ABSTRACT
From the earliest days of prehistory, man has used his ingenuity to devise weapons capable of killing at a distance. All of the early primitive weapons utilized his muscular power to achieve this end. “e stone or spear could be released instantly so as to be thrown a short distance. “e bow stored this energy inside a tensioned structure to allow its instantaneous release. “e —ights on the arrows also aerodynamically stabilized their —ight so as to achieve greater accuracy. “e arrows found recently with an ancient body preserved in ice on the Italian Alpine border were found to be quite advanced for the period in that the —ights were angled slightly so as to impart a useful degree of spin as well. A similar system was used at a later date for the —ights of some crossbow bolts, referred to as “veretons,” from the French word verer (to turn). Bows of a composite construction and of re—ex design were particularly e›cient. Turkish and Tartar bows were able to discharge arrows to far greater distances than the traditional English longbow, despite being much shorter in length. However, to utilize the potential of the most powerful bows in terms of both accuracy and range, men had to train regularly and from a young age to develop the necessary muscular power. Mechanically cocked crossbows took far longer to prepare for £ring, although this was o¦- set by the reduction in training necessary for their use. “e ancient Greeks and Romans used mechanically operated heavy stone-throwing catapults as artillery and the Ballista for discharging heavy arrows or javelins. Heavy siege engines were used as artillery in warfare from this point onward until the introduction of cannon to break down defensive walls and battlements.
