History of Ranged Weapons in ancient and medieval Europe

Ranged weapons have been around even before civilizations were created. A ranged weapon is anything that can engage an opponent beyond hand-to-hand distance. These tools have evolved over many centuries just like humans, and they have helped humans win countless battles, save lives, and take lives as well. These weapons have never stopped evolving, but below are some of the key changes and inventions that changed these destructive tools forever. One of the earliest but most revolutionary projectile is the Roman Pilum which looks like a short spear. Spears are one of the most primitive ranged weapons and they have been around for a while, but the roman Pilum is a very special spear that changed the course of history itself. It is typically two meters long and each warrior carried two. It has a wooden handle and a thin metal rod with a heavy tip is attached to the wood. The romans used it with deadly efficiency and because of its marvellous design, the spear could not be picked up and thrown back at the romans. In combination with the roman battle formation, the pila could devastate its enemies. The romans would wait till the enemies are in range and they will throw one volley. If the opposition had their shields up, the pila would get stick in their shield and make it inconvenient to fight with. According to the Britannica website, the pilum killed, injured, or incapacitated around 60% of its enemies before they came close enough for hand-to-hand combat. The Pilum was an immense success, and the Romans didn’t need another type of projectile for warfare. Unfortunately, this marvellous piece of ingenuity faded away with the fall of the Roman empire. The fall of the roman empire led to the Middle Ages. Things were more chaotic in this era because there was no central governing body. This resulted in a great deal of wars and battles and led to the next wonderful invention in projectile technology, the English Longbow. It was believed to be first used in Wales, but it quickly gained popularity all throughout Europe. Even though the science behind this devastating killing machine was rather simple compared to, say a recurve bow, its durability and easy production made it a favourite among many archers. A typical war longbow has a whopping 100- 140-pound draw weight. When a bow is stretched using the drawstring, the wooded parts known as the limbs always wants to straighten and get back to how its original shape, so when the archer pulls and releases the drawstring, the limbs will snap back to its original shape, launching an arrow in the process. The bow is made using one piece of wood, so it is relatively easy to craft, and it is extremely durable in tough conditions and high draw weights because of its simple design. Despite its simplicity, it was devastating in battle. For example, the longbow is believed to be the reason England won the 100-year war against France. However, after the invention of plate Armor, these bows became almost useless because they weren’t powerful enough to penetrate a metal plate. Meanwhile, another great invention was on its way from china known as the crossbow. It was quickly adopted by the French and many other empires. A crossbow is a bow mounted on a wooden plank. This allowed for the limbs to be sideways allowing for better aim and accuracy. Europeans also figured out a way to make the bow limbs out of metal to increase the draw weight. Crossbows aren’t very long, but because they were now being made of metal, which allowed for even greater draw weight and durability than a longbow, which is about 2 meters long. The French made a crossbow with a draw weight of about 900 pounds which is impossible to be drawn by one man but by using a plethora of mechanical leavers and wheels, and a trigger system they managed to make a crossbow with a ton more power than a longbow. This solved the problem longbows couldn’t, because it is so powerful, it could easily penetrate plate Armor and it was also more accurate because of its layout. However, the greater draw weight came with its costs. Because they were made of many mechanical parts, they were very hard to craft and often cost a fortune. They were also very slow and took a long time to reload. But its power alone made it a memorable and devastating weapon. Over the course of ancient history, ranged weapons have involved and developed hugely. But the invention of gunpowder topped it all. Gunpowder came from China and soon it was made into what we now know as cannons. This discovery led to a whole new era for ranged weapons and made even the most formidable fortress crumble to dust. Although cannons and firearms were clumsy and dangerous at first, people saw its potential and developed it to the terrifying killing machines we know today. This invention quickly replaced bows and crossbows. Now almost all the ranged weapons used today operate with gunpowder. Ranged weapons have come a long way from the clumsy spears that ancient hunters used to the state-of-the-art missile launchers and handguns. But it is important that we know how dangerous these weapons are because as impressive as they are, they are made to kill humans