"not be the same as an arbalest). In some cases, the word has been used to refer to arbalists, the people who actually used the weapon. Arbalest The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the crossbow coming into use in Europe during the 12th century. A large weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod (""bow""). Since the arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force. However, the greater draw weight was offset by the smaller powerstroke, which limited its potential in fully transferring the energy"
"in many European armies during the 12th century, except in England, where the longbow was more popular. Later crossbows (sometimes referred to as arbalests), utilizing all-steel prods, were able to achieve power close (and sometime superior) to longbows, but were more expensive to produce and slower to reload because they required the aid of mechanical devices such as the cranequin or windlass to draw back their extremely heavy bows. Usually these could only shoot two bolts per minute versus twelve or more with a skilled archer, often necessitating the use of a pavise to protect the operator from enemy fire."
"steel laths emerged in the 1300s. Crossbows with steel laths were sometimes referred to as arbalests. These had much higher draw weights than composite bows and required mechanical aids such as the cranequin or windlass for spanning. Usually these could only shoot two bolts per minute versus twelve or more with a skilled archer, often necessitating the use of a pavise to protect the operator from enemy fire. Despite the appearance of stronger bows, wooden laths remained popular into the 1400s due to being less sensitive to the water and cold. The crossbow superseded hand bows in many European armies"
"the scorpio, and possibly the polybolos. The early ballista in Ancient Greece was developed from two weapons called oxybeles and gastraphetes. The gastraphetes ('belly-bow') was a handheld crossbow. It had a composite prod and was spanned by bracing the front end of the weapon against the ground while placing the end of a slider mechanism against the stomach. The operator would then walk forward to arm the weapon while a ratchet prevented it from shooting during loading. This produced a weapon which, it was claimed, could be operated by a person of average strength but which had a power that"
"period, both Chinese and European crossbows used stirrups as well as belt hooks. In the 13th century European crossbows started using winches, and from the 14th century an assortment of spanning mechanisms such as winch pulleys, cord pulleys, gaffles, cranequins, and even screws. The smallest crossbows are pistol crossbows. Others are simple long stocks with the crossbow mounted on them. These could be shot from under the arm. The next step in development was stocks of the shape that would later be used for firearms, which allowed better aiming. The arbalest was a heavy crossbow that required special systems for"
"(an expensive material before the 19th century), was used in its production. It was not the ancient gastraphetes, but the Roman weapon. However, the same physical limitations applied as with the gastraphetes. The carroballista was a cart-mounted version of the weapon. There were probably different models of ballista under the ""cheiroballistra"" class, at least two different two-wheeled models and one model with four wheels. Their probable size was roughly 1.47 m width, i.e., 5 Roman feet. The cart system and structure gave it a great deal of flexibility and capability as a battlefield weapon, since the increased maneuverability allowed it"
"vary the elevation and direction of his bowshot, but makes it difficult for attackers to harm the archer since there is only a small target at which to aim. Balistaria can often be found in the curtain walls of medieval battlements beneath the crenellations. The invention of the arrowslit is attributed to Archimedes during the siege of Syracuse in 214–212 BC (although archaeologic evidence supports their existence in Egyptian Middle Kingdom forts around 1860 BC). Slits ""of the height of a man and about a palm's width on the outside"" allowed defenders to shoot bows and scorpions (an ancient siege"
"Ribauldequin A Ribauldequin, also known as a rabauld, ribault, ribaudkin, infernal machine or organ gun, was a late medieval volley gun with many small-caliber iron barrels set up parallel on a platform, in use during the 14th and 15th centuries. When the gun was fired in a volley, it created a shower of iron shot. They were employed, specifically, during the early fifteenth century, and continued serving, mostly, as an anti-personnel gun. The name ""organ gun"" comes from the resemblance of the multiple barrels to a pipe organ. As an early type of multiple barrel firearm, the ""ribauldequin"" is sometimes"
