Two weapons dominated the missile war of the Middle Ages, and armies chose between them on a simple trade: speed against ease. The longbow and the crossbow could both punch through armour, but they demanded completely different things from the men who used them.
Comparable range; heavy steel crossbows could match a longbow
Rate of fire
High, up to ten or more arrows a minute
Low, only a few bolts a minute
Training
Years of practice to master
Little training needed to use
Armour punch
Deadly against mail and horses; limited against good plate
Strong; could punch armour at close range
Famous use
Crecy (1346) and Agincourt (1415)
Widespread in medieval Europe; in 1139 the Church condemned its use, and the bow's, against fellow Christians
Key points
The longbow shot far faster, perhaps six to twelve arrows a minute2, but took years of training to master.
The crossbow hit hard and almost anyone could learn to use it, but it was slow to reload.
At Crecy in 1346 English longbowmen decisively outshot the Genoese crossbowmen fighting for France.3
In the end both were made obsolete by gunpowder firearms.
The longbow: speed at a price
The English and Welsh war bow was a tall stave, often of yew, drawing well over a hundred pounds4. In trained hands it was astonishingly fast, loosing perhaps six to twelve arrows a minute, and it could reach a long way. The catch was the archer: drawing such a bow took years of practice and reshaped the body, so much so that England passed laws requiring men to train at the butts on Sundays.2
Archers practising at the butts in the Luttrell Psalter, an English manuscript made around 1325 to 1335. British Library. Public domain
The crossbow: power anyone could use
The crossbow solved the training problem. It held the draw for you with a mechanical catch, so a recruit could learn to aim and shoot in days rather than years. Heavier crossbows stored a great deal of energy and hit very hard, and the strongest had to be spanned with a mechanical device5. The price was rate of fire: reloading was slow, often only a couple of bolts a minute5.
Ten arrows to a bolt or two: rate of fire decided as many battles as raw power.
The verdict on the field
The clash is written into two famous battles. At Crecy in 1346, English longbowmen simply outshot the Genoese crossbowmen hired by France, loosing far faster and driving them from the field. At Agincourt in 1415, massed longbows again broke French attacks floundering in the mud2. Yet the crossbow endured across Europe6 precisely because it needed no lifetime of training, and both eventually gave way to gunpowder. Explore them among the greatest medieval battles, or brush up on the terms in our military history glossary.
The Battle of Crécy in a 15th-century copy of Froissart's Chronicles illuminated by Loyset Liédet: Genoese crossbowmen on the left face English longbowmen on the right. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Public domain
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a longbow and a crossbow?
A longbow is a tall wooden bow drawn and held by the archer's own strength, shooting quickly but demanding years of training. A crossbow is a mechanical device that holds the draw for you, so it is far easier to learn and can be very powerful, but much slower to reload.
Which was more powerful?
A heavy steel crossbow could store more energy and deliver a very hard-hitting bolt, and the strongest needed a mechanical device to span. But a war longbow in trained hands was still deadly and shot far more often, so it depends on the specific weapons compared.
Why did the English longbow win at Crecy and Agincourt?
Rate of fire and numbers. Massed longbowmen loosed many times faster than crossbowmen and blanketed the enemy with arrows. At Crecy in 1346 they outshot the Genoese crossbowmen, and at Agincourt in 1415 they broke French attacks bogged down in mud.
Why did it take so long to train a longbowman?
Drawing a war bow of well over 100 pounds took years of practice and built up the archer's body. England even required regular archery practice by law. A crossbow, by contrast, could be handed to a recruit and used within days.
Which was better, the longbow or the crossbow?
Neither was simply better. In trained hands the longbow shot far faster, while the crossbow hit harder per shot and needed almost no training. Which one won depended on who was using it and how.
Why did England stay loyal to the longbow?
Because massed longbowmen could loose arrows far faster than crossbows could reload, as at Crecy and Agincourt, and English law and custom kept a steady supply of trained archers.
Sources and notes
Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.
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