i can just imagine todd calling matt : come over i got a new weapon i want to show you and matt just runs to his house with all the recording equipment all excited lol
I agree. Considering also the weight of clothing typical for the time and the range a duel might be fought I’m not sure it’s lethal, which was also a thing in Venice, settling disputes without the rich and powerful offing each other and upsetting trade.
i think this seems like the most likely answer, he also mentioned they were often elaborately engraved, like duelling pistols. not the most accurate (since the point of dueling wasn't actually to kill the opponent. being inaccurate was a good thing) they are single shot, and likely non-fatal even if they hit. i think a dueling weapon is a pretty good likelihood.
Francisco Vargas idk I think the more likely answer is that it is basically a toy for the rich and wealthy. Like the renaissance version of a nerf gun. Your not really going to hurt anyone significantly with this thing unless it’s through the eye or something.
I agree. I do digital fantasy art and animations (YT channel ruclips.net/channel/UC09qXTUgIsvks61ak9XybZg ) and I just did one which was a Van Helsing thing. In the illustration he carries two crossbow/pistols which he is firing off at a group of werewolves. I watch all of the 'medieval weapons' guys for inspiration.
The drow (dark elves) in D&D have these. Always tipped with poison. There's a novel where a drow bluffed his way through by just pointing his finger at a gap in a dwarf's armour. It was so well known that drow had them that most residents of the underdark recognize the gesture of a drow aiming a poisoned bolt so the dwarf panicked and let him be rather than risk a drow's wrath.
95% now sure it's an urban rich man's rat hunting toy. What else are you going to do if you're a merchant with too much money, but you can't leave the city and don't want to drink, read, or enjoy prostitutes anymore? Do not underestimate the boredom experienced by our ancestors in the pre-TV/Radio/Internet era.
Given the antics of late-medieval and early modern era rich people, owning a mini-crossbow like this would be the ultimate in bragging rights. There were plenty of fancy swords, armours, expensive dinners and novelty furniture and novelty clothing accessories that only existed to show them off. "See how rich I am ? I can afford generally useless stuff like this !"
@@ZemplinTemplar Parlor guns for urban people existed all the way until the heavier regulation of firearms. Like Flobert ammunition ones. Also, one of the first ever firearm silencers (for .22LR) was marketed as a device for home entertainment, to shoot at targets with your friends in an apartment house or indoors in the city generally.
This is the basic weapon, but one +3, enchanted with accuracy, using piercing bolts, and the Rapid Reload skill, could be devastating with a back-stab critical multiplier from a shadowed level 12 thief.
I was thinking the same thing, this little crossbow totally has Joege written all over it. He'd make it rubbe powered and capable of going completely through that straw target.
Assassin: "Say hello to my leetle friend!" (twang) Victim: "Ow! That bloody hurt, you bastard. Ouch, that's really in there. Somebody grab that guy, he just shot me with a tiny crossbow. That really smarts, dammit!"
I've heard a few times that the notion of toys being "only for children" is kind of a modern idea, and that throughout most of history toys have been a thing for all ages- and not something to be embarrassed by. I don't have a specific source, its just a thing I've hard a few times, but I find it rather likely that is is a fairly classic example of a toy that really isn't for children. Also, insert obvious sex toy joke
firearms on the civilian market are just toys, gun owners may tell themselves that they do it for protecting their home and families, but in fact they just like guns and want to have fun with them at the firing range. Same with sports cars, Ferraris and Lamborghinis don't have any practical purpose, their only purpoe is to be fun to drive.
@@arx3516 While I support gun owners who just use their guns for fun on the range, they are, with the right training, great self defense tools. A good, reliable semi-automatic will definitely deter some attackers and, if they won't back off, cause some damage if need be.
Frankenstein077 I was delivering pizzas to a bad neighborhood. Two cars blocked my truck in, and a mob of 10 to 12 people rushed my truck. The one in front reached into the front pocket of his hoodie. I was able to produce my .45 before he produced his weapon. The group ran off, and the two cars left hastily. The trend at the time was for gangs to call EMTs, Fire Dept., or delivery drivers in order to ambush and kill them as an initiation. If I was unarmed, I would be dead. You can do a cursory google search and find numerous accounts of civilians successfully defending themselves with guns. I don't know why people insist on being willfully ignorant of this.
Parlor guns were the first thing that sprang to mind. The originals were clearly made for someone with no little disposable income, and the more ornate ones signal or pay tribute to that status.
This is really cool. It reminds me of one of the Chinese concealed weapons, the sleeve arrow. It is not intended for assassination, but it was common for the travelers for self-protection during Qing dynasty.
LOL. It probably was a fly passing the microphone or something, but at 3:37 it's like there's a fart followed by Todd's line "So, my gut reaction is that." That cracked me up for a bit
I can see three uses for such a thing 1. Less than lethal duelling weapon, for when you want to settle a dispute but you’re too rich and powerful to be killed. So long as you’re far enough away it sticks in the clothes and knocks the wind out of you and that’s all. 2. Rich man’s self defense tool. say you’re riding along in a carriage and some brigand sticks his face in the window and says “oi, give us the gold” pull this out, thwack, no more brigand. 3. Salesman’s sample. look what I can make, you ought hire me to make your widgets.
yeah i think it's more about option 2. It's a nice self defence weapon, you can load it put it in a drawer and use it quite easely. Shooting it under doesn't look hard either.
