Genoese Crossbowmen | Most Sought-After Mercenaries of Europe

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Genoese crossbowmen were some of the most sought-after mercenaries in Europe for much of the Middle Ages. They earned a reputation as fierce, reliable and effective warriors by defending their home republic and by serving in many of Europe’s armies. When their emblem, the banner of St. George, appeared on the horizon, many brave soldiers trembled and quite a few commanders changed their strategy at the last moment. Their most famous battle as well as their greatest defeat was the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
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Chapters:
00:00-00:41 Intro
00:41-01:47 CuriosityStream
01:47-17:14 Video
Bibliography:
DeVries, K./ Capponi, N., The Genoese Crossbowmen at Crécy, in: Livingston, M./ DeVries, K. (eds), The Battle of Crécy. A Casebook, Liverpool 2015.
DeVries, K./ Smith, R. D., Medieval Military Technology, Toronto 2012.
Teutsch, Ch., s. v. “Crécy, Battle of” in: Clifford J. Rogers (ed), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, 2010.
Rogers, C., War Cruel and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III, 1327-1360. Woodbridge, Suffolk 2000.
Fabio Romanoni, "Boni balistrarii de ripperia Ianue". Balestrieri genovesi attraverso due cartulari del 1357, in "Archivio Storico Italiano", CLXVIII (2010).
Settia, A. A., De re militari. Pratica e teoria nella guerra medieval, Rome 2008.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Get a 25% discount for CuriosityStream with code sandrhoman! It's just $14,99 for one year! curiositystream.com/SandRhoman

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

more merc videos pls

[@laonch6073]

Just a tip. In Italian, Guglielmo is spelled with the first G hard, like "Gucci"

[@claas.relotius]

@@laonch6073 no, it's spelled Wilhelmo

[@C05597641]

Totally guessing here but maybe the English raiding so many towns made the French over eager to catch them and both the french knights and the genoese crossbowmen had left a lot of their equipment in the slow moving caravan, severely reducing their effectiveness against longbows and this was made even worse by commanders telling them to attack over and over anyway due to their numbers advantage and eventually the French army was spent.

[@Shoshana-xh6hc]

COR not corpse, as in the French word for body.

[@Typhy7]

Of course they were the most sought after. After all they have +5 bonus damage against cavalry, camels and elephants and +7 with the Elite upgrade.

[@aniellord7088]

Genoese Crossbowmen in loose formation 😭

[@andreivarbanov3528]

Don't forget their ability to survive a single Mangonel shot with their relatively high HP for a ranged unit

[@reeso7539]

Don’t forget about the tech that make carts cheaper, really useful

[@mgwilson8183]

And combine them with cheaper bombards to cut through skirms. Also, ally them with Dravidians to get a wicked Condotierro with armor-piercing abilities.

[@varunmanjunath9123]

​@@andreivarbanov3528 "weak vs siege weapons" yeah right

[@h3069]

The most dedicated Rhodok cosplayers I've ever seen

[@Buliwyf90]

Rhodok stands

[@tomsonlarrson3318]

Bro set up pavise or whatever that shield was and rain hellfire

[@senorali]

Those firing lines were the only thing that stood a chance against the Khergits.

[@berankb]

Grünwalder approves!

[@johnnylarry4242]

Wtf is rhodok

[@MarcMagma]

Man, this brings back memorys. I so hated going against these guys in Medival II: Total War.

[@IceniTotalWar]

I still do hate it/them ! 😁😁. Playing Tsardoms Total War and they're still a pain in mods.

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

yeah nothig changed. so difficult

[@mariushunger8755]

Same as always. Better chose the right side

[@heretyk_1337]

I prefer to use cavalry heavy factions- always run them down with lighter and quicker horses, attacking from behind- even during sieges- works like a charm As Poland- i had many "historical" victories against Denmark, Milan and Venice especially- because i could run them down having 300- 400 men against their 1200 or something like that Polish Nobles rule as unit against those

[@adrianrichardson5257]

I was much more scared of the peasant crossbowmen from the moors

[@darthplagueis13]

Thanks for providing a proper describtion of the battle of Crécy. People tend to cite it as ultimate proof that english longbowmen were superior to crossbowmen, ignoring the fact that in this battle the crossbowmen were basically rendered useless by incompetent leadership forcing them to engage an enemy who had a superior position without their proper equipment. The genoese crossbowmen at their worst got beaten by english longbowmen at their best, which doesn't say all that much.

[@Bonkers4Hex]

I take it you are not English then?

[@samdumaquis2033]

Well the English longbowmen were exhausted and sick from their campaign weren't they ?

[@Bonkers4Hex]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpebdmaCdt2MZtE

[@herbertgearing1702]

I hardly think anyone on the English side was "at their best" that day. From what I've read the disenteary epidemic that was raging through the English army played a role in their decision to make a stand against a numerically superior army with a massive cavalry advantage. Cavalry which was the most formidable in the world at the time and made the idea of fighting them a daunting undertaking best avoided if you had other options. I'm guessing a Lance through the chest might be preferable to shitting yourself to death.

[@maniak942]

@@samdumaquis2033 The crossbowmen as well just finished marching haven't they? I would rather be tired than non-armoured and out of positioned

[@boomer19450]

Using crossbow and shield might not look like a huge leap of logic in hindsight, but back in the day it was so groundbreaking that regular infantry might as well fought Elites with energy shielding.

[@ayushjoshi231]

Sad plasma noises 🤭🤭

[@xxae-chaaxx3445]

Comparing a halo game to real life. Logic

[@HungryLoki]

​@@xxae-chaaxx3445 It's an analogy, not a comparison.

