Detailed sheets

Ranged weapons

Ranged weapons are those which allowed hitting targets at a distance, such as bows and crossbows, used both on the battlefields and during sieges (fig. 1).

The archers were used as light troops to cause losses in the ranks of the enemy and to weaken the opponent’s ranks before hand-to-hand combat (fig. 2).

Crossbows threw bolts (small and heavy arrows, with an iron triangle tip) by exploiting the strength of a steel arch placed crosswise on a wooden shaped stock. There were various types, differentiated according to their charging system (figs. 3-4).

Crossbows could throw bolts up to 200 metres away, they had a very precise shot, but they were slow to load and fell into disuse with the advent of firearms.

1
Fig. 1 - Various types of bows (from VIOLLET LE DUC, fig. 6, page 200).
2
Fig. 2 - Archer (from http://www.ossicella.it/mura/descrizione_mura.htm).
3
Fig. 3 - Stirrup crossbow (from VIOLLET LE DUC 2002, fig. 1, page 191).
4
Fig. 4 - Cranequin (from VIOLLET LE DUC 2002, fig. 4, page 193).

Bibliografia

  • E. POMPONIO, I Templari in battaglia, Tuscania 2005.
  • A. MONTEVERDE, E. BELLI, Castrum Kalaris. Baluardi e soldati a Cagliari dal Medioevo al 1899, Cagliari 2003.
  • E.E. VIOLLET LE DUC, Encyclopédie Médiévale, Tome II, Tours 2002.
  • A. MONTEVERDE, G. FOIS, Milites. Atti del Convegno, Saggi e Contributi (Cagliari, 20-21 dicembre 1996), Cagliari 1996.

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