Crossbow

“ Next, with leisurely precision, and with no trace of excitement upon his bronzed and weather-beaten face, he proceeded to unsling his weapon from his back and to make it ready for use; and as he did so, one further circumstance became apparent--namely, that he was a huntsman who did not care for noise--a poacher, perhaps--for what had resembled a gun now proved to be an old-fashioned crossbow, of rare and curious workmanship, and this bow the huntsman bent, and then, adjusting the murderous looking bolt, settled down to wait in comfort until his quarry should appear. ”

“ They avoid nothing more easily than the flight of an arrow. They never remain quiet, but are continually running, traversing from place to place, so that neither crossbow nor arquebuse can be aimed at them. Before a Christian can make a single shot with either, an Indian will discharge three or four arrows; and he seldom misses of his object. Where the arrow meets with no armor, it pierces as deeply as the shaft from a crossbow. Their bows are very perfect; the arrows are made of certain canes, like reeds, very heavy, and so stiff that one of them, when sharpened, will pass through a target. ”

“ Cortes then ordered Pedro Barba, who commanded the crossbow-men to divide the arrows and copper points among his men, and see that every man fixed the points neatly to the arrows, and attached the feathers with strong glue. Every crossbow-man was also to furnish himself with two closely twisted cords for his bow; further to provide himself with a number of spare nuts for the bows, that if one should crack or fly off he might have another in readiness. The crossbow-men were also to exercise themselves in shooting at heaps of earth to ascertain the strength of their bows. ”

“ The number of crossbow men was thirty-three, and of musketeers thirteen: add to this our heavy guns and four falconets, a great quantity of powder and balls. As to the precise number of crossbow men I cannot exactly swear, though it matters not whether there were a few more or less. [Pg 58]
After this review, Cortes ordered the artillerymen Mesa, Bartolome de Usagre, Arbenga, and a certain Catalonier whose name I forget, to keep all our firearms bright and in good order, to see that each cannon had its right-sized ball, to prepare the cartridges, and distribute the powder properly. ”

“ Projectile-throwing machines were developed after the fashion of a crossbow mounted upon a small wooden carriage which usually was a hollowed trough open on top and upon which a stone was laid. The thong of the crossbow was drawn by a powerful screw operated by man power, and the crossbow arrangement when released would throw a stone weighing many pounds quite a distance over the walls of a besieged city or from such wall into the camps or ranks of the besiegers. ”

“ The first projectile-throwing arm appropriate to an art museum is the crossbow, which is simply a bow mounted on a wooden stock provided with a catch and trigger, so that the bow could be carried ready to shoot. ”

“ So said Montluc of the musket, which in 1523 had not yet, he says, superseded in France the use of the crossbow: ‘Would to God this accursed instrument had never been invented.... So many brave and valiant men would not have met their deaths at the hands very often of the greatest cowards, who would not so much as dare look at the man whom they knock down from a distance with their accursed balls.’ [180] And in the same spirit Charles XII. of Sweden once bade his soldiers to come to close quarters with the enemy without shooting, on the ground that it was only for cowards to shoot. ”

“ The crossbow has many advantages over the arquebuse: it kills, but does not frighten game; this cannot be done with the arquebuse, for the sound it makes alarms and frightens the game, and is heard everywhere. Once set, its shot is secure; which is not the case with the arquebuse, which often misses fire.
"This weapon has been used in Spain from very early times, and has been made by the best masters; the most famous among them were—
"The only famous maker of crossbows of the present time is Juan de Lastra." ”

“ This I found at the sack of Tournay, and 'tis warranted to turn a sword-cut or to stop an arrow at two score paces. This breastplate will also serve—and this steel cap. Now as to thy arms. Here is a sword, slightly heavy for thee, yet anon thou'lt become accustomed to the feel of it, though a bowman stands an ill chance should he suffer a troop of lances to come within striking distance! Now into yonder corner throw thy crossbow, for, as I have shown, 'tis but a clumsy and unwieldy tool for an Englishman. Here is a better—a full-sized English longbow; that is the king of weapons! ”