[@Halflionhalffox]

Wort wort wort

[@Eldor-117]

That was subtle.

[@DanyGasta89]

The Grimaldi and Doria families still hold a great deal of importance to this day here. Why, I can just now peer out of the window and see a giant cruise ship with the name "Grimaldi" painted on it. xD

[@bernardodagostino8049]

Well, the Grimaldi are still the ruling house of the Principality of Monaco

[@qdaniele97]

​@@bernardodagostino8049 Those are an offshoot of the Genoese family

[@FutureHH]

I didn't know they were the same Grimaldi

[@petertimowreef9085]

I knew crossbows where placed on the ground to reload, but I never realised they used a hook for it. Holy cow that's genius, using your hands you're still limited by the muscles in your forearm that need to grip the string, but with the hook you can use the full force of our body's strongest muscles in our upper legs.

[@megalonoobiacinc4863]

i have seen similar methods to really tighten a knot, but this is really stupid simple and stupid effective. If only gunpowder hadn't been developed crossbows would probably have dominated wars to this day

[@bambostarla6259]

Longbows were also more effective per say, but crossbows were easier to use, and thats why they were a more efficient weapon as a whole

[@Chadius_Thundercock]

@@bambostarla6259the issue with bows is that bows require a lifetime of training, and losing even one archer was a lose of multiple years of training

[@BiggestCorvid]

​@@Chadius_ThundercockI remember an account where a British guy got a crossbow, kidnapped a woman, shot her dad with the crossbow, went off to the woods, and then got hunted and killed. The chronicler left a whole, "kids these days have no values" thing.

[@matteoorlandi856]

An interesting thing about the Genova's "contract culture". Contracts were everything and ruled every working Activity in Genova, and were of 2 tipes. With, or without, the "mugugno" wich Is a genovese Word translated as "complaining, in a annoing way, that NEVER stop". So how It works: you can be offered the contract with the mugugno, lover pay BUT the ability to complain about... Everything you was ordered to do, or without the mugugno: pay was Better but you cannot complain about anything. Now, people from Liguria and Genova expecially are famous for theyr greedynes, so the contracts were almost exclusivly with the mugugno, and still are today :)

[@EdinSaonensis1]

Belin, fré una pillola così bella mi ha tolto la voglia di mugugnare per almeno cinque minuti

[@Janshevik]

haha

[@CanalTremocos]

As a portuguese I say give me mugugno or give me death.

[@paradoxicalpanda7954]

I worked somewhere for the lowest possible pay whilst there whole business depending on you giving customers a good happy experience/interaction, and you weren't allowed to complain despite the awful working conditions whilst they profited £700,000 a week.

[@123TeeMee]

@@paradoxicalpanda7954 Can you think of any red flags there might have been, in hindsight?

[@legrognard7827]

*Genoese crossbowmen* : take some steps back *French knights* : « And I took that personally »

[@emanuelefiorentino8831]

Genoese Luigi Giribetto (Louis Giribaut) invented rotating carriages to better maneuver culverins, really helping Jean Bureau in creating the poweful french artillery which won french war (despite the french vile massacre of genoese crossbowmen). France: "I never said thank you". Genoa: "And you'll never have to" (proceeds jumping into the void to defend Constantinople and discover America) 😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@kristiawanindriyanto5765]

The discussion of Genoa, and by extension the Genoese Crossbowman is really fascinating, especially compared to the much more researched history of Venice for example

[@emanuelefiorentino8831]

As a Genoese, I deeply appreciate your comment. People thinks only to Florence and Venice with respect to Medieval and Renaissance Italy, but the city of Embriaco (who made first Crusade "successful"), Columbus, Andrea Doria, Mazzini (father of "Young Italy" and "Young Europe"), Mameli (writing the anthem), Novaro (giving music to anthem), the land of Bonaparte and Garibaldi families is not exactly a side note of History. Of course we have pride but we are still self-critical with Crimes commited in wars, values luckily have changed for the better, but our city was really the Republican (and Socialist) hearth of unified Italy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿😎🇮🇹

[@funguy398]

I like to play as Genoa in Medieval 2 Total war in a mod Stainless Steel 6.4, because they have 1 sneaky city in a Crimea, merchant Italian faction with great possibility for diplomacy and trade.

[@christopherg2347]

Crece was a battle where the Noble Knights managed to "Snatch defeat from the Jaws of Victory". Had they just waited for the gear and infantry to catch up - as well as the ground to dry - they could probably have defeated that position. Other examples include the "Battle of the Golden Spurs". And I think there was a similar one during a northern crusade?

[@Osvath97]

But one has to balance it against all the times quick charges by knights won battles. Like the destruction of the Mongol vanguard during the Battle of Mohi, or when Barbarossa's army charged itself out of an encirclement, or the impromptu charge during Richard the Lionheart's march along the coast. This channel even brought up an example where James the Conqueror tried to have his veteran infantry charge a castle-breach, defended by a phalanx-like formation, and after the veteran infantry refused to attack, the mounted knights instead advanced and won against the phalanx-like formation after several charges. Let's remember that one of the most numerically impressive victories in history was with an exhausted knight-based army charging a militia-based army about 6 - 60 times its own size, during the Battle of Monte Porzio (all though during that battle, it was not a simple single charge, but a lot of well-disciplined timing related to several charges, with skillful maneuvering on a larger force). All those battles in which knights charged prematurely stemmed from all the times the knights charged and instead won. There was a reason that the tactic of aggressive charges was so common, because it often worked. If one looks only at the exceptions however, one will get a very skewed view.

