How to build a medieval crossbow

DOUBLE CROSSBOW

A mirror lets you see both sides of this model crossbow

William Gurstelle

The Romans invented the crossbow, but after this promising start, it disappeared from most Western armories. Nearly 700 years later, Europeans rediscovered the technology—and it became a game changer.

Unlike longbows, which required years of practice to use effectively, crossbows could be used immediately. A longbow’s power came from the bowman’s arm: He had to bend the heavy bow by hand, which could require him to apply more than a hundred pounds of force. With crossbows, an iron lever called a “goat’s foot” allowed a bowman to apply leverage, which made it much easier to pull back and cock the heavy bowstring. This made crossbows easy to use. Too easy, according to medieval European government and religious officials.

If ready-to-use weapons like this got into the hands of insurgents or heretics, well, that could shake the foundations of government and religion. This fear led to perhaps the first enactment of “gun control” laws: In 1139, Pope Innocent III issued a papal bull that outlawed the use of crossbows. They were, he said, “Hateful to God and unfit for Christians.” Fearing the crossbow’s destabilizing potential, the Christian countries of Europe obeyed Innocent's proclamation.

However, English and Frankish armies soon embarked on the Crusades, fighting pitched battles against Turkish troops—who had no such ban. The Turkish defenders’ effective fusillades of crossbow bolts made the Crusaders reconsider the weapon. Eventually, England’s Richard the Lionhearted reintroduced the crossbow to rank-and-file Crusaders. (He might have come to regret that decision—Richard eventually died from a crossbow-inflicted wound while fighting in France.)

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