You can’t keep crossbows loaded a long time without damaging the bow and reducing the “poundage” and a self defense weapon you need fifteen seconds to crank up with both hands before being used is going to be extremely limited in scope. These were around when pistols were and were expensive. Pistols did the same thing, only better (in a self defense scenari0).
CAP198462 3 is most likely. It’s pretty much a toy, or after dinner archery set like the guy said. I would not trust seriously wounding a person to that dinky thing.
I once read an article on a set of hollow knives that fitted one into another like a set of Russian dolls. They were a sales man's sample from this period, if I recall.
I heard these things were also used for small game hunting in the recreational context. But looking at the shooting method it would be rather hard to hit small targets. P.S. Ah, you guys covered this theory in the end.
Pelletbows seemed to be preferred for that among the novelty crossbows of the era. They were a little larger, and the larger physical dimensions added to the stability of the pellets or bullets (balls) instead of bolts. There are plenty of specimens from Germany in particular that were used for 16th and 17th century birdhunting.
If you could, figure out how to build and test the power stroke of various chinese crossbows I would be very very interested. Because the power stroke is fairly long and mainly used mostly a metal or portion of metal for the bolt mainly bronze or iron. I would be really interested how much of a difference a longer power stroke makes vs more western crossbows. Mainly curious on how much power the recurve of the bow is transferred into the bolt with that longer stroke.
Look up pelletbows, sometimes also known as "balesters". Recreational weapon too, though larger, and some were actually used for practical hunting of smaller prey. Tod has manufactured a few of those as well.
I love your example of the joules this crossbow has and the stronger air-rifle you can own in the UK. Many people in the tactical world, scientific world, fantasy world (Death Battle is notorious for this), etc all only look at the total force and utterly ignore how the projectile interacts with the target. More force doesn't mean more effectiveness, as Paul Harrell proves.
Thinking derringer...personal protection? Being ornate and expensive to produce...maybe used as last line of defense if intruder makes it past royal defenses. (But difficult to conceal carry...maybe bedside? One shot would facilitate an escape distraction) Also agree with some possible ceremonial use. Great and unusual piece of history...
I agree that it might not be a signature weapon for assassins, and why would real assassins use signature weapons? It would be too easy to track the maker of these, and then investigate who he sold to, and all these signature assassins, with their signature costumes and weapons who for some reason get together every Sunday in one large group, will be rounded up.
I would call it a "gallery" ballista. Indoor shooting galleries were quite popular amongst the rich of the era of the firearm being a novelty and incredibly expensive weapon
And for those of us that remember physics W=integral(F(x)dx) so if those bows worked like a spring according to hook's law that would be W = 1/2 K X^2. Long story short, double the spring constant(draw weight) you double the kinetic energy in the arrow or bolt. Double the draw distance and you multiply the energy by 4.
@@johnfrancisdoe1563 Mentions in literature aren't what I'm looking for. I'd like to know if there is any historical documentation of the nature and effectiveness of period insinuative poisons. ='[.]'=
excrement (often used on arrow heads) was a capable and CHEAP poison back then because they could do very little agains infections. and they probably had more capable, less cheap poisons, too. I mean, it is just a matter of trying. all you need is money, and you can afford to keep trying
It's a status gift. All prettily engraved and showy, and absolutely impractical. You'd never buy one for yourself, but the Prince is going to remember it when you're looking for that Pizza contract.
They're an example of the craftsman's trade. In much the same way that Navaja makers would make folding blades two feet long. You couldn't use them for anything, but they displayed the skill of the maker.
A couple thoughts. Think about how store clerks and owners keep guns under counters. As for assassination. Well if you can get moderately close to someone but they have to many body guards to get right up to that would work well. Take a room someone is eating at or a bar. You might not be able to get right up to them but taking say a shot from the bar to a booth easy enough with that. Easy to conceal also under a jacket or cloak. Also try and carry a full size weapon through a crowd and try and fire it at someone but from a front row as someone passes by again it would work.Especially with poison. A lot less accurate weapons have been made for assassins. Daggers that fire blades out and other things. You also shouldn't consider it a throw down weapon either. It would be fired quick and easily concealed even could be fired from under or through a cloak and kept concealed.
Serious question, do you know where I could get a high quality steel crossbow arch? The bendy part. Always wanted to make my own little crossbow JUST like that one. 200 lb weight sounds wonderful. Beautiful little machine.
If there is an physicist out there you can fix me on this. But I'm pretty sure that energy has "momentum" and the mass of the device included and is pretty much directly telling of the amount of damage the object is going to do to the target. The main difference between crossbow bolts and airguns in damage is that the crossbow bolt is possibly sharp but 15 joules is 15 joules no matter how light the projectile. Well air resistance works differently for lighter and as such faster things but that is not during the event of impact.