"a maximum range of 180 meters. Its comparatively short range limited its usage to primarily defensive positions, where its ability to rapidly discharge 7–10 bolts in 15–20 seconds was used to prevent assaults on gates and doorways. In comparison, an arbalest could only deliver about two bolts a minute. The repeating crossbow, with its smaller and lighter ammunition, had neither the power nor the accuracy of an arbalest. Thus, it was not very useful against more heavily armoured troops unless poison was smeared on bolts, in which case even a small wound might prove fatal. Repeating crossbow The repeating crossbow"
"Bayonet A bayonet (from French ""baïonnette"") is a knife, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of a rifle's muzzle, allowing it to be used as a spear. From the 17th century to World War I, it was considered the primary weapon for infantry attacks. Today, it is considered an ancillary weapon or a weapon of last resort. Modern bayonets are often multi-purpose knives such as the Soviet AKM bayonet which was also a ground breaking survival knife that can be used as a wire-cutter when combined with its scabbard. The concept of the bayonet, which is"
"they were tougher and cheaper to make. The linen was thick. By contrast with hoplites, other contemporary infantry (e.g., Persian) tended to wear relatively light armour, use wicker shields, and were armed with shorter spears, javelins, and bows. The most famous are the peltasts, light-armed troops who wore no armour and were armed with a light shield, javelins and a short sword. The Athenian general Iphicrates developed a new type of armour and arms for his mercenary army, which included light linen armour, smaller shields and longer spears, whilst arming his peltasts with larger shields, helmets and a longer spear,"
"Ballista The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ""ballistra"" and that from βάλλω ""ballō"", ""throw""), plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched a large projectile at a distant target. Developed from earlier Greek weapons, it relied upon different mechanics, using two levers with torsion springs instead of a tension prod (the bow part of a modern crossbow), offering much greater efficiency over tension-based weaponry. The springs consisting of several loops of twisted skeins. Early versions projected heavy darts or spherical stone projectiles of various sizes for siege warfare. It developed into a smaller precision weapon,"
"main weapon, and as an alternative to a spear or a bow and arrow, generally along with a shield. They also carried a curved sword, a club or a hatchet as a side-arm. An important part in battles is often assigned to javelin-men, “whose weapons seem to inflict death at every blow”. One or multiple javelins were also sometimes carried by Egyptian war-chariots, in the quiver and/or the bow case. Beyond its military purpose, the javelin was likely also a hunting instrument, both to seek food and as a sport. The peltasts, usually serving as skirmishers, were armed with several"
"to maintain. A double barreled Lancaster howdah pistol with a unique spring loaded blade is the weapon of the big game hunter Remington in The Ghost and the Darkness. Lancaster pistol The Lancaster Pistol was a multi-barrelled (either 2 or 4 barrels) handgun produced in England in the mid-late 19th century, chambered in a variety of centrefire pistol calibres—chiefly .38 S&W, .450 Adams, .455 Webley, and .577 inch. The designer, London gunsmith Charles Lancaster, began his career in 1847 as an apprentice to his father, Charles Sr. During the 1850s he invented oval bore rifling and the gas check bullet."
"Aklys The aklys (Latin aclys, Greek agkulis) was a Roman javelin measuring approximately 2 m (79 in, 6.6 ft) in length, thrown with the aid of a leather strap or amentum, similar to a Swiss arrow. Every soldier was issued at least two. The term also applies to a small mace or club equipped with spikes, attached to one arm of the wielder by a strap of adjustable length to enable the weapon to be retrieved after it had been hurled at an enemy. Its use probably goes back to the Osci tribe of southern Italy. The weapon is also"
"Faussart The Faussart is a long bladed two handed weapon, sometimes referred to as a Warbrand (by modern reproduction manufacturers). It is essentially a two handed falchion. It is different to a glaive in that a glaive is more like a halberd, and the Faussart is more like a sword. While the glaive has a lighter head and longer blade than a halberd, it has a shorter length blade than the Faussart. The Faussart could be used by both cavalry and infantry. It eventually evolved into the longsword. The weapon probably relates to the agricultural tool for grass cutting, the"
"item of armor or equipment, thus 'hoplite' may approximate to 'armored man'. Hoplites were the citizen-soldiers of the Ancient Greek City-states. They were primarily armed as spear-men and fought in a phalanx (see below). Hoplite armor was extremely expensive for the average citizen, so it was commonly passed down from the soldier's father or relative. Alexander’s Macedonian army had spears called sarissas that were 18 feet long, far longer than the 6–9 foot Greek dory. The secondary weapon of a hoplite was the xiphos, a short sword used when the soldier's spear was broken or lost while fighting. The origins"
