A crossbow, consisting of a steel bow set in a shaft of wood, furnished with a string and a trigger, and a mechanical device for bending the bow. It served to throw arrows, darts, bullets, etc.
A crossbow with a steel box stave. (Wise, Terence. Medieval Warfare, 246)
From the French word arbalète. The Crossbow, first seen in the early 14th century. It amounted to a bow mounted on a stock which could be either cranked or pulled into place using more leverage than could be used on a conventional longbow. The result was a weapon high power, low trajectory and tremendous destructive ability. It fired a bolt, a shorter version of an arrow. However, the firing time on a crossbow was slow compared to the longbow. For that reason and owing to the vastly higher expense during the period, the longbow remained the favored missile weapon of the 14th and 15th centuries in England and France. From time to time the crossbow was banned by various laws, but it remained a weapon of great popularity during the late 14th century in the low countries, the Swiss states, in Germany and in Italy.
medieval artillery used during sieges; a heavy war engine for hurling large stones and other missiles
a crossbow with steel prod (the "bow" part)
(Ger. Armbrust, Crossbow) The correct term for a crossbow, introduced early in the 14th century. The crossbow consisted of a bow mounted on a stock that could be cranked or pulled into place using more leverage than could be used on a conventional longbow. The result was a very high-powered, lower trajectoried weapon of great destructive potential. It fired a bolt, a shorter version of an arrow. However, the firing time on a crossbow was slow compared to the longbow, and for that reason and owing to the vastly higher expense during the period, the longbow remained the favored missile weapon of the 14th and 15th century in England and in France. From time to time the crossbow was banned by various laws, but it remained a weapon of great popularity during the late 14th century in the low countries, the Swiss states, in Germany and in Italy.
A crossbow with a winding apparatus to enable the bow to be drawn
The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the medieval European crossbow. A larger weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod ("bow"). Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force.