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European crossbow

Type Object Region Europe Time c. 1000–1600

The European crossbow was a mechanical projectile weapon widely used from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, firing short bolts with a bow, …

Timeline

  1. c. 1200–1490Italian city-states and Germany · ItalyIn the High Middle Ages, the European crossbow developed steel bows, geared locks, and spanning devices, allowing ordinary soldiers to use it after brief training; Italian crossbow mercenary companies and German crossbow guilds became standing arms of many armies.
  2. 1491–1500Italian battlefields · ItalyDuring the Italian Wars, Spanish and Holy Roman Empire forces combined crossbowmen with arquebusiers and pikemen; the crossbow remained reliably lethal at close range, and though slower to load than firearms it was unaffected by damp, holding an important place in the transitional period.
  3. 1492–1580Iberia and the Americas · Iberian PeninsulaConquistador expeditions carried the crossbow as a secondary weapon, using it in the Caribbean and Central American theaters; as arquebus costs fell and output rose in the mid-to-late 16th century, the crossbow's share among field infantry steadily shrank, surviving mainly in hunting and siege defense.

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