"Arbalist (crossbowman) An arbalist, also spelled arbelist, is one who shoots a crossbow. Arbalists shoot crossbows markedly different from medieval artillerymen. Current-day target crossbows must conform to various limitations according to the governing body under which the shoot or tournament is taking place. Firstly, GNAS requires that arbalists shoot at targets separate from archers. Both the World Crossbow Shooting Association (WCSA) and GNAS require that the draw weight maximum be 95 lbs and that the minimum bolt (arrow) length be 12 inches. These organizations differ, however, in allowable maximum bolt length, GNAS citing 15"", WCSA 18"". They also disagree as"
"precise nature of which is uncertain; they are mentioned in the earlier ""Sylloge Tacticorum"" but may still have been extant. Swords were of two types: the ""spathion"" which was straight and double edged and differed only in details of the hilt from the typical ‘sword of war’ found in Western Europe, and the ""paramērion"" which appears to have been a form of single-edged, perhaps slightly curved, sabre. Most Byzantine soldiers would have worn swords as secondary weapons, usually suspended from a baldric rather than a waist belt. Heavy cavalry are described (in slightly earlier writings) as being doubly equipped with"
"of which were also dyed in unit colours. The horses often wore mail armour and surcoats as well to protect their vulnerable heads, necks and chests. The Cataphract's weapons included: The lance was topped by a small flag or pennant of the same colour as helmet tuft, surcoat, shield and cloak. When not in use the lance was placed in a saddle boot, much like the carbine rifles of modern cavalrymen. The bow was slung from the saddle, from which also was hung its quiver of arrows. Byzantine saddles, which included stirrups (adopted from the Avars), were a vast improvement"
"Abus gun The Abus gun ( meaning ""howitzer"") is an early form of artillery created by the Ottoman Empire. They were small, but often too heavy to carry, and many were equipped with a type of tripod. They had a caliber between to and fired a projectile weighing 4.25 pounds. Abus guns, despite being a form of howitzer, were primarily used as an anti-infantry weapon. Its origins are not known. Early artillery such as this gun opened the way for the developments in artillery made across the ages, and spawned more recent and familiar types of artillery. By the Napoleonic"
"balance as far towards the butt of the weapon as possible. It should be stressed that the archaeological discoveries show that the phalangites also used the two-edged sword (xiphos) as well as the traditional Greek hoplite spear (doru/δόρυ), which was much shorter than the ""sarissa"". The sources also indicate that the phalangites were on occasion armed with javelins. The sarissa would have been useless in siege warfare and other combat situations requiring a less cumbersome weapon. Hypaspists and allied and mercenary Greek heavy infantry were equipped as classic hoplites and would have employed the hoplite spear and a sword. Light"
"more much convex than the phalangite shield and had a projecting rim, both features precluding its use with a double handed pike. The style of shield used by cavalry, if any, is less clear; the heavy cavalry of Alexander's time did not employ shields. Light infantry javelineers would have used a version of the ""pelte"" (Ancient Greek: πέλτη) shield, from whence their name, peltast, derived. This was a light shield made of leather-faced wicker. The shield was of Thracian origin and was originally crescent-shaped, however, by the time of Macedonian greatness many depictions of ""peltai"" show them as being oval"
"Basket-hilted sword The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages. In modern times, this variety of sword is also sometimes referred to as the broadsword. The basket-hilted sword was generally in use as a military sword, in contrast with the rapier, the slim duelling sword worn with civilian dress during the same period, although each did find some use in both military and civilian contexts. A further distinction applied"
"javelin used by Anglo-Saxon warriors was an effective means of disabling an opponent or his shield, thus having the potential to disrupt opposing shield-walls. The Almogavars were a class of Aragonese infantrymen armed with a short sword, a shield and two heavy javelins, known as azcona. The equipment resembled that of a Roman legionary and the use of the heavy javelins was much the same. The Jinetes were Arabic light horsemen armed with a javelin, sword and a shield, they were proficient at skirmishing and rapid maneuver, and played an important role in Arabic mounted warfare throughout the Reconquista until"
