The crossbow was a mechanically drawn missile weapon used heavily by Frankish infantry and mercenary crossbowmen in the Crusader states, valued for the armor-piercing power a comparatively unskilled soldier could deliver. Its use against fellow Christians was formally condemned by the Second Lateran Council in 1139, a prohibition that pointedly did not extend to its use against Muslims, and it remained a mainstay of Crusader garrisons and field armies through the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Facts
Weapon ClassMechanically drawn missile weapon (crossbow) 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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