[@vinz4066]

@@Osvath97 Of all the languages you speak facts Also the english used knights too

[@Osvath97]

@@vinz4066 You are correct, in those famous English defensive battles where the French charged prematurely, the English were commanded by knights, and the frontline fighting was done by the dismounted English knights to a disproportionately large degree (well, "man-at-arms" is the technical military terminology of the time, but in this context it mostly means armed men from the noble knightly class, even though most of them were technically squires in this period). So to suggest, as some people seem to, that they were some kind of "battles between the classes" is quite frankly ridiculous. Both sides were controlled by knights. Even during the Battle of the Golden Spurs, which is even more commonly depicted as a battle between the classes, 4 of the 6 Flemish commanders were still knights. The Battle of Patay is an excellent example of what a quick mounted charge can do to effectively deal with longbowmen. A force of 5000 English longbowmen managed to reveal their position to French scouts, by raising a hunting cry at a wandering stag... 180 French knights charged down 500 longbowmen, they were then joined by 1300 additional knights, and they inflicted about 2500 casualties on the English longbowmen, with only about 100 suffered on their own side. But how often does anyone hear about the Battle of Patay...?

[@wojtek1582]

Nikopolis 1396 - another example of "French knights charge without thinking and lose".

[@Osvath97]

@@wojtek1582 With both Hungarian knights and experienced ones of the French knights recommending them not to, but they were overshadowed by two young hotheaded French knights, who were advisers to the French commander. It was not a case of knights just seeing red and charging, it was an actual decision made by a few inexperienced poor commanders, with other commanders, also knights, trying to convince them not to.

[@Usammityduzntafraidofanythin]

7:00 - That might explain why crossbows weren't mixed in with pikes very early in history. The pavisse carriers already had their own long spears? That would make it a sort of mixed formation of 50/50 crossbow/spears already.

[@hassanobeid99]

Ah yes; that was a question that I was asking for a long time, many theories but little to no real explanation of the reason of not incorporating crossbows abd spears. But you had archer with infantry already i guess it is similar.

[@hansoskar1911]

the crossbows were first used to defend from static protected positions like walls and ships so they werent threatened by kngihts. the pavise were mainly vs enemy projectile fire they werent really spears that would threaten armoured knights. But the Crossbowbolts already did that so they werent sitting ducks like normal archers.

[@logank444]

The military has always been a way for the lower classes to improve their standing. From crossbow men, roman legionaries, and even today in the American military. I myself joined to do just that

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

today? how, if you in the military you will barely become an important person like a politician?

[@kjsdpgijn]

@@gabrielvanhauten4169 you can make a lot of money if you move up in the army. In addition to making connections and getting spacial benefits as a veteran.

[@grimgoreironhide9985]

@@kjsdpgijn It’s all about the benefits rather than pay. I understand that if you are a veteran of the US armed forces you get good pension, health insurance (I could be wrong about this one), several years of free college tuition paid and discounts in supermarkets and restaurants.

[@rivopoiss1]

Did you become Genoese crossbowman?

[@logank444]

@@rivopoiss1 negative I fled to northern Africa and joined the nubian calvary guard. There I served pasha Muhammed until he betrayed me and I started a armed rebellion against tyranny

[@NathanS__]

Btw, "corps" is pronounced the same as "core." It's a French word and my general rule for French origin words is just not to say the last sound as it's spelled. It's usually correct 95% of the time.

[@klausbrinck2137]

I think your rule is correct, there´s just very few exceptions to that, and your eyeballed 95% is set moderatety low, to my opinion.

[@Kyryyn_Lyyh]

Stop giving out the secrets, english isnt meant to make sense - thats the joke.

[@hlcdriver]

Agreed. In English, a group of soldiers is referred to as a corps, pronounced "core" after the French pronounciation. The word corpse refers to a dead body.

[@skrahzgutstomp5584]

I shudder every time he says "corpse" it's fucken jarring.

[@luisaymerich9675]

I wonder how he pronounces colonel. 😄

[@Prosper661]

Yeah, and in the Hussite armies crossbows caused most ranged damage, with firearms responsible for sowing confusion and visible gruesome carnage. Jan Zizka knew his people and weapons well and used them to their best advantage, which is sign of competent commander

[@tomasr.]

When I saw the picture of a man with a crossbow and a large shield (paveza), I also remembered the Hussites.

[@andreascovano7742]

2:22 I suspect that they formed specifically to meet the requirements of the Genoese Naval wars against the saracen pirates. The crossbow is the preffered method in Italy due to the high number of sieges, and was particularly preferabble in Naval Battles, which the Sea repubblics fought a LOT, since accuracy and strength and more importantly timing were more crucial than speed or quantity in that enviroment. 2:53 The funny thing is that Genoese came to be known as a catch all term for Italian Mercenary outside of italy. So if you met a mercenary of Italian origin in germany for example, he'd be called a genoese even if he never even seen the sea. Similarly "Lombard" was the catch all term for Italian merchants outside of italy, even though a lot came from genoa and tuscany and not necessarily lombardy. (This is similar how the term viking was a catch all term for scandinavians pillaging europe, regardless if the were swedes, norwegians or danes). 4:36 whilst it is true to some extent that Longbows required training to be used (One needed to build up special muscles to use the longbow properly), It is a bit of a misnomer to say that the crossbow required little training. Sure for the average militia maybe an hour or two could have sufficed. But that could also have sufficed to get a "good enough" result also for regular bowmen. It's like comparing conscripts to professional soldiers in modern armies since they both use guns. Reload speed, accuracy, battle effectiveness increased with skill and time. 10:43 it is unfortunate that this is their most famous battle. It makes sense since this battle is known in the Anglosphere because it involved the english. But if you asked a Genoese, they might say that the battles of Curzola and Meloria at 7:28 were far more indicative (especially Curzola) and the various sieges of the Fondachi (Merchant quarters) all over the mediterranean show them off in a better light. Like the famous siege of Kaffa where the Genoese beat the Mongols during the siege (later plague not withstanding). In fact the mongols used the Genoese themselves against the Russians at Kulikovo Field.

