ORIGINAL: NEW61375
Those new fangled crossbows are ruining archery.....
Literary and physical evidence suggest that the crossbow originated in China during the 4th century BC, though a type of crossbow called the gastraphetes may have been independently invented in Greece at about the same period. It wasn't until the 10th or 11th centuries AD that the crossbow became a significant military weapon in Europe. It passed from general military service in the 16th century, but its use for hunting and target shooting has continued to the present day. The majority of the following chronology is abridged from GUIDE TO THE CROSSBOW by Paterson:
However, even though I am "pro-choice" when it comes to crossbows, you have to look at the historical signifigance of the weapon and how it was most often used.
Back in the day, it took years in order to train an archer (vertical bows). They were the special forces of midevil warfare. They were paid better, fed better, trained better and were more efficient than most other troops or conscripts.
When it came to large scale war, crossbows were widely used because it didn't take nearly as much skill or training in order to be effective with them compared to a longbow. Crossbows were also used in defense of a fortification, such as a castle. Defense of such structures was not like you see in the movies, but usually there were only 30 -60 men defending most countryside castles. A seige would last for months, and often those 30 or so men knew it was coming and they would cock and lock several crossbows up on the ramparts and shoot and move. Apparently one of the popular things to do was to wait for an enemy knight to overheat and raise his iron face mask and have a go right at his face with a bolt.