29-01-2020, 08:16 AM
As far as crossbows go... if we can trust the basic proportions of the drawing (even if the details are not completely accurate), then it is not the earlier style, which was made of natural materials and was quite thick in the middle and toward the tips. The materials did not allow for fine curves at the tips.
New technology made it possible to make the prod (the front part of the bow) thinner, and to create a greater curve at the tips (as drawn in the VMS), which made it easier to securely attach the cord/string.
We cannot completely trust the VMS image. Not only is the drawing very small, but the nut is out of position for typical bows of the time. Also... who knows how many illustrators grafted the tips of regular bows onto drawings of crossbows because the longbow or shortbow shape is more iconic and familiar?
But... if the VMS drawing can be trusted, it's not a 13th century bow, it is more likely to be later (unless it's China, where they had curved tips centuries earlier than the west). Usually it was the crossbows with metal prods/laths that had significant curvature at the tips, although some of the old Greek bows that were reinforced with wraps were more slender with gently curving tips (but not a quick curve at the ends).
New technology made it possible to make the prod (the front part of the bow) thinner, and to create a greater curve at the tips (as drawn in the VMS), which made it easier to securely attach the cord/string.
We cannot completely trust the VMS image. Not only is the drawing very small, but the nut is out of position for typical bows of the time. Also... who knows how many illustrators grafted the tips of regular bows onto drawings of crossbows because the longbow or shortbow shape is more iconic and familiar?
But... if the VMS drawing can be trusted, it's not a 13th century bow, it is more likely to be later (unless it's China, where they had curved tips centuries earlier than the west). Usually it was the crossbows with metal prods/laths that had significant curvature at the tips, although some of the old Greek bows that were reinforced with wraps were more slender with gently curving tips (but not a quick curve at the ends).