[@shorewall]

I always play the "what if" on how to defeat the Mongols and such types are armies. And Genoese Crossbowmen definitely play a big part, as well as armored knights. Also, you could make a good combined arms army out of mercenaries, if you got Swiss Pikemen, Genoese Crossbowmen, and German Black Riders. :D

[@kurokami007]

You really think 2 hours is enough to get a "good enough" archer?

[@andreascovano7742]

@@kurokami007 Yes. For a mass volley it is enough.

[@jake4194]

You can't get an archer in 2 hours, show me an average man that can shoot a 120lb+ bow, let alone do it well!

[@andreascovano7742]

@@jake4194 That's why I said regular bow and not longbow. Most armies used a regular or composite bows, not longbows.

[@cielopachirisu929]

It surprises me how often medieval battles were lost because the French knights were too overconfident and charged before everyone was ready. Off the top of my head I believe I can think of three times including this one.

[@petertimowreef9085]

Virgin longbowmen hiding behind pallisades VS Chad mounted knight charging into certain death because it looks cool.

[@Sealdeam]

It also happened at the Battle of Halmyros, the Duke of Athens, Walter of Brienne (by birth, culture and arrogance very much a french nobleman) and most of his mounted knights were slaughtered when they recklessly charged against the defensive position set-up by the mercenaries of the Catalan Company, in hindsight it would had been cheaper to Walter to actually pay his mercenaries instead of trying to expel them by force of his dominions.

[@dylans7742]

This reply is a year late, but a factor in history for early engagement was the battle rewards. The nobles and crossbowmen were expensive, and a leader could pay them with recovered equipment from the fallen foes instead of with his personal funding. So if they had routed the English, it would have paid the dies for his most expensive units possibly for years.

[@Hell_O7]

I think it's also pretty important that, just like the Greco-Persian wars, there are bias on which battles got popular. Both French and Persia win quite a lot of battles, and battles like Agincourt and Marathon are more of the exception.

[@iseeyou5061]

Ah finally Genoesse crossobowman. Despite their title i'm pretty sure they also serve as infantry due to their heavy armor. Will watch this eagerly.

[@samwill7259]

"The Pope has banned Crossbows against Christians!" "The Pope? How many divisions does he have?" Obvious joke is obvious but fitting.

[@cgsr2182]

”The Pope: Many”🤌🇻🇦

[@johnmurdoch8534]

In this time period...he had plenty of real world pull. Not so much in 1945

[@notquitegarrett]

It's always a good thing to see a new SandRhoman upload in my feed. Without a doubt your's is one of the best researched and presented history channels on youtube.

[@carlosvalle612]

Roman Seige Ballista huge with a draw weight of 4000-4500lbs. Steel Prod Windlass crossbows could have draw weights up to 4900lbs but only put 1250lb draw weights to increase reload or spanning speed as it was overkill. Steel was cheap enough for wealthy peasants of Geonese to finally afford them in the 13th century medieval era.

[@Bonkers4Hex]

Wow this is good timing I've been watching loads that involved the Geonese crossbow men, and here's a new video to describe exactly who they were, thanks.

[@ArchmageIlmryn]

This series is great for inspiring groups to use in D&D-campaigns

[@emanuelefiorentino8831]

Exactly: genoese pavise crossbowman with crossbow expert and sharpshooter are one of best ways to play warrior. Just imagine: BBEG: "What's your powers" Mage: "I cast spell" Druid: "Nature power" Cleric: "I am perfect healer" You: "I AM GENOESE MOTHAFAKKA" (starts placing tower shield for +2AC and blasting everything with hand crossbow) 😂

[@googiegress7459]

@@emanuelefiorentino8831 In the typical small engagements with few combatants, seen in D&D outside of mass combat scenarios, anyone behind cover is quickly outflanked. An enemy who has the ability to ignore your pavise or fire through your arrow slit from a great range is also a problem (although I'd argue that's more an issue with abilities like that being overpowered and irrational). On a D&D mass combat battlefield, ranged attacks are super useful, especially in post-2000 D&D editions where movement rate is so slow per attack. The archers or crossbowmen can make MANY shots against an advancing army. Also, the less-decisive effect of all kinds of missiles against body armor is ignored in 2e onward. That said, the offensive caster with area-effect magic which acts as artillery that can kill blocks of enemy soldiers will make a significant difference. Although I'd argue that someone using Animate Dead can have a greater impact on each battle, on every war, and in maximizing the domestic economy between wars. But for the resources needed to field a single 10th level caster, how many crossbowmen can you field instead? It's actually probably a better damage output to use masses of troops. Regardless, the hunkered-down crossbowman is a virtually non-issue in man-to-man fighting in D&D where the game's rules are written to produce results with verisimilitude. If you're all playing a bunch of Marvel Avengers, anything goes, and it could just as easily be the cheese-addicted Tabaxi shithead who is the decisive factor. In a pointless game like that it's basically just Cops n' Robbers with dice, and the children are welcome to have their fun.

[@damienparoski2033]

Excellent video. One small note though. Corps is pronounced as "core" not "coreps". It is French so there are silent letters!

