Late Gothic Crossbows and Accouterments

[Matchlock]

I do hope that David Jaumann ist still around here as this request is for him:

I remember that when you were last planning on attending the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg I asked you to take photos of the gun arrow on display at the Kaiserburg where it is labeled as a 'crossbow bolt for a wall crossbow'.

While I was in hopital for the whole of 2013 I noticed you posting new images of Nuremberg Gothic crossbows, so would you please let me know whether you succeeded in taking some of that item as well?


Thanks in advance,
and best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

A good Nuremberg cranequin, dated 1556.

m

[Matchlock]

Another, earlier, ca. 1525, with finely engraved bone handle, the gear box struck with a maker's mark, a Gothic trefoil.
The belt hook missing, the cord for attaching the cranequin to the crossbow tiller damaged.

m

[Martin Moser]

Not really a crossbow, but what I hope is interesting information on the effectiveness of a somewhat similar weapon, the Roman scorpio - a torsion powered "bolt thrower":
http://www.planet-schule.de/sf/php/0...p?sendung=8624 (jump to minute 11:00, in German)
The testing took place at the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics (http://www.en.emi.fraunhofer.de/).
With the weapon in the video above we (legio8augusta.de) managed a maximum of 12 bolts fired in 60 secs with a 3 man crew after some hours of scorpio drill over 2 days and a few adjustments on the weapon.

Best,
Martin

[Matchlock]

As their principle is basically the same as incendiary arrows, I'd like to introduce two extremely rare 16th-17th c. tar lances (German: Pechlanzen) in the Emden Armory.
The incendiary tar mass was set afire and the lance was hurled by some sort of a catapult onto the shingled roofs of a besieged town where the delicate iron arrowheads got stuck, and the blazing tar would splatter around. Additionally, the short barrels are barbed for better contact with the roof shingles.
The saucer-like wooden plate at the bottom was meant to direct the splashing fire right onto the roof.

The measurements are:
overall length 2.25 m
width of the tar saucer 21 cm
weight 3.2 kg


I took these photos in 1987.


m

[David Jaumann]

Hi Michael,

I´m very sorry for posting the pictures of the gunarrow so late! The quality of the pictures is not as good as I wished. I actually wanted to take some pictures of the gunarrow again, but I´m afraid to say that the wallarmbrust and the gun arrow were not on exhibit anymore when I was there last time. The museum has been closed for a few months and big parts of the display have changed - mostely but not completely in a good way...
Later I somehow forgot about your request.


So here are the pictures of the gunarrow. I will also attach some other pictures of other crossbowbolts and some detailed pictures of the prod of the wallarmbrust.

Best wishes and sorry again,
David

[David Jaumann]

The back section of the gunarrow was made completely round - perfect to fit into a gun barrel. There is no doubt, that it has been constructed for a gun.