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Title
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Hornbow Crossbow
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HCA Identifier
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W 836
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Collection Location
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Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum), Berlin, Germany
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Date
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Early 15th century
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Location
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Central Europe
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Description
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This 15th century crossbow has a long slender stock made of dark oak trapezoidal in cross-section with a rounded underside. The top is fully inlaid with antler bone but the side panels tapering to a point next to the nut are missing. In front of the bolt channel, two holes pierce through the inlay. On the underside, only the front section is inlaid in a lanceolate shape. At the front, on the lower right side of the stock, there is a mark in the shape of a
bird burned into the wood.
The lock-mechanism is a rolling nut catch with a single axis lock. The simple metal trigger is set into the stock and bent at a right angle that extends to the butt and is rounded in cross-section. The nut is made of antler and has a hole in which the binding thread passes through and is looped around the stock. The nut and binding are later additions.
The prod and the stirrup are missing.
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Source
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Lüken, Sven, Jens Sensfelder, and Felix Jäger. Die Armbrust Schrecken und Schönheit . München: Hirmer, 2019.
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Crossbow Top Measurements
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Stock length: 940 mm
Length of bow to lock: 323 mm
Stock cross-section at the bow/prod: 76 mm x 25 mm
Stock cross-section at the lock: 37.5 mm x 34 mm
Stock cross-section at the butt: 29 mm x 22 mm
Nut diameter x width: 31 mm x 21 mm
Width of lock parts: 6 mm
Binding thread diameter: 2 mm/1.5 mm
Weight 1.06 kg
