El proceso de priorización en la localidad de Usme: ¿decisiones

Only a handful of crossbows have survived from before the fifteenth century, so the data pool for any given century during this period is quite limited. The only surviving thirteenth-century crossbow was the Berkhamsted Bow.356 _{The Berkhamsted Bow was a}

wooden crossbow lathe made of yew. It is possible that it was from the early fourteenth century rather than the end of the thirteenth, but even so it remains one of the oldest surviving crossbow lathes. The Berkhamsted Bow did not survived unscathed, there have been two significant points of damage: one of the nocks was broken, and the lathe has suffered severe splintering along one of its limbs which would render it unusable. The latter break was likely the reason it ended up in the castle trench where it was eventually found. This splintering does allow for a glimpse into the lathe itself which has provided some insight into the type of yew it was made from. The laminates and wood grain therein suggest that the yew was from lowland country. The lathe has been measured as

356 _{Robert C. Brown, “Observations on the Berkhamstead Bow”, Journal of the Society of Archer-}

148 1235 mm long along its back, and 1238 mm long along its belly. This difference in lengths is a feature only ever noted in the descriptions of wooden lathes. The lathe has been measured as 55.88 mm wide at its widest point. It has been estimated as having a draw weight of 150 lbs (68 kg) at somewhere between eight and twelve inches (200-300 mm) draw. The nocks were cut directly into the wood, there is no evidence of horn nocks having been used. The bow currently has a curve approximately 60 mm deep as a result of the set it likely acquired from use. There has also been wear on the centre of the lathe that was likely caused by other pieces of wood, possibly made of oak, used to help keep the lathe in place when it was in its tiller. Because of where it was found, it is often assumed that the Berkhamsted Bow was made in England. This is one of only two surviving medieval wooden crossbow lathes in this thesis, making it a near unique artefact.357

The second wooden crossbow included in this thesis is one of three crossbows to have survived from the fourteenth century. This wooden crossbow is currently held the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. The wooden lathe was medieval but it is currently attached to a replica medieval tiller, likely dating from the nineteenth century. G.M. Wilson has suggested that this crossbow actually could be from as early as the thirteenth century based on its strong resemblance to the Berkhamsted bow, but it cannot be precisely dated as such. Like the Berkhamsted bow, it has been measured with two different lengths, one for the belly and one for the back. The belly length was measured as 1156 mm, while the back was 1099 mm long. This was a much greater difference in length than in the case of the Berkhamsted Bow, but with only two data points for wooden lathes it is impossible to say which proportions would have been the more common, or even speculate as to why the two crossbows were different. Wilson also noted that the cross-sections of both lathes are in the D-shape, similar to the longbows discussed in Chapter 2. This could suggest an overlap in the practices of making

longbows and wooden crossbow lathes, but it could just as easily be that a D-shape was the best way to make a powerful bow out of yew and so both groups of craftsmen chose it independently. Both lathes were also made in such a way that they incorporated the knots in the wood. The width of the Glasgow lathe is somewhat obfuscated by an error in Wilson's notes. He noted the lathe is 2.25 in at its thickest, but converted this to 85.1 centimetres, which is incorrect.358 _{Assuming the imperial measurement is correct, since}

357 _{See Appendix I, pp. 254-55}

358 _{G.M. Wilson, “Notes on Some Crossbows in the Collection of Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery”,pp.}

149 thesize given in metric is much too large to be realistic, as the lathe would then be as thick as the tiller is long, the actual thickness in metric would be 57.2 mm. This is thicker than the Berkhamsted Bow but by less than 2 mm. The similarities between these two lathes do suggest that wooden crossbow lathes of this time were typically over a metre long and at least 50 mm at their thickest, but with only two examples to draw

conclusions from, it is impossible to know how representative these data are.

The other two surviving fourteenth-century crossbows both had composite lathes. Due to the difficulty with dating crossbows in general and especially early examples, these crossbows could possibly have been from the early fifteenth century. The first composite crossbow is from the Rustkammer Dresden, and only the lathe has survived. It was likely of Central European origin. The lathe was measured as 1018 mm long with a string length of 745 mm. The string length is the length measured directly between the nocks, while the lathe length is the length of lathe measured along its arc. The difference between these two lengths is very pronounced in this lathe. The lathe has a pronounced recurve to it which may have been its original position when it was not strung, or it could have been the result of its glue and sinew drying out.359

The second composite crossbow has been tentatively dated to c.1400, so it could have been a very early fifteenth-century crossbow. It has been included here since it could have come from the end of the fourteenth century and Egon Harmuth argued that the c.1400 date was likely a latest possible estimate.360 _{This crossbow is now in Cologne}

and was of Central European origin. This was the earliest crossbow in the data set where both the lathe and the tiller have survived. The crossbow was altered at some point in the past as the lathe has been attached to the tiller backwards, presumably as part of a

restoration. The lathe has been measured as 946 mm long with a string length of 720 mm The lathe was significantly reflexed. The tiller was 875 mm long and, at its narrowest, it was 30 mm wide and 25 mm thick. The whole crossbow weighed 2000 g. The crossbow appears to be missing a stirrup, it could have been removed before or around the time when the lathe was reattached. Egon Harmuth has argued that the crossbow was likely what some texts refer to as a 'one-foot crossbow'.361

359 _{Holger Richter, Die Horgenarmbrust, (Ludwigshafen, 2006). pp. 32-4.}

360 _{Egon Harmuth, “Concerning the One-Foot Crossbow of the High Gothic”, Journal of the Society of}

Archer-Antiquaries 28 (1985). pp. 10-1.

361 _{Ibid. pp. 9-11.}

Holger Richter, Die Horgenarmbrust, pp. 26-31.

David S. Bachrach, “Crossbows for the King: The Crossbow During the Reign of John and Henry III of England”, Technology and Culture 45:1 (2004). pp. 109-11.

150 The most distinctive feature of these crossbows was their size. As the analysis in the following paragraphs will show, the handful of lathes from the thirteenth and

fourteenth centuries were the longest lathes of any century covered by this thesis. While the composite crossbows were definitely distinctive when compared to later examples, it is impossible to know if these high medieval wooden crossbows were different from late medieval wooden crossbows without any points of comparison. In general, the data pool was too small to prove anything definitively, but it does raise several interesting

questions. It was at the very least suggestive that design trends changed significantly during the transition from the High to Later Middle Ages.