[@jochannon]

He's been doing it for years - I doubt he'll stop anytime soon.

[@Honkey99]

The French are gay

[@absyahwa7698]

Who tf cares

[@J-P88]

@@absyahwa7698 Damien Paroski does

[@damienparoski2033]

@@absyahwa7698 I enjoyed the academic and kind response that you gave. It is a testament to your upbringing and social status! I am sure your response will become a hallmark of intellectual acumen.

[@cruzaider5339]

“We believe in crossbows in this household!”

[@cruzaider5339]

@Turaglas “Only polearms and crossbows are believed under my roof!”

[@Kite403]

I never knew about Genoese crossbowmen before! That is awesome :D Thank you for sharing this. I'm gonna have to do some research now

[@IceniTotalWar]

Oh don't get me started on those bloody Genoese crossbowmen 😁😁 !!! Since vanilla Medieval 2 Total War through literally every mod they're a pain to deal with. Great killing power against nearly every unit and pretty tough in melee too.

[@carlosvalle612]

Roman Seige Ballista huge with a draw weight of 4000-4500lbs. Steel Prod Windlass crossbows could have draw weights up to 4900lbs but only put 1250lb draw weights to increase reload or spanning speed as it was overkill. Steel was cheap enough for wealthy peasants of Geonese to finally afford them in the 13th century medieval era.

[@gaoth88]

@@carlosvalle612 important to know that draw weight means little if you don't know the length of the bow. A wide crossbow with less draw weight could send a bolt further and harder than a tiny bow with an insane draw weight. :)

[@gaoth88]

@Turaglas There are limits to usefulness with wide bows, though if you have a pavise to put the mini ballista on, it could work, but there is probably a reason why people did what they did, there often is.

[@thekillers1stfan]

Me chasing them down with Mailed Knights psssht nuthing personnel

[@richardcleveland8549]

This was fascinating. I became acquainted with Genoese crossbowmen recently in reading Iris Origo's "The Merchant of Prato," a biography of Francesco Di Marco Datini, 1335-1410 (published in New York by Knopf, 1957). Datini had a very long career as a merchandiser of various goods, first from Avignon, then from his home in Prato, and finally from Florence. Depending upon the destination, goods went either overland or by sea - and if by sea, there are frequent references to Genoese crossbowmen as protection on the ships, with the note that these warriors were highly regarded - and generally feared. Thanks so much for providing the background.

[@richardcleveland8549]

@Turaglas I don't remember if the Genoese required it or not, but if Datini shipped by sea, he usually used Genoa, so possibly that was a requirement of the Republic.

[@richardcleveland8549]

@Turaglas And Origo reports Datini as writing that he hired Genoese crossbowmen.

[@Captain_wikee27]

VC😊 pp

[@Trickydickysticky]

As an archer i can tell you that bowstring wax defeats rain handily. No doubt these people had access to beeswax and coated their string liberally. Also, even thought composite bows were naturally more sensitive to weather again, they were usually covered with a linen cover infused with wax to protect them. Obviously the prod of the crossbow became less of a variable whe the switch to steel was made.

[@HellenicWolf]

Great production, man. I love your narrating and body of work, keep up the effort.

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

once again a very good video. good info, good presentation, good research, and most importantly: a good example how history should be presented on KZbin.

[@realdragon]

Yesterday I was searching infromation about pavise and discovered Genoese crossbowmen so it's perfect timing

[@IceniTotalWar]

Try playing Medieval 2 Total War and you can control 1000's of them on a battlefield !

[@sarahsidney1988]

Loving your videos! Thanks so much for your work

[@philRminiatures]

A famous unit...and a fantastic video, beautiful illustrations, maps and most interesting write up!👍👍😍😍😍

[@isseyIT]

Hello from Genoa!

[@Reignor99]

something something Total War something something pronounced "core" something something love your videos, please make more!

[@aasemahsan]

1:52 Origins 5:12 Mechanism & battle strategies 8:11 Battles 10:27 Battle of Crecy (1346)

[@johnhammond4214]

Another excellent video, informative and entertaining

[@RickandPenny]

Good job. Enjoyed it. Thank you.

[@imanolUriaBlanco]

Great video, very intresting topic and nice illustrations.

[@johncope4977]

Excellent dissertation

[@bleekskaduwee6762]

Excellent video sir

[@blendix6413]

Loving these videos!

[@IceniTotalWar]

Me too ! Especially as many of these historical units show up in the Total War series of games which i play all the time.

[@buchan448]

This vid came up on my recommended glad it did have subbed and pressed the bell hello from Scotland

[@wismsgre]

Another great one!

[@db.sarvestani6554]

The Persian Achemanids were some of the first professional army to use organized large shield bearing soldiers in combination with rows of archers behind them . The large shields provided cover while rows of archers switched continually to fire their arrows towards enemy lines

[@giovannifontana1433]

The palio is a crossbow contest still in place in most of Liguria and Toscana. In the Comunal time The palio where you best chance to show to a recruiter from Genova u had skin for the job.

[@donwilliams8357]

Love the artwork!

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nicely done video

[@kristjanrom9429]

They were present in Siege of Constantinople by Mehmed II I belive and fought incredibly well!

[@hoponpop3330]

The Byzantines and Genoese where allied for years they both shared a hatred of Venice.

