Late Gothic Crossbows and Accouterments

[Glaive203]

Originally Posted by Matchlock

Preserved at the City museum of Cologne, Germany.

In the first picture, the bow is of course inversed; this had been corrected by the time the second picture was taken.

The open curve of the composite bow is due to not having had a string attached for hundreds of years.

The detached bow of a huge wall crossbow also at the Cologne museum.

Michael

This is a false statement. Any horn bow or horn lath pulls forward like that when unstrung, even completely new ones.