od was the levor method. This concept encompassed a toothed-wheel turned by a handle that moved a rod with a hook of the end; the hook caught the cord, and stretched it. With the level method, an archer could load the crossbow by kneeling, which did not provide such an obvious target for the enemy. The arrows shot from any bow were usually long, with a flat, leaf-shaped or barbed head. Feathers at the end of the arrow kept its path straight after its release from the bow. With the crossbow, shorter arrows were used; the crossbow was also capable of firing stones and darts. Although the crossbow was powerful and more accurate with aim, one thing the weapon lacked was the ability to continuously fire rapidly. The longbow was capable of that, and this proved to be an important value in the longbow in the 1346 battle of Crcy. English longbow archers in a fixed position proved to be more useful in battle than Genoese crossbowmen fighting alongside the French. Regardless of its slowness, so dangerous was the crossbow that the church made an attempt to ban the crossbow. "In the 12th century, Pope Innocent II declared the crossbow to be 'deathly and hateful to God and unfit to be used among Christians.'" (Sasser 21) "The Lateran Council of 1139 outlawed the crossbow because that weapon allowed a peasant foot soldier to kill an armored knight -- obviously not part of God's plan, the churchman felt. The band did not work; crossbows continued to knock noblemen off their steeds with great regularity." (Bova 15) The crossbow was too popular and too useful in war for either participating side of a war to give up its use. "Neither corps obeyed the church and so the crossbow continued to go against God's will." (Gies 32) Catapults of the Middle Ages were divided into two major groups: ballistas, and trebuchets. The ballista was, in essence, a giant crossbow. Huge javelins were placed on them, the bowstring was cranked to a taut position; when the bowst...