[@kristjanrom9429]

@@hoponpop3330 lol

[@joeerickson516]

"Some who are dressed like Robin Hood and his merry men,🚹 fought alongside, Voivode, 🦇 Vlad tepes 3, 🧛‍♂️ Dracula the impaler,🐲 against the Muslim 🕌 Ottoman ☪ Turkish,🇹🇷 army 🙋 of the Sultan Mehmed the 2nd, during the 1462 night, 🌃 attack." "In order to protect Vlad tepes dracula the impaler's 🧛‍♂️ home 🏡 land of wallachia, Romania 🇷🇴 from the Muslim 🕌 Ottoman ☪ Turkish 🇹🇷 soldiers led by the Sultan Mehmed the 2nd, born in Ottoman, ☪ Turkey, 🇹🇷 in 1432 and died in 1481."

[@ExperiencePlayers]

Great video!

[@lahire4943]

Actually, considering we know precisely that 1,542 French knights were killed at Crécy, that the Genoese crossbowmen probably numbered around 2,000, certainly not more than 4,000, and that the French infantry didn't take part in the battle, it is obviously completely impossible that the French suffered more casualties than these numbers added, let alone "15,000 casualties", which is the estimate of a pro-English contemporary source, and not at all the one of most historians. And Clifford Rogers is strange because he claims the English were 15,000 and the French at least twice and maybe thrice larger, which would make between 30,000 and 45,000, which is highly unlikely.

[@andreascovano7742]

Are you the same La Hire on reddit?

[@lahire4943]

@@andreascovano7742 Yes it's me lol

[@andreascovano7742]

@@lahire4943 So how is your epic struggle with De Ruyter going?

[@alexsala1416]

One will tend to come across a certain 'fetishism' among Anglophone historians concerning Crécy and Agincourt. These battles bear an almost totemistic importance in the discourse and otherwise clear-headed historians are liable play fast and loose with the figures (as you have demonstrated concerning Rogers) and wider implications. The battles' importance in the emergence of a sense of English national identity and the neatly packaged contrast between 'the flower of French nobility' and 'sturdy Englishy yeomen' endlessly embellished and retold in combination with the 'cult' of the longbow is an industry at this point :)

[@lahire4943]

@@andreascovano7742 I'm afraid he has had to abandon in front of the truth xd

[@vanishingfolklore]

love the study of the Genoese of this time

[@lerneanlion]

Genoese Crossbowmen: To victory of death! For the Republic!

[@rezzoc91]

Pe Zena e pe San Zòrzo!

[@lerneanlion]

@@rezzoc91 What?

[@brainyskeletonofdoom7824]

@@lerneanlion it's a motto in zeneize

[@lerneanlion]

@@brainyskeletonofdoom7824 You mean in the Republic of Genoa?

[@brainyskeletonofdoom7824]

@@lerneanlion no, the zeneize language, used in Genoa

[@Nate-dv5dp]

One of my favourite units for a medieval total war campaign playing as Venice 👌

[@SuperhumanUnchained]

Great video

[@Norbingel]

There's 2 kinds of people in the comments section. The men of culture referencing AOE2 and the gigachads referencing Total War

[@augustbutler9096]

This was unexpected yet very interesting

[@TTengYY]

I love your channel !

[@IceniTotalWar]

Very informative without boring or confusing most people.

[@alexsala1416]

Going against these dudes in MII:TW when they had the high ground was an absolute PITA. Pepperidge Farm remembers...

[@josemalave1322]

One thing to note is that the stirrup did not start to appear on crossbows until the early-mid 13th century, same with belt hooks.

[@martinmorbak8778]

Those suckers saved a lot of my medieval 2 campaigns.

[@ilari90]

Armour penetration isn't the thing, at least plate armour, vs chain and gambesons maybe. When shot, even biggest ones with pulleys are about as strong as warbows, most of the power goes to the steel bow of the system, not the shot, even if the power needed to pull it is a lot bigger than the warbow. Also the bolts are generally lighter than the arrows, so the momentum of the bolt vs the arrow were about the same when comparing the strongest ones. The "armour piercing" thing comes mostly from role playing games, and if a crossbow bolts are characterized armour piercing, so should the warbow arrows.

[@aslanbayramuqlany6189]

The short limbs of crossbow limit the acceleration given to the bolt

[@TheNEOverse]

They probably still hit harder than most selfbows in use by armies tho. And at the time, plate armour was not really much of a thing until around the 14th century. Before that, it was mail and stuff.

[@Cassius4]

Now I know who to have help me slide on the opps, thanks man!

[@bdonaghu]

Possibly my favorite unique unit in Age of Empires II 😁

[@arnowisp6244]

Unless you were fighting them.

[@frinkanoid]

Pope Urban II literally went “OMG crossbows OP plz nerf!”

[@joseignaciocastrovonrodrig5613]

Seeing this wonderful video makes me very proud about carrying brave Ligurian blood in my veins. Scignorîa!

[@crimsoncardinal208]

What a coincidence, I just closed Medieval 2 playing Milan campaign, those guys wreck everything

[@DidYaServe]

The crossbow allowed Western European armies to fend off what would've been a certain collection of Steppe civilizations taking over the entire Eurasian landmass. A technology that changed history.

[@leonelpadilla8484]

In my opinion and anecdotal experience. Being properly equipped. And whomever was in charge of training instilled a high sense of "warriorism" into these soldiers.

[@shorewall]

Talking about the teams of Crossbow men and Pavise holder, I wonder if you could get some kind of medieval drill going on. I mean like having ranks of crossbowmen, who fire, then start reloading, and the one behind comes forward to fire. Have enough ranks so that the first rank has reloaded by the time it comes around to them again. Another alternative is to have one crossbowman, and 2-3 helpers who reload crossbows for him, so that he can keep up a steady stream of fire.

