Crossbow

Japanese: cross bow（英語表記）crossbow

…The arrows used in crossbows are sharp arrows with triangular bronze arrowheads. They are thought to have been introduced to Europe in the Middle Ages and later, and are called bow guns or cross bows in English. They became popular in Europe in the 12th century, but in 1139, Pope Innocent II issued a decree banning their use against Christians, calling them a cruel weapon. …

From [Weapons]

…Bows were usually made of yew wood wrapped with cow tendons to strengthen its elasticity, and strings were usually made of twisted goat leather. The crossbow, which became popular from the 12th century, used a simple device to strengthen the pulling power of the string, and was also called a crossbow because of its thick shaft attached at right angles to the bow. The bow was held horizontally, and the arrow was shot out at high speed when the trigger was released. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "cross bow" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…弩に用いる矢は，三角鏃とよばれる三角錐形の青銅鏃をつけた鋭い矢である。　ヨーロッパへは中世以降に伝わったと考えられ，英語ではボー･ガンbow gun，またはクロス･ボーcross bowと呼ばれる。12世紀にはヨーロッパで普及したが，1139年，ローマ教皇インノケンティウス2世が，残虐な兵器であるとして，キリスト教徒に対する使用を禁ずる布令を出している。…

【武器】より

…弓はイチイ材に牛の腱を巻いて弾性を強化し，弦はヤギの革をより合わせてつくるのが普通であった。12世紀から普及した弩（ど）は簡単な装置で弦を引く力を強めたもので，弓と直角に太い射軸を取り付けた形状からクロスボウcross‐bow(〈十字弓〉の意)とも呼ばれた。弓を水平に構え，引金を外せば矢は高速で射出される。…

※「cross bow」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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