https://archive.org/details/Book_of_the_Crossbow_The_by_Sir_Ralph_Payne-Galloway/ Ralph Payne-Gallwey claimed that his Book of the Crossbow, published 1903, was the first to examine the use of the medieval crossbow in detail. He is probably correct. He was able to examine a large number of extant medieval crossbows and provided diagrams along with descriptions of their context, construction, and point-blank and maximum … Continue reading The Book of the Crossbow by Ralph Payne-Gallwey; Crossbow, longbow ranges compared
Accuracy
“The Handgonne Priming Dilemma”
https://www.full30.com/watch/MDA5ODAz/the-handgonne-priming-dilemma This is an extremely interesting video. It seems that aiming a Tabor-style handgonne is not so difficult as one might think. The earliest type of gunpowder, called "meal" or "serpentine" powder, was very fine, like flour. But it had a problem, as it was very hard to store and the component elements would separate … Continue reading “The Handgonne Priming Dilemma”
Shooting a 15th century crossbow
Today an archer at my local archery club gave me the opportunity to try his reconstruction of a 15th century crossbow. He reported that the weapon was 95#, and was loaded using a hip draw. I shot at a foxed-shaped target 22-25 yards away. The first shot struck the body of the fox exactly where … Continue reading Shooting a 15th century crossbow
Chinese general Qi Jiguang adopts musketry
A history book I read about a year ago said that Qi Jigaung, a 16th century general famous for defeating the pirate invasion of southern China, had mostly ignored musketry and focused on contact weapons. Since it didn't seem like there would be any bow/musket comparison I forgot about him until coming across the name … Continue reading Chinese general Qi Jiguang adopts musketry
The Nemesis in China and Chinese archery in the 19th Century
China is the odd man out in the transition from archery to musketry. Almost every other nation had given up archery for firearms, the Chinese still used large numbers of archers as late as the 19th century. While firearms were certainly not unknown in China, and muskets made up a significant portion of the Qing … Continue reading The Nemesis in China and Chinese archery in the 19th Century
Samuel Champlain, Part 2
Again Champlain came to the aid of the Montagnai (Innu) and Algonquin against the Iroquois. This battle is larger than the one from my first post, and this time the Iroquois barricaded themselves in a fortress. On the following day, we all set out together, and continued our route until the morning of the next … Continue reading Samuel Champlain, Part 2
Bows Vs. Muskets in the Imjin War, part 2
More incidents from the Imjin War. These are taken from Firearms: A Global History to 1700 by Kenneth Chase. Bizarrely, Chase takes the typical position that bows were a superior battlefield weapon to firearms despite his book being full of evidence to the contrary. This quote by the Korean official Yu Song-nyong, for example, is … Continue reading Bows Vs. Muskets in the Imjin War, part 2
Christine de Pizan, The Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry, 1410
Christine de Pizan, a French noblewoman, is notable not only for her poetry, but for having written this book on the virtues of martial training. The work is largely based on Vegetius's De Re Militari, but Christine adds in plenty of commentary unique to the military situation of 15th century France. Most interesting is her … Continue reading Christine de Pizan, The Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry, 1410
Bows Vs. Muskets in the Imjin War, part 1
The Imjin War was an invasion of Korea by the Japanese between 1592-1598. Although the Koreans were initially no match for the Japanese armies, the Japanese were eventually driven out thanks to Chinese military assistance and several decisive naval battles. At the beginning of the war, the Koreans had virtually no firearms. The Japanese, on … Continue reading Bows Vs. Muskets in the Imjin War, part 1
Barnabe Rich- A right exelent and pleasaunt dialogue, 1574
I was surprised to find that this one was published in 1574. The arguments are extremely similar to those of Roger Williams, whose Discourses were not published until 1590. The argument takes place in the form of a dialogue between Mercury and an English soldier. Since speaker tags have been forgotten in some places I've … Continue reading Barnabe Rich- A right exelent and pleasaunt dialogue, 1574
Bow Vs. Musket 