[@jacopofolin6400]

I think most of the times were the shildbarer, the shooter and the charger, so you Need only 1 skilled men (the shooter) and have a High rate of fire

[@stylesheetra9411]

Crossbowmen were required to "shoot between ranks" we don't really knows what this mean tho, prob manovring and shooting between 2 group of friendly units Also what are you saying is not that useful because they did arch their fire a bit

[@randalthor741]

I frequently see people claiming that crossbowmen were superior to longbowmen, or that longbowmen were superior to crossbowmen. The simple fact is that which is "better" depends entirely on the battlefield conditions and the overall composition and leadership of the armies involved. In some circumstances longbowmen are clearly more effective than crossbowmen, and in some circumstances crossbowmen are clearly more effective than longbowmen. Anyone who tells you differently is an idiot who has no idea what they're talking about.

[@alessandromazzini7026]

You cannot Say "It depends by leadership" you don't evaluate a unit by the leadership 😂 you have to think about pros and cons of the weapon and the unit itself

[@Animiel1]

Also, there are a tons of metrics. A unit/weapon can be great in battle but bad in war (costly, long training, difficult to use) so it is hard to make meaningful comparisons. Some "legendary" units stand out, but to judge what was better between them is, in my view, unnecessary

[@lpac9871]

I tend to think that Longbows were more versatile Battlefield weapons (main advantage probably being rate of fire and range) - but required a lot more investment and training (pretty much a lifetime) for the Archer. Crossbows on the other hand, you could train troops to use them pretty competently (not necessarily master) in weeks, but you would be able to get get a pretty effective Crossbow unit in a pretty short amount of time. However, where I think the Crossbow would be superior to the Longbow would be in Siege Warfare (which tended to be log and drawn out in comparison to field battles) due to the nature of being able to have a Crossbow in a 'ready' position pretty much indefinitely and ready to fire at any time a suitable opportunity appears because the mechanism takes all the strain at this point - Whereas a Longbow can't do that because the man takes all the strain and no-one is strong enough to hold the Longbow in that 'ready' position for any reasonable length of time (despite what films may show) :)

[@randalthor741]

@@alessandromazzini7026 if an army's leadership is very familiar with the capabilities and shortcomings of crossbowmen, but not very familiar with the capabilities of longbowmen, then crossbowmen are a better choice because the leaders will be more able to use them effectively (and vice versa). Conversely, if the enemy army's leaders have never faced longbowmen and are unaware of their effective maximum range or rate of fire, but are very familiar with the range and rate of fire of crossbowmen, then longbowmen would be more effective against them. Context matters, and familiarity with specific weapons by commanders is part of that context. A weapon that is novel to the enemy leaders will be more effective than one that is not, because they will be less familiar with the best ways to counter it. That's part of the pros and cons of the weapons.

[@ailius1520]

The difference is the soldier. The yeoman trained on the bow since childhood and thus had big beefy arms that could pull back big bows. But if you're a nation that doesn't have a militia culture and furthermore are hiring mercenaries for contracts that are a couple years, you don't have time to train them on a war bow. So you have to give them a machine that will draw the bow back for them - aka a crossbow. In our modern world we like to focus on weapons. But back then the man was far more important than the tool.

[@tizzitizzi817]

I low my hat for the genoese crossbowmen,but i think you should also make a video on the Venicians Marines that conquers Constantinople end were the first to have some squads of knight that charge directly from the ship,thanks to special navy project.thanks to this forces Venice conquer all the Dalmatian coast city, a lot of Grece s islands,Cyprus and a big part of black sea s land!!!!!

[@leon--osseusii4664]

Nice, also do you guys plan to cover sling weapons and their famous wealders any time soon. Since it's really underapreatiated weapon....

[@IceniTotalWar]

Balearic slingers anyone... 🤔

[@SandRhomanHistory]

not anytime soon, I think. Invicta has done a video on the Balearic slingers (ancient Rome).

[@biracristian2808]

Maybe rodian slingers

[@marcelosilveira2276]

I'm looking everywhere but I can't seen to find the following information: how were medieval crossbows transported? did they had bandoliers? did they held the crossbows like spearmen were expected to carry their weapons? I've read in a game that it can be carried on hooks on the belt, but, well... game...

[@arcticfoxvikingseaking2206]

Where did you find your primary sources on the battle of Crecy? I am trying to research the hundred years war, particularly the lesser known battles.

[@WisdomThumbs]

The theory about rain-resistant crossbow strings assumes two things: A) all their strings were in ideal condition, B) the crossbowmen trained in the rain to compensate for the deviations caused by wet strings.

[@barrankobama4840]

Great video, very interesting. Only unpleasant aspect was the butchering of all Italian names :D

[@DonScarface]

8:27 Small correction, they would be fighting the Fatimids during the First Crusades. The Mamluks wouldn't emerge into history until the 13th century, after they overthrew the Ayyubids, who in turn got rid of the Fatimids. Other than that, superb video as always.

[@AGS363]

Do not get confused! The fatamids used Mameluks as soldiers. The use of these "slave-soldiers" was a stable of most muslim rulers.

[@Budguy68]

Love the visuals!

[@BananasFroggy]

At last, moooooore!

[@claas.relotius]

4:50 best advertisement for a weapon type, to be honest

[@oscarwilfredodiazcruz]

Is there good sources of information about the cost of a crossbow versus a musquet?

[@brianoneil9662]

Unpaid plug- I really like Curiosity Stream. Well worth it. And great video as usual!

[@kaopointmanneil5862]

My gamer tag is BowmanOfCrecy because of that battle at Crecy and how famously important the longbow was for the 1st rime there

[@mckappe]

PER GENOVA E SAN GIORGIO! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@rezzoc91]

Arremba San Zòrzo!

