A Deadly Art: European Crossbows, 1250–1850

Among the Metropolitan's most beloved spaces are the galleries dedicated to arms and armor. The Museum's collection of fourteen thousand pieces, unrivaled in quality, depth, and diversity, encompasses objects from around the globe and across more than two millennia. Crossbows occupy a singular place in the history of weapons and their technology: they remained in use for more than two thousand years, and, until eclipsed by firepower, reigned as one of the dominant weapons throughout the world. Indeed, changes originally designed to increase the propulsive power of the simple bow evolved into the mechanisms that would define the operation of firearms.