arbalest

Crossbowman cocking an arbalest.

The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the medieval European crossbow. A larger weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod ("bow"). Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force. The strongest windlass-pulled arbalests could have up to 22 kN (5000 lbf) strength and be accurate up to 900 m. A skilled arbalestier (arblaster) could shoot two bolts per minute. Arbalests were sometimes considered inhumane or unfair weapons, since an inexperienced arbalestier could use one to kill a knight who had a lifetime of training.

The term arbalest is sometimes used interchangeably with crossbow. 'Arbalest' is Medieval French corruption from the Roman name arcuballista for crossbow; Modern French uses the word arbalète, which is linguistically one step further from the stem (disappearance of the s phoneme in the last syllable before t). The word applies for both crossbow and arbalest (the latter may be referred to as heavy crossbow, but an actual heavy crossbow may not be the same as an arbalest). In some cases, the word has been used to refer to the people who actually used the weapon.

References

• Tanner, Norman P. (1990). Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Vol. 1. Nicaea 1 to Lateran V. London / Washington, D.C.: Sheed & Ward. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 0878404902.
• Bellamy, Alex J. (2006). Just Wars: From Cicero to Iraq. Polity. Page 32. ISBN 0745632823.

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