French ? Crossbow , makers stamp on bow , rooster and stars ?? , model , dating ??

[Philip]

Originally Posted by fernando

Welcome to the forum, phil .
Nice crossbow you show us there.
A similar mark appears in a 17h century 'sophisticated' target example illustrated in page 104 of "Crossbows in the Royal Netherlands Army Museum", tagged as 'probably being Belgium',


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Nando,
Agreed, Phil's crossbow is quite an attractive thing. Walleyes and Wallis used to sell some really good items back in the day. Looks like a good quality sporting weapon that a hunter might use on small or medium game.

Re the "target" crossbow in the exhibit catalog you posted -- I wonder what sort of targets the maker had in mind. That windlass is worthy of a battle weapon substantial enough to knock a knight off his horse...