Genoese crossbows

 Authentic Genoese crossbows first appeared in the XI century, but the real glory of the brave, highly professional fighters found a little later. For the first time on the international scene they appear in the first Crusade (1099), when the Genoese commander Guglielmo Embriaco, nicknamed Testadimaglio, used them during the siege of Jerusalem to suppress the Medieval weapons photos

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The first mention of the Genoese as mercenaries falls on 1173 (contract with the Margrave di Gavi for crossbows for defensive purposes). In 1225 the city of Asti hired 120 crossbows with 20 horses, for use in the war against Alessandria.

Some monarchs maimed the captured crossbows in a rage because of the large losses caused by these weapons. Thus, Frederick II ordered to maim the captives so that they could no longer use the crossbow. The reason was the siege of Parma, which was broken off in 1247 with the participation of 600 shooters, and which ended in a complete defeat of the emperors and a mass of trophies, including Friedrich's crown.

The Genoese crossbows were used both on the ground (during sieges and field battles) and in naval battles, for example, at the Battle of Melloria (1284) and off the island of Kurzole (1298). Well, in the Hundred Years' War (from 1337 to 1453), not a single battle could do without them, one of them is devoted to the second chapter of the article.

Centuries went by, cannon volleys were already rattling over the European battlefields, and the shooters from Genoa still continued to do their very popular work. The picture below is based on medieval engravings and written descriptions by various authors. As we can see, the crossbows of those times are already very high-tech machines, which are very different from their own.

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