Medieval Crossbow Spanning Devices - Hook spanning belt, Windlass and Cranequin

[@HistoricalWeapons]

best channel for medieval crossbows

[@ShokkuKyushu]

Yeah,this and Tod's workshop.Yours is the one for archery.

[@imagoantiqua8943]

Sincere congrats on this video: it's magnificent and extremely useful to reenactors as well as to educational purposes!

[@AggelosKyriou]

Very detailed. Especially the Hook and pulley system which is often overlooked. What about the goat's foot lever, the gaffe lever and the screw? Weren't these used in the HRE?

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

Thank you - this is the point - only the gaffe lever was used since the end of the 15th century in the HRE. The great wooden spanning bench (with the screw) was more a tool for the crossbowmaker than a device for fast spanning. And finaly goat's foot lever wasn't common ;-)

[@austinmarshalldad]

Love the quality of the film. And every piece you built. Would be very interesting to see a collaboration with crossbow maker Todd from the UK.

[@cdgncgn]

I wrote years ago to him about composite crossbows - either he cant make them, or UK weather does not like them and pretends they dont exist ? No idea behind the reasoning. He seems to like steel bows, says they are bad, stops. And he makes them. He does not come off as extremely intelligent, at least that is my impression. Maybe it is threat to his business. I wonder.

[@sasasasa-lx6cl]

The most expensive crossbow video on KZbin, congratulations. Really good one. And yes, goat foot is missing :). Goat foots are fun, relatively fast (20-25 seconds) and more effective than belt and pulley if spanning with goat foot on the belt . While not favorites in HRE they were definitely known there. After all, goat foots were made even in Sweden in Finland (for crossbow made under a strong south European influence)

[@codexintegrum]

This is the voice of a person who knows their late medieval crossbows...

[@Schechsi_handcraft]

Es ist einfach wunderbar, durch solche formate zu erfahren, wie es WIRKLICH war. Vielen Dank!

[@guntherhuemer1767]

Love your videos herr bichler! The historical corectnes of your pieces is just amazing.

[@sacriptex5870]

amazing! on early youtube we didnt get any of this information if we search for crossbow... only homemade ones! nice content!

[@MrShinyObject]

Wow, I would NOT have expected the windlass to be faster than the cranequin. All the rope and winding seems like so much more work than just turning a crank, but I guess it's just that much slower. I'm also surprised not to see goat's foot (my personal favorite spanning mechanism) but after reading your comments it make sense. Thank you so much for the video!

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

This early variant of the windlass will be fast, because there are only 2 wheels - if there are 4 or more it will get more power but the spanning process will takes longer.....

[@jgtheman84]

Cranequin is more portable though. Windlass has ropes that can easily get tangled up.

[@umartdagnir]

Very interesting, especially the early devices.

[@gn2650]

The large windlass seems faster than the small version.

[@peterwu5091]

Thank you for making this video!!! 😍😍😍

[@aleksacrkvenjakov4693]

Great video, and very informative!

[@Ostarrichi996]

Mein Lieblingschannel aus Österreich :)

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

danke dir!

[@allesblau1947]

Very good indeed, a weapon that even over a century old is still extremely lethal and silent.

[@wolfensniper4012]

I've noticed that most of the spanning method needs stirrup, and yet 15th HRE artworks had depicted a number of mounted crossbowmen which the stirrup method cannot usually work while riding a horse. Do you think that the mounted crossbowmen in HRE, especially first half of the 15th century, had used different methods for cranking (maybe goat foot?), or they're mostly fighting on foot like English mounted longbowmen?

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

The goat's foot was only developed towards the end of the 15th century. For the first half of the 15th century (and the time before), only the spanning belt would be possible. For this, the rider must first bend the foot and then press it down.

It seems the higher the gear ratio, the longer the process takes. Two methods are left out: the pull-up arm is a "goat's foot" and the other layout is a pull-up arm that works with pins on the side of the weapon ....

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

they don't be left out - they were not common in the HRE and they are more Renaissance than medieval...

@@medievalcrossbows7621 Yes, I already know that they were used in the Renaissance and Baroque times. It's also worth mentioning because it's the only way you can pull up a crossbow with hundreds of lbs on horseback. I'm already building the pull-up mechanism on my own repeating crossbows: kzbin.info/www/bejne/paTMiGSOZa6kadE

[@kurtscholz7431]

You missed the goatsfoot lever, which is also mentioned in sources

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

Yes, but not in main part of the Holy Roman Empire and not before the end of the 15th century......

[@kurtscholz7431]

@@medievalcrossbows7621 economically, the main part was Italy.

