the.com/crossbow
the gun's medieval ancestor that let any peasant outshoot a lifetime-trained knight
means A weapon consisting of a bow mounted horizontally on a stock, drawn and locked into place so it can be aimed and fired like a rifle, launching short arrows called bolts or quarrels.
from A plain English compound of "cross" and "bow" — the bow set crosswise on its stock, forming a literal cross shape. English assembled this name in the medieval period; other languages saw the same shape and named it by other parts entirely, like the Latin-derived "arbalest" (from arcus, "bow," plus ballista, the ancient torsion engine that hurled missiles).
- power gap
- A pope banned it as too deadly in 1139
- slow reload
- Some took longer to load than to win duels
- chinese origins
- Mass-produced in China over 2,000 years ago
- still legal
- Hunters and special forces still field them today
- draw force
- Heavy models needed a crank and stirrup to cock
man o' war crossbow — ancient roman torsion weapon used by legions, 1st-4th centuries ad
repeating crossbow — chinese weapon with magazine-fed bolts, used from 7th century onward
gastraphetes — ancient greek crossbow invented by diognetus around 400 bc