bracing height with the same limb length
- More spring force over the first few inches of draw
- A smoother draw
[edit] Springs with levers systems
The gastraphetes served as a basis for the development of the ballista, with torsion springs replacing the elastic prod, about 400 BC.[11] The ballista was used around the Mediterranean by the Roman Empire and others during the Hellenistic Period. This weapon varied size from one-man field versions to heavy siege engines. "Ballista" is still the root word for crossbow in Romance languages such as Spanish (ballesta) and Italian (balestra).
[edit] Compound bow systems
- See also: Compound bow
A compound crossbow is a modern crossbow similar to the compound bow that has pulleys or cams at the end of each limb through which the bow string passes. As the bow is pulled back (drawn) the pulleys or cams turn which, in turn, reduce the amount of force needed to completely draw the bow.
[edit] Multiple bow systems
See images of double bow arcuballista. This weapon had a unique system of pulling the sinew.
[edit] Type of weapon
[edit] Handheld crossbows with long stocks/gastraphetes
In the 5th century BC, a variant of the crossbow was independently invented in the Greek city-states. The shooter held this device, known in Greek as gastraphetes ("belly-bow"), against one's stomach and then retracted the drawstring with both hands. The user of a gastraphetes shot the weapon by releasing a lever, which set in motion a trigger mechanism. Because it took a long time to load and shoot, the gastraphetes was not an especially effective weapon, except during long sieges.[12]
[edit] Pistol crossbows
Pistol crossbows are small, often less powerful crossbows that can be fired like a pistol from one hand.
[edit] Repeating crossbow and ballista
A repeating crossbow is one where the separate actions of stringing the bow, placing the bolt and firing it can be accomplished with a simple one-handed movement, all the while keeping the crossbow stationary. This allows the bow to fire at a faster rate compared to a normal crossbow. A magazine containing a number of bolts is present on top of the bow and the mechanism is worked by moving a rectangular lever forward and backward. One example of this is the Chu Ko Nu, which originated from China.
[edit] Multiple-bow arcuballista
A weapon utilised in Asia with several prods and a unique mechanism for pulling the sinew.
[edit] Arbalest
Next to ballistae the Romans had also crossbows with a prod, the arcuballista (hence the name "arbalest"). The arbalest was a late variation of the medieval European crossbow. A larger weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod ("bow"). Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force. The strongest windlass-pulled arbalests could have up to 22 kN (5000 lbf) strength and be accurate up to 500 m. A skilled arbalestier could shoot two bolts per minute.
[edit] Siege crossbows/oxybeles
Oxybeles were a development from the gastraphetes for siege warfare. The name literally means bolt-shooter as the spearlike projectiles of these weapons could impale more than one soldier, while the gastarphetes had shot arrows. It was heavier than the handheld gastraphetes and due to its weight had to be placed on a stand. Usually a distinction is made between ballistae and oxybeles which like gastraphetes had a composite bow, but other sources note the later torsion powered versions derived from this weapon also as oxybeles and not ballistae. The distinction is then made between lithobolos shooting stones and oxybeles shooting arrows, although any of the later ballistae could easily be operated for both purposes.[13] Evidence for its use by the Ancient Greeks starts around 375 B.C.
[edit] Ballista
The ballista was a powerful ancient crossbow that ejected heavy darts or spherical stone projectiles of various sizes. It developed into small handheld sniper weapons (Scorpion). It is considered to be the most complex weapon made before the Industrial Revolution[citation needed] and the only pre-industrial weapon to be designed scientifically. Handheld ballistae were used in the Later Roman Empire and served a similar purposes as crossbows in the Medieval armies.
[edit] Bowguns
Bowguns are a type of crossbow which rather than firing arrows or bolts fire spherical projectiles such as stones or lead, often down a barrel.
