crossbow of one foot, two foot and 'a tour'

[fernando]

An interesting paper where we may ponder on the correlation of one and two foot crossbows ... with passages in english, french and latin:
http://willscommonplacebook.blogspot...1_archive.html
With emphasis on:

Two Foot Crossbows
Arbalètes à deux pieds frequently appear in medieval inventories from the 13th century on, often contrasted with the arbalète à une pied. The one foot variety is presumably the familiar sort spanned from a standing position with one foot in a stirrup at the front of the stock. Some have suggested that the two foot crossbows are spanned with a wider stirrup for two feet. There are two objects to this theory. First the biomechanics are very poor. Second, there is no surviving bow that looks like that, and no examples in medieval iconography.

Robert MacPherson has suggested a far more plausible theory: that they were spanned while seated on the ground with a belt hook on the string and both feet on the prod, as though performing a short leg press. That makes a lot more sense.


Crossbows at Marlborough in 1215: "balistae ad turnum (a tour)...balistae ad unum pedem (one foot)...balistae; corneae (horn); ad unum pedem...ad duos pedes (two foot),"

Re.r. De balistis.—Mandatum est H. Giffard', constabulario Turris London', quod de balistis regis que sunt in custodia sua habere faciat Amauro de Sancto Amando quatuor balistas de cornu ad duos pedes (four horn two foot crossbows) et decem balistas de ligno ad unum pedem (ten wood one foot ...)ponendas in castris nostris Heref' et Sancti Briavelli. Teste rege apud Windes', xv. die Aprilis.


Guy de Dampierre
Inventaire du château de Tournoël
Lettre adressée au roi Philippe-Auguste le 12 décembre 1213

Guy de Dampierre au roi.
Votre Sérénité connaîtra que Gualeran de Corbelles et Robert m’ont livré, dans le château de Tournoël : 11 arbalètes de corne, 7 arbalètes à ettrif (stirrup), 3 arbalètes à deux pieds, une arbalète à tour, 10 arbalètes en bois, 8 casques, 2 cuirasses, 10 écus [boucliers allongés], deux targes [autre espèce de bouclier], 4 coffres de carreaux [flèches], ettrifs et autres traits, 2 tours à arbalètes, 2 crocs



.

[fernando]

This is also an interesting source:

http://lanceletrefle.free.fr/index.p...7-def-arbalete

Tendre l’arbalète :
Arming the crossbow:
1) Les deux pieds sur l’arc
The two feet on the bow
2) Etrier (un seul pied = progrès) + crochet à la ceinture (fin XIIe / deb. XIIIe s.)
Stirrup (one only foot=progress) + belt device
3a) pied-de-biche (léger et rapide)(fin XVe s.)
3b) modèle à tour ou à moufle : pesant + lent MAIS longue portée + précision (= utilisée pour défendre et attaquer places fortes)
Model à tour or crank: heavy + slow + far reach +precision (used for defence and fortification atack)
3c) crannequin : plus puissant + plus rapide

[wardlaw]

Not wanting to belittel the work of the reenactors (I am one myself, and a western martial artist, as well as being an acadmeic, and I appreciate the insights that they can offer) but, as far as determining the etymology of the terms under discussion, you period examples are much more convincing.

[fernando]

Thast was just an "en passant" in the english language, as the majority of (Web) material comes in french, from French sources; from where i have spotted quite a few more. One could then infer that this terminology was mostly preferred by "des Gauloises"; just a thought.