Medieval Crossbowman

By the High Middle Ages the crossbow had evolved into a serious military instrument: the wooden prod replaced by tempered steel, the string upgraded to composite hemp and sinew, and the spanning mechanism — stirrup, belt hook, or cranequin — engineered to draw weights no human hand could manage unaided. A steel-bowed crossbow of the thirteenth century could drive a bolt through chainmail at over a hundred meters, and even early plate offered only partial protection at close range. Genoese crossbowmen were so prized that the Republic exported them to half the armies of Europe. At Crécy their volleys were undone only by wet bowstrings — a reminder that even the best equipment bows to battlefield chaos. In the game this unit delivers heavy armor-piercing ranged damage and is most effective from prepared positions, though his slow reload makes cover essential.