Archie's Archery Depot

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Wet String Meant Disaster At The Battle Of Crécy - 1346 (Part 1)

It is a well known fact by all of us that, in the days when Nuts were made of horn and strings were made of sinew or hemp, the Arbalist could not afford to have the string of his crossbow getting wet, he knew exactly that a wet string would loose 3/4 of the actual power of his weapon and would render it useless except to be used as a club.

Following are some excerpts set in my own words about the bitter lesson that the Genoese Arbalistswho were hired by the French for the battle of Crecy against the English on (August 26th 1345) tasted. Let us be rational here. Before I continue I would like to revert to reason, If, so I ask myself the Genoese Arbalists were professional infantrymen and this was not their first engagement in a battle, they knew the country in which they were to do battle and also knew of the unpredictable weather of France. Was it not perhaps negligence that they did not cover their crossbows with the proper Oiled canvas covers (which was literally waterproof) which was used for such an occasion?. Well it was either that they never did bring such covers with them or they had them and did not use them. But I should think that it was more of the first reason than the later. When the English bowmen ( who had a far better advantage ) of distance by their longbows and also in avoiding their bowstrings from getting wet were ordered to loose their arrows onto the French. The French who were not going to sit there motionless, gave out the order to the Arbalist to retaliate and loose their bolts. However the Genoese knew that loosing their crossbows was just a futile attempt and fell quite short of their enemy. Thus after some time the Genoese crossbowmen began to retreat as the English Archers moved closer to them and began to feel their longbow arrows. The French commander got furious at this, and would not accept such a cowardly act. So without hesitation he ordered his Knights to charge forward towards the English and ride over the lowly peasant arbalists on due course.

The Genoese in fact did not accept to be ridden down like flies and resisted the French knights vigorously. In the meantime this was a great opportunity for the English Bowmen and loosed barrage after barrage of arrows that is said looked like patches of black smoke distending onto the French knights who were engaged with their mercenary crossbowmen. This engagement took more than a few minutes as the French Knights became entangled with the Genoese crossbowmen and a number of the crossbowmen escaped unharmed. When the French knights finally rode out of the havoc they were in, regrouped and continued with their cavalry charge leading them onto the English bowmen. This charge however was short lived and ineffective, which forced the french knights to tuck tail and retreat. This was a golden opportunity for the English bowmen to loose their arrows at point blank from behind the French knights reducing their number to almost half as the arrows injured a large number of horses and also succeeded in penetrating vulnerable parts of the Armour worn by the Knights of 1345.

www.historicalarmouries.webs.com

About the Author

Historical Arms and Armour Institute was established a few years ago by a group of dedicated men, who hold to their heart and have great concern towards our rich European culture, especially that of Malta, The Island of the Great Siege of 1565, the island where the era of the Knight was eased out., Amongst others Historical Arms and Armour Institute have Master craftsmen and Master armourers who have been producing functional authentic replicas of Arms and Armour for the past twenty-five years of experience in professional consultancy in all the stages required for manufacturing of Arms and Armour. Historical Arms and Armour Institute have produced pieces of armour, for local museums such as The Palace Armoury, Palazzo Falzone and also for the Malta International Airport, of which a showcase with our armour is on display at the Arrivals section (look it up on your next trip to Malta). Historical Arms and Armour Institute have also been commissioned by Heritage Malta to recreate missing pieces for original armour presently on display at the Palace armoury and in European Union. Historical Armouries at Historical Arms and Armour Institute, educate and teach all that one needs to know about period arms and armour, how it was made, how it works, what was its function, when it was used, who used such armour, etc. Historical Arms and Armour Institute have also introduced a New Adult course on production of authentic Arms and armour, the first of its kind in Europe. This course is spanned over 3 years and we are on the 3rd year now. Our students have learned how to make maille armour, and shields, have also learned a lot about Arms and Armour in general and of course a comprehensive study of historical battles, war tactics, and function of siege weapons. Historical Armouries also cater for the movie industry, should any movie company require our services with regards to arms armour or man power, we can accommodate them locally, which makes things much easer and economic for the movie makers in question. In the very near future we shall be introducing historical re-enactments of all sorts, including a museum and library, close to our workshops.

Crossbow question?

Why does my Barnette Wildcat crossbow 'pop' strings? it never has before and I have went through strings lately until I am broke buying new ones.The notches in the prod are smooth and clean and the trigger assembly is in good shape and no one here has any idea why this is happening. I need help!!

Where is the sting breaking at ? Is it the cables or the string ?

If its the cables then more than likely its a cam issue.

If its the string then there are only 3 reasons it would break new ones.

1. Your bow is set to high in poundage. Use a scale and check this.

2. You have a sharp burr on the track or trigger.

3. The string your buying is not for the poundage your bow is set at.

Other than that, I dont thik anything else can cause repeated breakage. I hope you get this worked out, I hate to see issues like this go unresolved!

Good Luck & Happy Shooting !

Fate of crossbow bill up to Patterson now
Gov. Patterson soon will have a crossbow bill on his desk, much to the disappointment of the anti-crossbow faction in the New York Bowhunter.

Thanks for visiting!