John Jenkins Designs: Norman/Crusader Crossbowmen

The Battle of Hastings took place on the 14^th October 1066. Although the numbers on each side were about equal, William had the advantage of having both cavalry, infantry and many archers.

Harold had only foot soldiers, and few archers. The English formed a shield wall along a ridge, and were initially so effective that the invading Norman army was repeatedly thrown back with heavy casualties.

The battle opened with the Norman archers shooting uphill at the English shield wall, …to little effect.

The uphill angle meant that the arrows either bounced off the shields of the English or overshot their targets and flew over the top of the hill.

The lack of English archers actually hampered the Norman archers, as there were few English arrows to be gathered up and reused.

After the failed attack from the archers, William sent the spearmen forward to attack the Shieldwall. The infantry was unable to force any openings in the shield wall, which would have been taken advantage of by the supporting Norman cavalry.

Perhaps the most neglected weapon of the Norman period is the crossbow, which was almost certainly known to and used by the Normans well before 1066. Indeed, two of the 11th-century descriptions of the Battle of Hastings state that there were many crossbowmen in Duke William's army in 1066 and this arm formed an important part of the Norman armies that assembled for the First Crusade from 1098 onwards.

By the beginning of the 12th century, the crossbow was undoubtedly the most important projectile weapon not only of the Norman army but of almost every army in Europe. The crossbow used by the Normans probably had a wooden stock incorporating some form of rudimentary lock and release mechanism of the revolving nut type that was to become so popular later. But however constructed, the Norman crossbow, like the Norman bow, was a formidable weapon quite capable of piercing the main defenses of the best-protected warriors.

These figures will of course also be suitable for the Crusader range.

The first of the Norman Crossbow sets will be available early in 2023.