Over the time period of 1066 to 1500, crossbows were developed to become more accurate, powerful and easy to use, while longbows and other types of bow barely changed across this period. Because of these changes, the lives of archers and crossbowmen were changed as well the military strategies of the medieval armies.
What changes were made to bows and crossbows during this period?
Throughout Medieval times in Europe, longbows did not change at all, as they did not need to because they were the best bows at the time, and were as powerful as possible at the time. Crossbows however, hadn’t been commonly used since the 6th and 9th centuries in Scotland, and changed a lot throughout this time period. In the siege of Jerusalem, the crossbowmen had to lie on their backs and use their feet to draw the string back, these weapons were described as being extremely powerful, penetrating the armour of the time. In the 14th century, huge rampart crossbows were used, these weapons could
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This changed when armies started to use longbows, as these weapons needed a lot more training and were much more powerful, despite this, archers still only had a dagger or home-made weapon to defend their selves with if an enemy got too close. Due to the power of the new longbows, archers need an extreme amount of training, almost starting from birth. In 1252 CE, a law called the “Assize of Arms” was pasted, meaning every man between 15 and 60 had own a bow and arrows, and had to train to be able to use them, so that the armies would have more soldiers with powerful weapons they could use. King Edward III took this further, making archers have to practice on Sundays and Holidays. When crossbows became more powerful than the longbows, there were many soldiers able to use them, as the crossbows required little to no training, unlike the
When in combat, both sides had the same kind of artillery. Soldiers used muskets and small handguns and generals on the other hand would ride on horseback with a sword and pistol. Another type of weaponry that was used were cannons. Even though cannons were much more powerful, muskets were easier due to the fact that they were portable and fired rounds quicker.
In recent years, the media have increased their coverage of crime reporting, more specifically, in suburban neighborhoods. Although violent crime rates are low, the covering of these stories has increased in the last few decades. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that several media platforms have been closely following up with the Scarborough crossbow killings.
In medieval Europe there were many different weapons and types of fighting. It depended on the time period they fought in. “A soldier's choice of armor depended on the time during which he lived, the type of fighting he did and his economic situation” (Blackwell 1). Some types of fighting were hand-to-hand, which were swords, axes, and many more. Another type would be projectiles, like crossbows, javelins. The last one would be firearms which guns and others. “Many medieval soldiers wore armor to protect themselves from the weapons of their enemies” (Blackwell 2). Siege weapons such as catapults helped armies break into castles and towns. Most soldiers carried some blades in addition to their swords. “A dagger had a hilt like sword and a double-edged blade that was typically between 6 and 12 inches long” (Blackwell 1). Medieval soldiers used many weapons for hand-to-hand combat. All knights carried a sword with them and were expected to be skilled at swordplay. If you could afford swords then there was always something cheaper like the Quarterstaffs, which are long...
I have been bow hunting since I was about 8 years old. I am going to go over the basic steps and necessary equipment needed to start becoming a successful bow hunter. Some of the key things you will need during this are a decent set of camouflage, a compound hunting bow and a place to hunt. Despite the time it takes to be successful; bow hunting can be very rewarding.
Crossbows can vary a lot in design and construction. They range from 50 to 400 lbs. in draw weight. They can be very small hand held pistols or rifles, which can fire rapidly and accurately with pinpoint accuracy up to 60 yards and kill ranges up to 100 yards. The larger bows with 400lb. draw weights could have ranges of over 400 yards they could fire large arrows, rocks and other types of projectiles accurately while staying well out of range of most enemy fire. These bows were built of large beams and sat on wheels so that 2 men could change the position of the bow easily. These bows were very powerful but were also very slow in loading and firing. They had mechanical winches, which were hand cranked to draw the bowstring back. It took two men to run these bows called siege machines.
Before beginning about the history of ball bearing or bullet ball guns, which are referred to as BB guns in short, let’s take a quick peep at some of the most interesting facts about air guns:
In relation to war, the most preferred weapon was the javelin, which could be used for both close combat and long range. The javelin was a highly effective weapon and it ensured that those using it were not easy to defeat. Furthermore, the javelin was often used alongside a shield, which was essential for not only blocking attacks, but also kept the enemy at bay while the javelin was used to strike. 'The horse' was also used but because of having to use both a shield and
Weapons training concentrated on sword and javelin. For sword training, recruits used a wooden sword and wicker shield, both twice the normal weight. More advanced training consisted of fighting in full armor, battle tactics and mach battles with the points of the swords and javelins covered to avoid serious injury.
The longbow was shown being used in the movie. The movie was based in 1147-1149 B.C. and according to a history.magazine.com article, the longbow was first used by 500AD by the Germans and the Scandinavians. They first played a major role in the battle of Falkirk in 1298. This proves that the longbow could have never even been used during the second crusade. Something that was historically wrong about the bow, was that the arrow could only shoot 250 yards and kill at 100 yards.
