The crossbow originated in ancient China circa 550 B.C.E. and is thought to have been developed from the horizontal bow trap, which was used to kill game. For use as a Weapon, the Chinese developed many different designs of crossbows and drawstrings. Some had stirrups attached to them to hold the bow down when the bowmen were rearming. Later crossbow- cannons had winches to pull back the strings, because people would not have been strong enough to do this unaided. The Chinese also invented grid sights in 100 C.E. and a machine-gun type of crossbow, which had a magazine of bolts fitted above the arrow groove; as one bolt was fired another dropped into its place. Poisoned crossbow bolts were also used.
Knowledge of the crossbow was probably transmitted from China to Europe via the Greeks and Romans. The weapon could be used by an untrained soldier to injure or kill a knight in armor. The crossbow was adopted in Europe in the tenth century C.E. and used throughout the Middle Ages. William the Conqueror brought the medieval crossbow to England in 1066, but the Welsh longbow supplanted the crossbow during the reign of Edward I (1272-1307). Many viewed it as an inhuman weapon, requiring no skill and having no honor, and in 1139 the Pope, through the Second Lateran Council, condemned the use of crossbows against anyone except infidels.
Today, crossbows are mostly used for target shooting in modern archery. In some countries crossbow hunting is still allowed, such as a few states in the United States, Asia, Australia, and Africa.