“ The boys of the laager seemed to be fitted out with hats of such a size that they would have to be grown into, and would then do for them in their grown–up years. The young idea was also learning to shoot by using crossbows, and it was interesting to see what good positions they got into for firing in the quickest manner, using aim and trigger just as with a gun. A crossbow should be an excellent instrument for teaching the elements of rifle–shooting. ”

“ None could shoot with a crossbow as skillfully as he (that very spring he had killed twenty-three water-rats, and you know how wary they are) ; none was so fearless a rider; none more expert at flying the hawk or training hounds. ”

“ Said the youthful Joukahainen,
"I've two crossbows I could give you,360
Ay, a pair of splendid crossbows,
One shoots forth with passing quickness,
Surely hits the mark the other.
If it please you, choose between them."
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"No, your bows I do not covet,
For the wretched bows I care not;
I myself have plenty of them.
All the walls are decked with crossbows,
All the pegs are hung with crossbows;370
In the woods they wander hunting,
Nor a hero needs to span them." ”

“ All declared it to be of native make, and used during the Sword-dance performed in presence of the Prince. But it is an evident copy of some weapon of the fifteenth century; and the knightly model, like that of the Mpángwe (Fan) crossbow, had drifted into the African interior. The handle and its pommel were of ivory (in poorer weapons wood is used) : the guard was a thin bar of iron springing from the junction of blade and 166grip; forming an open oval-shaped pas d’âne below, and prolonged upwards and downwards in two quillons or branches, parallel with the hilt and protecting the hand. ”

“ I don’t wonder you think the blunted arrows unsightly. They are all wrong. The arms are a hand grasping three crossbow bolts, a very different thing, and with very formidable points to them, as I trust those of the family will always have. ”

“ The Boers are all good shots, and so are the Swiss. In both countries the boys begin learning marksmanship at an early age by using crossbows. They have much the same action for the firer as the rifle, since they are aimed from the shoulder and fired by pulling a trigger when the aim is taken. Boys trained with the crossbow have no difficulty in shooting accurately with a rifle directly it is put in their hands. ”

“ A few days later he was dead, and, after a most imposing funeral, his body was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, but eighteen inches from the spot where, but a few months before, had been laid the body of his great rival, Pitt.
THE ARBALIST, OR CROSSBOW.
MONGST the weapons used in early English times, there was hardly one so deadly and effectual as the crossbow. ”

“ A letter of René of Anjou, quoted by the Count of Valencia de Don Juan, also refers to the skill of the Catalans in making crossbows, and mentions one of these weapons constructed by “Saracen,” of Barcelona, “who refuses to teach his craft to Christians.” The letter further states that this [221] arm was of a curious shape, and that, “despite its small dimensions, it carries to a greater distance than any other I have yet possessed.”
A handsome Moorish crossbow, inlaid with bronze (Plate xliii.) , exists in the provincial museum of Granada. ”

“ When the bow is bent, the angle at fig. 2 catches the cord, and is let go by means of the apparatus represented at c, c, by the side.
As no human being is sufficiently strong to draw this bow with the hands alone, a strap of leather is fixed round the loins, ending in two iron hooks, which lay hold of the cord. One foot is put into the strap at the top of the bow, h, and then, by the exertion of the body, the bow is drawn till the cord catches the angle of the pulley D. [Pg 96]
The annexed cut represents the bolt of this Norwegian crossbow, which is a foot and half long, an inch thick. ”

“ At the same time as these portable fire-arms were used in Spain, the ancient ballestas, crossbows, so generally used in the Middle Ages, were very popular. Several artists became very famous in their manufacture. Alonso Martinez de Espinar enters into many details of this implement in his rare volume on the "Arte de Ballesteria y Monteria," Madrid, 1644, 4to, from which I copy the following passage, p. 11:—"The crossbow is more secure and less dangerous than the arquebuse ”

“ When, however, they began to feel the sharp edge of our swords, and saw what destruction our crossbows and matchlocks made among them, they speedily began to give way. Fifteen of their number lay dead on the field. ”

