Very little is known about these small medieval and renaissance crossbows and there are very few in existence, but all were loaded with a screw jack in the grip and usually had a top trigger and were often highly decorated.
They are also known as assassins crossbows, though the low impact energy really counts this out, so we suspect they were rich men's ‘executive toys’ rather than weapons.
The bow has a high poundage at 220lb, but the short draw length means this cannot be translated into a powerful shot. However they are great fun.
This crossbow is typical of many medieval 15thC munition quality war crossbows so it is plain. Bow irons came in around 1400 though lashing was also still used, and this...
15thC medieval windlass crossbow - 880lbs Ash stock, linen string, sprung trigger and steel windlass. Often called a rampart crossbow. This crossbow is a massively powerful winch operated artillery weapon...
This medieval crossbow is typical of many 15thC munition quality war crossbows so it is plain and rather blocky. Bow irons came in around 1400 though lashing was also still...