"as well. Even their horses were smaller and lighter. Different armament was used by infantry, which marched onto the battlefield in close order formations of shield-bearers covering heavy cavalry detachments, or mobile units of bowmen and cross-bowmen, and sometimes irregulars, who used different weapons specialized to fight both foot soldiers and cavalry: (war hammer, war scythe, glaive, fork, flail, morgenstern, guisarme, halberd, bardiche). Defensive armaments of the infantry consisted of shields (wooden, round or oval, through light bucklers, up to heavy pavises), quilted jackets and gambesons or brigandines. A characteristic helmet of the foot soldier was the kettle hat -"
"varied construction. Missile weapons included a javelin, ""riptarion"", used by light infantry and powerful composite bows used by both infantry and cavalry. The earlier Byzantine bow was of Hunnic origin, but by the Komnenian period bows of Turkish form were in widespread use. Such bows could be used to fire short bolts (""myai"", ""flies"") with the use of an ‘arrow guide’ called the ""sōlēnarion."" Slings and staff-slings are also mentioned on occasion. Shields, ""skoutaria,"" were usually of the long “kite” shape, though round shields are still shown in pictorial sources. Whatever their overall shape, all shields were strongly convex. A"
"and may have been a common type in Central Europe. The shield could be carried with a central strap and a handgrip near the rim or with just a central hand-grip. It may also have had a carrying strap (or ""baldric"") as Thracian peltasts slung their shields on their backs when evading the enemy. Peltasts' weapons consisted of several javelins (), which may have had to throw straps to allow more force to be applied to a throw. In the Archaic period, the Greek martial tradition had been focused almost exclusively on the heavy infantry, or hoplites. The style of"
"the darts used with ""atlatl""s were adapted from hand-thrown darts, which in turn were derived from light javelins. In Europe, short but heavy-pointed darts were sometimes used in warfare. These had a length of about and resembled an arrow with a long head and short shaft. The Roman model, the ""plumbata"", was weighted with lead. In some legions, five of these were carried inside each soldier's shield; reconstructions show a range of or more when thrown overhand in the fashion of a German stick grenade (Model 24). Feathered spears, often called darts or javelins, were used in medieval and Renaissance"
"difficult to know what kind of weapon is being described in these translations, or the original texts. Many of these terms are shown below. The ""atgeir"" was a type of bill or halberd, from Old Norse ""geirr"", ""spear"". The ""atgeirr"" is thought to have been a foreign weapon and is rarely mentioned in the sagas, but is famous as the favorite weapon of Gunnar of Hlíðarendi. In Njál's saga this weapon is shown as used mostly for thrusting, but also for hewing. The ""höggspjót"", literally ""hewing spear"", takes its name from Old Norse ""högg"", ""stroke, blow, slaughter, beheading"" and ""spjót"","
"event of a broken spear, or if close melee combat was necessary. Hoplites mounted on horseback likely used a heavier, curved sword known as the ""kopis"", meaning ""chopper"" in the Greek language. Hand-to-hand, light support troops such as the ""psiloi"" were often armed with ranged weapons. Popular ranged weapons were the bow (""toxa""), javelin (""akontia"") and sling (""sfendonai""). While the bow was a relatively uncommon weapon (the wooden stave bow used had a limited range), some troops treated their arrows by thrusting them into rotting corpses, thus creating a crude form of biological weapon. Peltast troops commonly used javelins, and"
"have been Peter Connolly and Eric Marsden, who have not only written extensively on the subject but have also made many reconstructions themselves and have refined the designs over many years of work. With the decline of the Roman Empire, resources to build and maintain these complex machines became very scarce, so the ballista was supplanted initially by the simpler and cheaper onager and the more efficient springald. Though the weapon continued to be used in the Middle Ages, it faded from popular use with the advent of the trebuchet and mangonel in siege warfare. Ballista The ballista (Latin, from"
"carried in the pack included: The ballista was a powerful crossbow, powered by torsion in bundles of sinew, rather than torsion in the arms. Early versions projected heavy darts called bolts, or spherical stone projectiles of various sizes. The scorpio was a torsion-powered catapult-type weapon used for precision fire and also for parabolic shooting. It fired bolts capable of piercing enemy shields and armour. The Roman army supplied 60 to each legion. A catapult is a siege engine which used an arm to hurl a projectile. The Roman version was called an ""onager"". Projectiles included both arrows and (later) stones."