There are two main things to consider when looking at archery and the physics concepts behind it. First there is the bow, which basically is a device that uses human force over a distance and converts that into stored Mechanical Potential Energy. The second factor involves that stored Mechanical Energy being converted once again into Kinetic Energy when the string is released, almost all of that Kinetic Energy is transferred into the released arrow. Another way to look at a bow is in respect to a spring, a bow is almost like a spring that is storing energy that is to be transferred into the arrow once the string is released.
Even though cannons and gunpowder came into the Hundred Years War, it was not that helpful during the war, but it did improve greatly. During the war, cannons were developed and used, but they were very hard to use due to their size and weight. These crude cannons could only launch rocks, and semi-round objects. Eventually, this lead to the "hand-held cannon," which was much smaller, and easily used. Also, these were not too helpful during the war because they were extremely unreliable, and inaccurate. The aim on the larger cannons was much better, but they were risky because after a shot was fired the cannon was "pushed" backward by the force of the blow, which could easily crush a man.
Medieval Technology and Social Change Oxford University Press first published Medieval Technology and Social Change in 1962. It discusses the technological advances during the medieval times and how these changes affected society. The book's author, Lynn White, Jr., was born in San Francisco in 1907. Educated at Stanford, Union Theological, and Princeton, White taught at Princeton and the University of California at Los Angeles. He was also president of Mills College in Oakland from the 1940s to the 1960s. His other works include Medieval Religion and Technology: Collected Essays, published in 1978 and Life & Work in Medieval Europe, the Evolution of Medieval Economy from the Fifth to the Fifteenth Century, published in 1982. White's work has been influential both in medieval history and the history of science. In Medieval Technology and Social Change, White examines the role of technological innovation during the rise of social groups in the Middle Ages. White begins with the invention of the stirrup. He shows how this innovation, in turn, introduced heavy, long-range cavalry to the medieval battlefield. The development thus escalated small-scale conflict to "shock combat." Cannons and flame-throwers followed, as did more peaceful inventions, such as watermills and reapers. White also reviews the development of the manorial system with the introduction of new kinds of plows and new methods of crop rotation. He reviews the evolution of the scratch plow into the heavy plow and explains the use of each type in different areas of Europe. White next discusses the social effects of feudalism and how it spread from the Franks to Spain and later to England. He shows that military service became a matter of class, with lands and titles being exchanged for the commitment to serve as mounted warriors. The concept of the knight's duty to his lord translated into chivalry and noble obligation. White then ventures into the slow collapse of feudalism, coming about with the development of machines and tools. This caused the introduction of factories, which took the place of cottage industries. Although White's work falls short in a few areas, it is valuable for the attention that it pays to aspects of medieval history that too often go ignored White's work is important because he advocates the importance of science and technology to medieval history. Before White, few scholars thought that any significant science or engineering was done in Europe during the Middle.
The bow and arrow dates back to thousands of years ago, it is estimated that they were found anywhere from 18,000BC to 25,000BC. They were used all over the world but the first arrowhead was discovered in Africa. There are many kinds of bows, the most common are the longbow and the recurve, there were many different styles created by several cultures during different times in history. In the Stone Ages, drawings discovered in caves illustrated many simple segment bows with many different shapes; flat, paddle-shaped bows were shot by Andaman Islanders. Some bows were made with wood like elm and yew, while others were made with many different materials like animal bones, horns and tendons; this was called the composite bow. The composite bow could either be made of wood and other materials or be made completely from different materials. In China, composite bows were comprised of newly harvested and dried bamboo. Scientists suggest that the bow originated from spear throwers and in between 18,000BC and 25,000BC fire was used to make stone arrowheads harder and feathers were added to make them more accurate.
Bow and arrow improved this long-distance effect, have mechanized it and made it more efficient. Now, the extended arm could reach farther and the distance to the target became larger and more secure. From the beginning, man has used this weapon not only for hunting, but also for armed conflict, murder and raids.
The three major categories of weapons used during the 16th century were handheld, siege, and missiles. The primary use of handheld weapons is for the obvious is hand to hand combat in close quarters. Handheld weapons were not always the most efficient weapons but played a major role in battle because of their simplicity. An entire army would depend on the use of foot soldiers and simply outnumber their opponent while fighting in the trenches (Grolier). Siege weapons were effective not on battles on an open area, but rather when one army would attack the fortress or castle of the other army. The siege weapons were used to either knock the gate at the entrance of the castle, or other wise gain entry, or to hurl large objects or arrows over the defensive walls around the perimeter of the castle. Fire was another common tactic used with siege of castles, as well as the use of the newly found gu...