[edit] Crossbow projectiles
[edit] Bolts
The arrow-like projectiles of a crossbow are called "bolts." These are much shorter than arrows but can be several times heavier. There is an optimum weight for bolts to achieve maximum kinetic energy, which varies depending on the strength and characteristics of the crossbow. In ancient times the bolts of strong crossbow were usually several times heavier than arrows. Modern bolts are stamped with a proof mark to ensure their consistent weight. Bolts typically have three fletches, commonly seen on arrows. Crossbow bolts can be fitted with a variety of heads, some with sickle-shaped heads to cut rope or rigging; but the most common today is a four-sided point called a quarrel. Another type of bolt can be employed to collect blubber biopsy samples used in biology research.
[edit] Spherical projectiles
Some crossbows were made to shoot stones or lead bullets. Primarily used for hunting wildfowl, these had a double string with a pouch between the strings to hold the projectile.
[edit] Crossbow accessories
[edit] Cranks and other cocking aids
 Pull lever |
 Push lever |
||
 stationary windlass device |
 repeating crossbow with pull lever and automatic reload magazine |
 Lian Nu (multiple shot crossbow) without a visible nut or cocking aid |
[edit] Sights
Modern crossbow sights often use similar technology to modern firearm sights.
[edit] Other attachments
Modern crossbows can have mounted quivers to hold ammunition as well as vibration dampeners to suppress the sound of firing.
[edit] History of utilisation
In Western Africa crossbows served as a scout weapon and for hunting, with enslaved Africans bringing the technology to America.[14] In the American south, the crossbow was used as a hunting weapon when firearms or gunpowder were unavailable because of economic hardships or isolation.[15] Light hunting crossbows were traditionally used by the Inuit in Northern America, as well as being found throughout Eurasia and the Indonesian Islands.
Up until the seventeenth century most beekeepers in Europe kept their hives spread across the woods and had to defend them against bears. Therefore their guild was granted the right to bear arms and is commonly depicted carrying heavy crossbows.
Crossbows were used in European warfare from roughly 800 to 1500 AD. They almost completely superseded hand bows in many European armies in the twelfth century for a number of reasons. Although an expertly handled longbow had greater range, equal accuracy and faster shooting rate than an average crossbow, the value of the crossbow came in its simplicity: it could be used effectively after a week of training, while a comparable single-shot skill with a longbow could take years of practice. The invention of pushlever and ratchet drawing mechanisms enabled the use of crossbows on horseback.
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. In the armies of Europe,[16] mounted and unmounted crossbowmen, often mixed with javeliners and archers, occupied a central position in battle formations. Usually they engaged the enemy in offensive skirmishes before an assault of mounted knights. Crossbowmen were also valuable in counterattacks to protect their infantry. The rank of commanding officer of the crossbowmen corps was one of the highest positions in any army of this time. Along with polearm weapons made from farming equipment, the crossbow was also a weapon of choice for insurgent peasants such as the Taborites. Famous were the Genoese crossbowmen who hired as mercenaries for many countries in medieval Europe, while the crossbow also played an important role in anti-personnel defence of ships.[17]
Crossbowmen among the Flemish citizens,[18] in the army of Richard Lionheart, and others, had two servants, two crossbows and a pavise shield to protect the men. One of the servants had the task of reloading the weapons, while the second subordinate would carry and hold the pavise (the archer himself also wore protective armor). Such a three-man team could shoot 8 shots per minute, compared to a single crossbowman's 3 shots per minute. The archer was the leader of the team, the one who owned the equipment, and the one who received payment for their services. The payment for a crossbow mercenary was higher than for a longbow mercenary, but the longbowman did not have to pay a team of assistants and his equipment was cheaper.
Mounted knights armed with lances proved ineffective against formations of pikemen combined with crossbowmen whose weapons could penetrate most knights' armor. This led to the development of new cavalry tactics. Knights and mercenaries deployed in triangular formations, with the most heavily armored knights at the front. The knights would carry small, powerful all-metal crossbows of their own. Crossbows were eventually replaced in warfare by 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, pitted against cavalry firing pistols or carbines.
