~ Medieval Weapons ~

-   Crossbows   -

However, the crossbow did not do well upon the arrival of the longbow. Although both weapons were disadvantaged by the fact that their strings expanded when in damp weather, the crossbow had some advantages over the longbow since the crossbow had a range of approximately 400 yards or more which was more than the range of a longbow.

This is because the draw weight was more than that of the latter and the projectile of a longbow was longer than a bolt or quarrel and thus produced more resistance on release. The crossbow was also easier to draw and use than the longbow and so required less training.

Crossbows - continued