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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.
The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ballistra [1] and that from βάλλω ballō, "throw"), [2] plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant target.
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 Master of the Crossbowmen commanded all archers (longbow, arbalest, crossbow, etc.), engineers and workers on siege engines, sappers ("sapeurs") and miners for mining fortifications during siege warfare. He was under the command of the Constable of France and the Marshals.
Large mounted crossbows known as "bed crossbows" were used as early as the Warring States period. Mozi described them as defensive weapons placed on top the battlements. The Mohist siege crossbow was described as humongous device with frameworks taller than a man and shooting arrows with cords attached so that they could be pulled back.
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 ...
Modern reconstruction of a torsion springald, the twisted skeins powering the inward projecting bow arms can be seen. Displayed at the Tower of London. Several reconstructed examples can be found, Jean Leibell produced a 12-inch (30.5 cm) model for his researches into "Springalds and Great Crossbows" which was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum, and a larger model can be seen at the ...
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 ...