Barbapple wrote:I belive you are wrong on an account. The Longbow was a development to the crossbow, and much stronger.
However.....
In crossbows, you can re-use the same bolts after battle, giving you a well...unlimited supply
however.....
most crossbow bolts were not barbed, as an abundunce od arrows were...
so...
My vote is the old bow. If for only one reason:It looks better in Lego.
Use of the crossbow became widespread early in the medieval period - the Normans brought it to England after they conquered it. Its use was banned by the Pope in 1139 (not that that stopped anyone). The English version of the longbow grew out of the Welsh bow used in the 1100s. Neither grew out of the other - though the longbow did displace the crossbow in English armies under Edward I.
The English scavenged their own "clothyard shafts" at Crecy, so arrows could be reused, too.
The advantage of the longbow was that its rate of fire was much greater than the crossbow. The disadvantage was that it took a great deal more training to become a competent longbowman. Both were powerful - the later steel arbalest was the most powerful, though the absolute slowest to use.
For the battlefield, I'd want the longbow, for hunting or castle defense, the crossbow. If I was riding on horseback, a smaller composite bow.
----------
From a Lego standpoint, I like the crossbow. The bow never quite poses right.
