Index / Weapons & Armor / Medieval Crossbow
Weapons & Armor
Medieval Crossbow
Steel-prod crossbow · 1100 – 1500
A rotating “nut” stores the drawn string’s force until a light trigger pull releases thousands of newtons. Papal councils tried — unsuccessfully — to ban the weapon, precisely because it made conscripts the equal of lifelong longbowmen.
Key specifications
Prod
Steel, later era
Bolt mass
50 – 90 g
Rate
~2 / min
Training
Days (vs. years)
Sheet 007 · Plate 1 of 1 · 1:1 infographic
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