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 (There are no surviving acts of the council and very little can be surmised from the records and chronicles.).[19] Examining the existing differing fragmentary original sources closely does not evidently show that Urban II ever made such a 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.[20]
[edit] Use of crossbows today
Crossbows are used in modern archery for target shooting.
They are still used for hunting in many countries, such as in a few states within the USA, or the countries of West Africa.
Crossbows are sometimes used in modern militaries as even lower noise alternatives to suppressed firearms.
Modified crossbows are used in whale research to take blubber biopsy samples without harming the whales. [21]
[edit] Legal issues
The crossbow often has a complicated legal status due to its lethality and its similarities with both firearms and other archery weapons.
[edit] See also
- Arbalest
- Ballista
- Repeating crossbow
- Bow (weapon)
- Medieval warfare
- Grand Master of Crossbowmen
- longbow
- Ballistics
- trajectory
[edit] Notes
- ^ Crossbow Regulations. CrossbowHunting.net (2006-11-22). Retrieved on January 26, 2007.
- ^ Needham, Joseph (2004). Science and Civilisation in China, Vol 5 Part 6. Cambridge University Press, p. 135. ISBN 0521087325.
- ^ Liang, Jieming (2006). Chinese Siege Warfare: Mechanical Artillery & Siege Weapons of Antiquity ISBN 981-05-5380-3, pp. Appendix D
- ^ James Clavell, The Art of War, prelude
- ^ http://www.gutenberg.org/files/132/132.txt
- ^ Weapons of the terracotta army
- ^ Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, Sarah B. Pomeroy, and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts (1999). Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-1950-9742-4, p. 366
- ^ John Warry, Warfare in the Classical World, p. 79
- ^ Duncan B Campbell, Ancient Siege Warfare 2005 Osprey Publishing ISBN 1-84176-770-0, p. 26-56
- ^ John Warry, Warfare in the Classical World,University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN 0-8061-2794, p.90
- ^ O'Connell, Robert L. (1989). Of Arms and Men: A History of War, Weapons, and Aggression. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-1950-5359-1, p. 65
- ^ Gurstell, William (2004).The Art of the Catapult. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-5565-2526-5, p. 49
- ^ John Warry, Warfare in the Classical World, p. 78f
- ^ Notes On West African Crossbow Technology
- ^ Notes On West African Crossbow Technology
- ^ Verbruggen, J.F.; Second revised and enlarged, edition, in English translation (1997). The art of warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Boydell&Brewer. ISBN 0-85115-570-7.
- ^ Notes On West African Crossbow Technology
- ^ Verbruggen, J.F.; Second revised and enlarged, edition, in English translation (1997). The art of warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Boydell&Brewer. ISBN 0-85115-570-7.
- ^ The sources are collected in Hefele, Histoire des conciles d'apres les documents originaux, trans. and continued by H. Leclerq 1907-52., 5/1, 721-722; but see also, Bernhardi Jahrbuecher der deutschen Geschichte, I Leipzig 1883, 154-160.
- ^ Turner, Monte (2004). The Not So Diabolical Crossbow: A Re-Examination of Innocent II’s Supposed Ban Of The Crossbow at the SecondLateran Council. Self-published thesis.
- ^ http://whale.wheelock.edu/bwcontaminants/st_lawrence.html
[edit] References
- Payne-Gallwey, Ralph, Sir, The Crossbow: Mediaeval and Modern, Military and Sporting; its Construction, History & Management with a Treatise on the Balista and Catapult of the Sncients and An Sppendix on the Catapult, Balista & the Turkish Bow, New York : Bramhall House, 1958.
- The Crossbows of South-West China, by Stephen Selby, 1999
- African crossbow, Donald B. Ball, 1996
- Crossbow of the Hill Tribes
[edit] External links
