Hun bow

Hun bowThe Hun bow is an asymmetric, composite and recurve bow. It was invented in Central Asia and carried to Europe first by the huns.

Its asymmetric shape allowed the bow to be increased in size without restricting its use from the saddle of a horse. The lower part had to be shorter to facilitate movement across the back and neck of the horse, but the upper part was not so constrained and could be longer. The result was a stronger, longer-range bow than that of the Germanic tribes of Europe. Quite simply, the users of the Hun bow could shoot down their enemies before they could use their bows. The asymmetry, however, led to less accuracy, although this was offset to some extent by the fact that the weapon was a composite bow.

Hungarian bow

The Hungarian bow, an improvement of the Hun bow, is a symmetric, composite and recurve bow. It was invented in Central Asia.

It improved on the Hun bow by lengthening its lower part until both halves were of equal size. This symmetry increased both its range and accuracy. If the archer was using the Hungarian bow while mounted, he or she needed to stand up on the saddle, an action that was impossible until the invention of the stirrup. See also composite bow.

Longbow

A very long bow that fires at a far range: Its bow string is longer than usual. The British used to be specialized in longbows. Longbowmen armies used to aim at an area and fire at it so a rain of arrows would land on that area, hitting everyone in the area.

this style of bow was used up until the time of the english civil war but was replaced in many cases by the matchlock musket, mostly because of the years of training involved with archery, altho the longbow was far quick at 5 shots to 10 shots in 30 seconds to the muskets 1 shot in 30 seconds. the longbow was far more accurat too. But altho the bow was better singly in a mass the musket was better because of the noise, smoke and rain. during and after the war the longbow was used as a gentlemans sport that is still used today.

Crossbow

An automatic bow: The bow string is tied on a wooden support that holds it. When a trigger is pressed, the wooden support releases the bow string, releasing the arrow. The crossbow require less strength to fire it (but more to load it).

Composite bow

A composite bow is made from different materials laminated together, usually applied under tension.

The Hun and Hungarian bows use horn on rear and with sinew on front. They are recurve bows as the shape curves back on itself and it is this design that gives the bows tremendous power compared with their size.

The English longbow has a natural composite of yew sap wood and heart wood. The heart wood is on the inside of the bow and resists compression and the outer sapwood stretches. This makes a powerful natural spring.

Modern composite bows such as a compound bow use laminated wood, plastic, and fibreglass. These are little affected by changes of temperature and humidity.

Ballista

A ballista is basically an oversized crossbow. It is used as a siege weapon and it's very effective because it only requires two men to fire it. It fires large arrows.

Compound bow

A compound bow is usually a composite recurve bow coupled with pulleys known as eccentric cams. It is little affected by changes of temperature and humidity and gives superior accuracy, velocity, and distance in comparison to the classic longbow. They were first developed and patented by Holless Wilbur Allen in the USA in the 1960s and have become increasingly popular.

A composite bow is made from different materials laminated together, usually applied under tension. Modern composite bows use laminated wood, plastic, and fibreglass. These are little affected by changes of temperature and humidity. With recurve bows, the shape curves back on itself. It is this design that gives the bows tremendous power compared to their size.

With a traditional single string bow as the string is pulled back the tension increases, so the bow must be aimed and released quickly, on release the string rapidly accelerates to its fastest and then decelerates for the rest strings return to stationary. There are mechanical advantages to pulleys:

the draw weight does not increase as the bow is drawn enabling the archer to hold the bow fully drawn and take time to aim;

the pulleys enable the archer to draw a bow with a much higher draw weight than they could manage with a conventional single stringed bow (there are very few people alive today who could shoot accurately with a single string using the draw weights of the longbows found on the Mary Rose);

the string continues to accelerate from the release to rest so imparting more power (and hence speed) to the arrow.

Archers in modern archery competitions usually uses a release aid to hold the string steady. This attaches to the bowstring at a point and permits the archer to release the string with a pull of a trigger.

Arbalest

An arbalest is a crossbow with steel prod (the "bow" part). It was much more powerful than a crossbow with a wood prod.

The arbalest was a late variation of the medieval European crossbow. A larger weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod ("bow"). Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force. A skilled arbalestier could shoot two bolts per minute. Arbalests were sometimes considered inhumane or unfair weapons, since an inexperienced crossbowman could use one to kill a knight who had a lifetime of training.

This led to their ban by Pope Innocent II, in whose name Canon 29 of the Second Lateran Council (1139, as translated in Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, ed. Norman P. Tanner) states "We prohibit under anathema that murderous art of crossbowmen and archers, which is hateful to God, to be employed against Christians and Catholics from now on." Note that the anathema was only on the use of these weapons against "Christians and Catholics." In context, this proscription was probably a very late part of a wider, millennial attempt by the Catholic Church to limit warfare, known as the Peace of God movement.