[@bernardantoinerouffaer7578]

Très intéressant.

[@AdamZigmond]

Onstar had something similar in their ads back in the day. Shut car off if it’s stolen, so police can apprehend the culprit. Well guess what, backdoor access made by car companies nowadays would give them and any authority access. It’s just amazing to see how quick people are willing to give up freedoms/ or allow control of them selfs, just for the idea of safety 🤦‍♂️

[@raylast3873]

I think the crucial element in the spread of crossbows is the development of the state and, with it, professional militaries. Crossbows may be easy to use, but they are still a relatively complex weapon which requires a pretty specialized manufacturer, and is therefore expensive and relatively difficult to acquire. For much of the middle ages, armies consisted mainly of two components: peasant levies raised by the landowning nobility on the one hand, and the personal, semi-professional „bodyguards“ („knechts“) of said nobles whom they brought along. All of them had to to fight with whatever they could afford or else be armed directly by their liege lord with whatever he was willing and able to provide. The bodyguards usually got decent weapons and even horses, and they went down in history as effective shock cavalry who decided a lot of the battles. The levies were pretty much cannonfodder and armed with whatever was cheap and effective, like spears. There wasn‘t a central state willing to spend money on a professional army with expensive weapons. In that time when the King or even the Holy Roman Emperor went to war, they „called the banners“ and all their vassals would then bring their peasants and bodyguards to the table and that was what they had to work with. If they had money they could augment that with a few mercenaries, but mostly it was peasants and knights. It was only with the urbanization of the high and late middle ages that a central(ish) state made a comeback, in the form of the King getting more powerful and collecting enough taxes to start thinking about fielding professional troops, and especially professional infantry with fancy and expensive weapons. Weapons that could be imported for money or made by craftsmen in the growing medieval cities. When we see the infantry making it‘s big comeback against the big bad knights, those tend to be professional(-ish) troops armed with much fancier weapons like halberds, crossbows or even firearms. And good armor. And usually those guys are paid and equipped by an actual government, be it the Swiss Federation or the German Elector Princes. Landsknechts are literally the „knechts“ of the „country“ or „state“. Which brings us back to the crossbowmen. Genoa is a city state, i.e. a big town that‘s rich enough to be it‘s own country. With rich merchants to pay taxes and numerous artisans that could make fancy weapons like crossbows. The Italian cities were relatively urbanized and relatively rich (in terms of actual money) much earlier than the country bumpkins in Germany or England. Hence they had a city government that could afford professional soldiers with fancy crossbows and shield bearers. Later, the more powerful European nobles and even many cities (especially the „Free Imperial Cities“ in Germany who were basically their own feudal lords) became rich enough to afford their own professional troops. In the meantime, if you did have extra money you could hire the Genoans to help you out.

[@Mumbamumba]

Very interesting video, thank you!

[@MrZhivagor]

what mapping software did you use to make the map at the 13 min mark? Thanks!

[@phineascampbell3103]

Being considered a valuable enough soldier that I'm allowed to run away any time the enemy gets near enough to threaten me, sounds pretty good to me!

[@Misiulo]

17:30 What crops were grown on that L-shaped field?

[@andrewearl8926]

One thing confuses me about these foreign armies in different lands How often was a language barrier a major issue? If you need to give complex orders, how do you communicate to peoples from far lands and different languages?

[@sandrocozzari5304]

The commanders spoke different languages

[@jacopofolin6400]

Maybe trasleters?

[@patrickols]

You need to remember that commanders and officers in those days happen to mostly be noble men, as such educated men in most cases. Most of them spoke many languages including Latin and whatever “in” language of the time was in use.

[@francescocatalano5855]

By the way we are talking about Genoa and their flag the cross of St. George which was granted as a commercial flag to the English kingdom as a laissez-passer in the Mediterranean for avoiding attack by the Saracens So the English flag actually is the Genoese flag

[@jasonshumate6456]

You couldn't have the Common Man piercing the armor of a Noble Knight. These Mercenaries were well drill and I think it would surprise us how efficient they were. But it shouldn't. The Human mind is a deadly weapon

[@tahamertcubuk238]

At 8:28 you said Mamluks. However, In 1099 Jerusalem was governed by the Fatimi, they just conquered the city a few years ago. Maybe you want to use it instead of Slave soldier but The area of the Levant was mostly under the hegemony of Seljuks and Seljuks was not use Mamluks. They have their own soldier which called Gulam(slave soldier).

[@leonardoferrari4852]

No the seljucks used mamluks, Zanki for instance was assadsinated by some of his mamluks. Mamluks and ghulams are tge same thing. Donald Sydney Richards stated tha: "Mamluke also translates ghulam, the term with the same significance, used more frequently in the eastern islamic world".

[@feudalfrits9559]

At 4:43 you talk about pope urban banning the use of the crossbow in 1139. But by then he had been dead for 40 years. Just wanted to point that out. Great video!

[@gwynbleidd1342]

Yup. Unfortunately there's weird little pockets of misinformation in these videos. Like the misconception that archers fired arrows up in an arc in volleys, which simply isn't true. The arrows/bolts would be useless shot that way.

[@leonardoferrari4852]

It's an easy mistake to make, urban ii did actually ban crossbows in 1097, they were later banned again in 1139 by innocent ii. Source: crossbows and christians, by Vincent van der Veen. He mixed up the popes

[@kurtwoods9789]

The fact that these were only 100 florins upkeep in Med II was completely broken. You could melt entire ranks of knights for pennies on the dollar.