Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 3).djvu/185

 *bow and windlass, their varieties being very numerous; but we have alluded to the four principal forms of winder, or as it was comprehensively called in France, the coursel. From these four, however, many other types evolved. Every size and strength of crossbow was made, down to the rarely found diminutive steel crossbow fashioned to shoot short stout bolts, a crossbow which, held pistol-wise, was discharged at arm's length. The example of this pistol arbalète we illustrate (Fig. 945) is of Nuremberg make of the end of the XVIth century. It will be seen that the lever for bending this small but very powerful bow consists in a simple screw working down the centre of the tiller, attached to one end of which is the grip-hook, and to the other end a transverse handle issuing from the pommel. The screw on being wound, acting on the principle of the patent corkscrew, drew back the string to the "coche" of the lock. The grip-hook was then, by the process of unwinding, released from the string, the hooks slightly lifted, the bolt placed in position, and the pistol arbalète was ready for discharge.

Nuremberg make, end of the XVIth century Collection: Author

Many rigid rules and regulations were made for the use of the crossbow,