“ Crossbows, Giles, yeoman of the, 24, 98, 180, 194.
[Pg 313]
----, groom of the, 25, 70, 180, 287.
Crossbow, forked heads for a, 67.
"These, in the time of Henry the Eighth, were confined to the chase. A specimen is preserved in the collection of Mr. Meyrick, and which is engraved in Skelton's Illustrations. The bow of the cross bow used with this arrow was wood instead of steel. See the representation of Maximilian I. in Derweiss Kunig." M.
----, a, brought, 83. ”

“ Alternatives, however, seem even less likely.↑ No reason is given, and if indeed this is a personal name one wonder what the source for this correction may be.↑ Using the anachronistic interpretation of 子 as 'north'.↑ 一更時↑ Taken from one interpretative paradigm, this could strongly suggest wood-only crossbows. Crossbows do remain popular in the region today. ”

“ The Genoese crossbows shall be drawn up, and ready for defence or attack. We suppose that, on our debarkation, a multitude of your young squires will demand to be knighted, for increase of honor and advancement. Instruct them gently how they ought to act, for you are very capable of doing it; and know, gentlemen, that we are well inclined to acquit ourselves handsomely toward you; and, to show our eagerness to annoy the enemy, we shall take every possible pains that this town of Africa may be won. ”

“ When he dived towards the guns on the far side of the room the crossbows twanged like harps of death. ”

“ This they did, by holding the bow in their left hand, and grasping the arrow on the string with the right, (as is usual with them;) resting the right hand on the hip; drawing the bow with all their strength; throwing themselves forward and back, and bending their bodies, until their heads almost touched the ground; and all the time they were springing about, in every direction, as if avoiding the missiles of the foe, and yelling at the very top of their voices, with more than mortal fierceness. ”

“ Compactness of troops was a great point in mediæval warfare, and the bowmen could stand closer together with their bows vertical than their brethren of the cross-bow with their weapons in the horizontal position. There is little doubt that the cross-bow was the ideal weapon for the ordinary soldier of an ordinary race, inasmuch as little intellect was required to direct the aim and little strength was necessary if the usual mechanical means were used to bend the bow. ”

“ Hence the long-bow and cross-bow have been and are playthings in the hands of youth; and would that they had only been the toys of the playground instead of leading men to slaughter each other for the costly toys of the game of life. It is chiefly to the use of the cross-bow that we propose to confine ourselves upon the present occasion.
The arbalest, or cross-bow, was not only much shorter than the long-bow, but fastened also upon a stock, and discharged by means of a catch or trigger, which Mr. Strutt reasonably enough thinks gave rise to the lock on the modern musket. ”

“ Surcoat, shield and trapper have the arms of their owner. The rowel-spur makes a rare appearance. Weapons change little, although the sword is often longer and heavier. Richard I. had favoured the cross-bow, in spite of papal denunciations of that weapon hateful to God, and its use is common through all the 13th century, after which it makes way for the national weapon of the long-bow. ”

“ The employment of the cross-bow still lingered when this was first published in 1663. The invention is so obvious that any particular description would be superfluous, the whole effect consisting in either shooting the two arrows singly, or together.
In an article on Cross-bows, in Fosbroke’s Encyclopedia of Antiquities, 1840, it is stated that—“In a letter remissory, dated 1420, it is said, ‘lequel Haquinet a chevauchie tendu crenequins et arbalestes a croc’—that is, which Haquinet rode along with crenequins bent, and arbalestes on the hook. ”

“ Like the hare, if the fore-leg is injured, deer cannot progress; if only the hind-quarter is hit, there is no telling how far they may go. Therefore the cross-bow, as enabling the hunter to choose the exact spot where his bolt should strike, became the weapon of the chase, and by its very perfection began the extermination of the deer. Instead of the hounds and the noisy hunt, any man who could use the cross-bow could kill a buck. The long-bow, of all weapons, requires the most practice, and practice begun in early youth. ”