[@Intranetusa]

Great video! Just to confirm, the draw weights at 8:40 are average draw weights and not the upper level capabilities of these devices, correct? For example, the video pairs the windlass device with a 660lb draw weight figure, but Tod's Workshop has a windlass crossbow with an 880 lb draw and Skallagrim has a windlass with a 960 lb draw. Iolo's book of crossbows suggests that even for foot drawn crossbows [without a spanning device?], a person [today?] can draw 150kg (330 lbs) with one foot on the crossbow, and draw as much as 200kg (441 lbs) when using two feet on the crossbow. There are records from other parts of the world (eg. Ming Dynasty) that suggests the belt hook device could be used to pull as much as a ~1000 lb draw weight crossbow, and that the most common "median" draw weight of a foot drawn crossbow during the Han Dynasty was around 360-387 lbs.

[@lscibor]

With simpler devices, really lot will depend on shooters strenght, experience and fitness, obviously. Someone who can deadlift 400 pounds without injury is going to be able to span much harder bows, with sufficient experience, than someone who can do only 200.

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

Thank you! You are right - the draw weights given correspond to the pieces that are shown. This was actually measured.

[@HistoricalWeapons]

i also think 100 kg without device is too low, considering this is beginner deadlift weights. the crossbowman should use their legs, not their back when rowing

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

@@HistoricalWeapons You will be right, but how often a shooter will be able to draw such high weight if he is in a battle.....

[@HistoricalWeapons]

@@medievalcrossbows7621 I’m not sure, we must test haha

[@MLeonZ]

Nice comparison and great pieces. I am missing the goat foot lever though ;)

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

Thank you, but sorry - but goat foot levers wasn't common in the HRE ;-)

[@gn2650]

The lower the draw weight, the quickest to spann with a windlass?

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

No - this is about the distance moved - the shorter the faster. The time for one turn is always the same. Unless you change the transmission ratio of the windlass.

[@ricardoartesao]

Excelent!!! Thank you. 😀😀😀👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 But, why no goat's foot? Cheers!!!

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

Thank you, because the goat's foot was only common in Western Europe ;-)

[@ricardoartesao]

@@medievalcrossbows7621 oh, I see. Thank you 😀👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@killerkraut9179]

After my knowledge at least the swiss have known about the goats foot leaver !

[@ricardoartesao]

@@killerkraut9179 👍👍👍👍

[@killerkraut9179]

@@ricardoartesao I think end of the 15 century in italy it existed it as well !

[@kurttate9446]

Just came from Tod's Workshop. You forgot the Goat's foot.😉

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

The goat's foot is not medieval and appears in a new video that will be released soon.😏

[@kurttate9446]

@@medievalcrossbows7621 Interesting. When did it appear?

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

@@kurttate9446 Italy, around 1500

[@Greentangle]

Great. lever cocking is missing.

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

This video shows several spanning devices, which were common in the Holy Roman Empire during the middle ages. Please note: All data in the table refers to the shown devices. If the ratio of the windlass or cranequin are increased, they will of course be able to pull even higher weights - but again at the price of the shooting cadence. To answer some other questions: Goat foot levers did not appear until the late 15th century and were not common in the HRE. The wooden push lever was also not used until the end of the 15th century - primarily for sporting crossbows. In addition to the large winch shown, large spanning stands or large lever spanning devices were also used for stationary use.

[@killerkraut9179]

I think the cranequin have a big Problem after the shoot you dont just have to span the crossbow again before you can even do that you need to pull or turn the cranequin back then i think you need more then a minute for the next shoot !

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

@@killerkraut9179 to turn the cranequin back takes only a view seconds - but you are right. At the other Hand the windlass has this problem too.....

[@killerkraut9179]

@@medievalcrossbows7621 Under 14 seconds ?

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

@@killerkraut9179 yes - its possible with one hand (like a rattle)

[@killerkraut9179]

@@medievalcrossbows7621 By the windlass you dont need so much time to pull back if you draw it long before you disconect it from the crossbow!

[@markcorrigan3930]

The 465 lbs wooden crossbow has the same power as a 160 lbs longbow?

[@Kingdomkey123678]

That’s namely due to power stroke, otherwise known as the amount of time the bow or crossbow has to transfer energy into the projectile. Normal bows have very long powerstrokes, this enables them the transfer more of their energy into the arrow when loosed. Meanwhile pre-modern crossbows have very short powerstrokes, so not much energy ends up getting transferred into a crossbow bolt. This is why pre-modern crossbows had such high draw weights, it was to make them as good as the heaviest bows a person could draw.

[@cdgncgn]

personal mobile crossbow vs the large one - large one with the same draw weight outclasses the longbow by 4x the weight of the bolt traveling around same velocity. Key word being composite. That means compared to just woden bow you can either shoot a faster bolt or a heavy one. Momentum also counts, not just energy.

[@killerkraut9179]

I think the Bow Material can be factor as well !

[@wb5plj]

what about the goats foot?

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

the goats foot wasn't common in the Holy Roman Empire (only in nortern Italy) and the first evidence for this device is close to 1500.....

[@RaggaDruida]

What about the goat's foot lever?

[@medievalcrossbows7621]

Sorry - it wasn't common in the HRE ;-)