~ Medieval Weapons ~

-   Crossbows   -

When the tiller was pulled and the projectile was shot, the main body of the crossbow, which was called the stock, would either be held as one would hold a gun today or be placed on the shoulder. The shooting of a bolt was referred to as 'loosing'.

The crossbow had been in use prior to the Medieval period up until the Romans left Britain, but it was not until the Norman Conquest of 1066AD that the crossbow was introduced to the Medieval battlefield. The crossbow was very powerful and accurate and displaced the traditional bow and arrow as an important military weapon even in view of numerous bans of the crossbow. These bans in fact ended up being almost completely ignored.

Crossbows - continued