Название: The Medieval Crossbow: A Weapon Fit to Kill a King
Автор: Stuart Ellis-Gorman
Издательство: Pen and Sword Military
Год: 2022
Страниц: 238
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf (true)
Размер: 26.1 MB

The crossbow is an iconic weapon of the Middle Ages and, alongside the longbow, one of the most effective ranged weapons of the pre-gunpowder era. Unfortunately, despite its general fame it has been decades since an in-depth history of the medieval crossbow has been published, which is why Stuart Ellis-Gorman’s detailed, accessible, and highly illustrated study is so valuable.

The Medieval Crossbow approaches the history of the crossbow from two directions. The first is a technical study of the design and construction of the medieval crossbow, the many different kinds of crossbows used during the Middle Ages, and finally a consideration of the relationship between crossbows and art.

The second half of the book explores the history of the crossbow, from its origins in ancient China to its decline in sixteenth-century Europe. Along the way it explores the challenges in deciphering the crossbow’s early medieval history as well as its prominence in warfare and sport shooting in the High and Later Middle Ages.

On 25 March 1199, King Richard I of England (r. 1189–99) decided to patrol outside the walls of the Chateau de Chalus-Chabrol. This was a small castle in Aquitaine, a province he had inherited from his mother, and hundreds of miles from the Kingdom of England he had inherited from his father – not that Richard spent much time in England. He had been besieging the castle for some time and he may have decided to inspect the progress of his sappers in their attempts to breach the castle’s defences, or perhaps he was planning an assault of the castle and wanted to see the state of the siege with his own eyes. Regardless of his motivation, Richard soon came to regret his decision. While he was on patrol one of the defenders looked over the wall, unperturbed by the shooting of Richard’s own archers, and took a shot at the passing king with his crossbow. Richard was unarmoured, relying instead on a large shield carried by a retainer to protect him, and the defender’s bolt lodged itself deep in his shoulder. Richard was carried back to his private tent, where his physicians attempted to remove the crossbow bolt. The first attempt snapped the bolt shaft which forced the surgeons to cut the king open and extract the metal head. This process was no doubt excruciating and badly damaged his shoulder. The wound soon became gangrenous, and Richard was bedridden. While the king lay dying in his camp his forces successfully completed the siege and put the castle’s defenders to the sword. Richard died on 6 April, just over a week after he was shot. His brain and entrails were buried in the castle’s chapel, his heart was sent to Rouen to join his elder brother’s body, and his body was transported to Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou, where his father had been buried almost a decade earlier – his mother would join him there five years later.

This fascinating book brings together the work of a wide range of accomplished crossbow scholars and incorporates the author’s own original research to create an account of the medieval crossbow that will appeal to anyone looking to gain an insight into one of the most important weapons of the Middle Ages.