OT was Re: [FT] (LONG) The Balance of Power -- Fighters and a Defense

John Atkinson wrote:

>>He did? He seem to have used them at Hastings,
>>though - they're not
>>shown on the Tapestry, but William of Poitiers
>>recorded the use of
>>crossbows in that battle in his chronicle.
> 
>Eh?  I was under the impression the vast majority of
>his archers were using self bows.  How many crossbows
>does WoP say were there?

I only have secondary sources, and they don't give verbatim quotes :-(
I get the impression WoP states no exact numbers, but rather refers to
"crossbowmen and archers".
 
>>Um... considering that the edict against crossbows
>>was issued some four centuries before the wheellock pistols were even
>>invented, I kinda doubt that last statement <g>
> 
>Pikemen, pikemen.

OK, that's late 13th/early 14th century instead of 11th. Still two
centuries or more before the wheellock pistols became available :-)

Later,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."