Die Hornbogenarmbrust: Geschichte und Technik [Gebundene Ausgabe]

Hornbogenarmbrüste stellen für die fachlich Versierten eine Besonderheit in der Reihe der mittelalterlichen Fernwaffen dar, weil sie sich in ihrer Konstruktion und Komplexität erheblich von rein hölzernen oder metallenen Bögen abheben. Diese in Kompositbauweise aus Hornplättchen und Tiersehnen hergestellten Armbrüste thematisiert der Autor und beweist dabei in seiner Arbeit gute Kenntnisse und intensive Beschäftigung mit der Materie. Ausgehend von der Geschichte der Armbrust über eine Systematisierung und Typisierung schafft er die Grundlagen, um sich anhand der in Museen erhaltenen Exemplare mit dem Aufbau und den nterschiedlichen Merkmalen dieser Waffenart allgemein und eben insbesondere mit der Hornbogenarmbrust detailliert zu beschäftigen. Mit seinem Band leistet Holger Richter gewiss gleichermaßen einen hilfreichen Beitrag zur intensiven Beschäftigung mit diesen Waffen wie zur einführenden Lektüre.

This is an outstanding study of the origin and development of the composite crossbow until it ceased to be made in the sixteenth Century. The combination of horn, sinew and wood was assembled in a variety of ways that demonstrates the great technical skill of the makers to produce weapons effective for War and hunting. The technology is derived from Islamic prototypes and the earliest evidence for the composite crossbow is in the twelfth Century writings of AI-Tarsusi dedicated to Saladin the Great. Descriptions of a variety of crossbows include one with a large composite bow some six and half metres span; clearly a rampart crossbow. The earliest surviving examples are the remains of several rampart crossbows excavated in the ruins of a fortress at Jazirah in Syria, estimated to date from c.1215. There is also a rampart crossbow of European manufacture. in. the Schweizerische Landesmuseum. Zürich, with decoration clearly infiuenced by Islamic examples. A large composite crossbow at Erfurt is likewise decorated with elements of Islamic art. Its form resembles a, large Version of the fourteenth Century hand crossbow and such composite hand bows spread throughout western and Central Europe and Scandinavia. Demand continued, despite the increasing presence of the steel crossbow. until the crossbow was discarded as a military weapon and replaced by firearms in the sixteenth Century. A handsome sporting crossbow decorated with bone inlay in the Rüstkammer, Dresden, bears the date 1373 and is the latest example of a chorn crossbow' that has been discovered. The author discusses and illustrates the methods of construction of the bow. Much of the fine detail being derived from examination of damaged bows and broken fragments which reveal how the components are brought together to form a coherent whole with immense power. Wood forms a skeleton to which is glued the horn and sinew; horn on the belly of the bow has a compressive strength about twice that of a wooden stave by itself and the sinew fibres on the back have a tensile strength some four times that of a wooden bow back. Glue provides an elastic binding medium to hold the sinew fibres in position and unite the whole structure. A pitch-like material on the nocks and a covering of birch bark over the bow stave as a whole protects the bow from moisture and general knocks and abrasion. Also described in detail are the various crossbow locks, from the simple trigger sear and nut of the war bow to the chain of levers and set triggers found on sporting weapons. A variety of spanning devices was employed from the simple hook to the cranequin and Kyeser's Bellifortis (c.1400) shows a hook and lever mounted on a wooden pillar which was apparently used with war bows as well as sporting weapons. The craft of the crossbowmaker is revealed in town records and guild documents. The well-known Illustration of the crossbowmaker's workshop in Cracow (1505) shows the various parts of the bow being prepared at different work benches as well as a clear representation of the crossbow spanning bench. Coincidentally from the same year the Loffelholz manuscript contains drawings of some of the specialist tools of the trade, such as the device for cutting the angled slots in the shaft of the crossbow bolt to receive the fletchings. The author has travelled widely and delved deep into museum store rooms, examining weapons throughout Europe, and the result is a magnificent work of reference which adds materially to our knowledge of the crossbow. It is enriched by numerous line drawings with details of construction and others reproducing significant images from mediaeval manuscripts and prints, and many photographs, mostly in colour, of the most significant 'horn crossbows' he has discovered. The volume ends with a brief chapter by chapter summary in English and this together with the captions to the illustrations, a systematic presentation of material in eleven chapters and the 115 figures and plates makes much of the essential detail available even to those with only a limited grasp of the German language. Arthur G, Credland.