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The Chinese crossbow had a longer power stroke, around 51 cm (20 in) or so, compared to the early medieval European crossbow, which typically sat around only 10–18 cm (3.9–7.1 in). This was made possible by the more compact design of the Chinese trigger, which allowed it to sit further back at the rear-end of the tiller.
Medieval European crossbows had a much smaller draw length than bows, so that for the same energy to be imparted to the projectile the crossbow had to have a much higher draw weight. A direct comparison between a fast hand-drawn replica crossbow and a longbow shows a 6:10 rate of shooting [ 92 ] or a 4:9 rate within 30 seconds and comparable ...
The main armament of the Genoese crossbowmen was the crossbow, made in Genoa by the Balistrai Corporation. As well, the mercenaries were equipped with a dagger, a light metal helmet, a gorget, a hauberk and a large shield, called a pavese , which was used while reloading the crossbow. The usual team consisted of a crossbowman and two assistants ...
Despite this, crossbows were used in the early Crusades, with models having a range of 300 yd (274 m) and being able to penetrate armour or kill a horse. [55] They fired short metal bolts rather than arrows. The French army relied substantially on the crossbow in late medieval times. [56]
The term "arbalest" is sometimes used interchangeably with "crossbow". Arbalest is a Medieval French word originating from the Roman name arcuballista (from arcus 'bow' + ballista 'missile-throwing engine'), [3] which was then used for crossbows, although originally used for types of artillery.
The repeating crossbow (Chinese: 連弩; pinyin: Lián Nǔ), also known as the repeater crossbow, and the Zhuge crossbow (Chinese: 諸葛弩; pinyin: Zhūgě nǔ, also romanized Chu-ko-nu) due to its association with the Three Kingdoms-era strategist Zhuge Liang (181–234 AD), is a crossbow invented during the Warring States period in China that combined the bow spanning, bolt placing, and ...
The medieval shortbow was technically identical with the classical era bows, having a range of approximately 91 m (299 ft). It was the primary ranged weapon of the battlefield through the early medieval period. Around the tenth century the crossbow was introduced in Europe. Crossbows generally had a longer range, greater accuracy and more ...
Model of a medieval crossbowman using a pavise shield. It is decorated with Bartolomeo Vivarini's St. Martin and the Beggar.. A pavise (or pavis, pabys, or pavesen) was an oblong shield used during the mid-14th to early 16th centuries.