Comparing projectile weapons with these numbers is a bit tricky. I think a way forward would be to look at the velocity of the projectile as it leaves the weapon and the weight of the projectile. From those two you can calculate the kinetic energy (in joules) and that value should be a pretty good benchmark for comparison. If you just look at the draw force (in newtons) and the stroke length (in meters with the appropriate prefix), you are getting into some really complicated territory. As the bolt begins to be pushed by the string, the initial few millimeters should receive the original draw force, but as the string moves forwards, that force should go down quite significantly. So just plugging the numbers into F=ma isn't going to work, since the projectile is being accelerated with a varying force. Sure, that formula can give you an estimate, but why don't we just skip to measuring velocities and masses instead.
While i think its entirely likely this could've been just a status symbol/sport item/toy, i also think its possible, in addition to that, that it was used as an unorthodox dueling weapon; whereby the strategy would be to use it as a one-shot opener to either distract and/or get a lucky wound or decommission them early. I base this off the treatises that suggest to use your spear as a throwing weapon and open with it to create an opening to move in with sword and shield.
How easily does the bolt fall out of the flight groove? That seems like a significant obstacle to carrying it loaded for assassination or as a last resort while hunting.
Yeah, without a bolt catch (eventually adopted by some early modern crossbows), it's not very probable a would-be attacker could have it loaded while walking around, following someone. Loading just before shooting would be a must. Pre-spanning would make sense, though. The bolt-loading is never the longest process in readying a crossbow for shooting. The spanning is (though it's very dependent on type).
as a bowhunter with TRA Syndrome (T-Rex Arms) (25.5" draw length) i can attest to the fact that Draw weight is < Powerstroke in regards to energy transferred in your projectile.
One alternative theory: It's made of metal and quite honestly I doubt it would be possible to make a crossbow that small with such a draw strength out of wood or other more traditional material. The draw strength provides the high projectile speed needed to compensate for the projectile being so small. It could be considered as a medieval equivalent to the 5.7mm or 4.7mm bullets used in the FN P-90 and HK MP7 respectively. Both those weapons are very narrow application weapons useful only in specific circumstances. Could a narrow metal dart travelling at a high enough speed fired from at very short range be able to penetrate armor (although maybe not top of the line armor of the early 16th century) as the modern bullets I mentioned do to ballistic vests?
About the thing he mentioned about the japanese they had a gun that is almost as big as the weilders hand and its an only barrel thing that kinda looks like a matchlock crossbow
I would say it can be something like expensive extravagant gift. There are still gifts like that - for example high quality knifes that are working great but are too expensive to be actually used.
When you're talking about the energy and air rifle stuff. You're actually explaining how "joule creep" works. In snipers for airsoft one usually is limited to velocity 550 fps or some joule limit. messured with .2gram bb's. With such a light projectile you can't put enough energy into it so it gets the okay but with a projectile weigth of 2 or 3 times that you keep more energy and therefore have a "better" weapon that can indeed hurt people.
Sometimes the party ordering the hit wants it to be know that they did the assassination. E.g. using polonium 210 The bolt energy grows as the square of the draw length, e.g. a 100lb bow with 24 inch draw compared to a 3 inch draw on 200lb is a scale factor of 8. Squaredis 64 but the 24" bow has half the draw weight so has 32 times the energy
If you're pulling a thumb trigger back on the top of the bow to fire, it's naturally going to make your shots high. You have to learn to lower your shot based on the distance. Probably equals out with gravity drop at some point thought. Interesting weapon.
Agreed they seem more executive toy just from the cost of having one made. As desirable now as probably then. Boys sure like their toys. More than lethal enough across a corridor, so possibly for self defence when firearms weren't quite so reliable. For hunting boar with dogs then it saves using a hunting spear or large hunting knife. The hounds often held the beast and the huntsman finished the job off. Anyhow, what a fantastic little thing; thanks for sharing.
Most likely it was used in a similar fashion to Flobert parlor rifles/pistols. Floberts were small caliber black powder firearms that were designed to be discharged inside the parlor (hence the name) as a manner of entertainment for wealthy individuals. They're extremely ornate, and designed to have very minimal power and noise. I wouldn't be surprised to find out these were the direct predecessors, or even competitors to the Floberts
These have one Advantage over an antique pistol: they work in the rain. could this be armed by pushing the bolt-channel in ? that might go much faster. I would combine it with a large belt-buckle that has a round Impression matching the stock of the ballestrino, with that you could just press the fired ballestrino against a wall or large desk(or similar), respanning it. In that combination it might be reloaded faster than a pistol of the time. the exact idea of a quick reload would be to change the construction so you could slide the trigger and boltchannel forward without unscrewing the screw. The Name "assassins crossbow" could refer to a self-defendse weapon, wich you need against assassins. That is if you could keep it nearby in a spanned condition.
Logically, provided that equal "muzzle velocity" could be reached, would it be better to use heavy steel bolts? For a weightier deeper penetrating projectile.
weld another bow under it and you've got Waylanders Crossbow! also reminds me a bit of the "One shot" crossbow from a couple of Terry Pratchett books...
I think this is a dueling weapon. It's kind of ornate, but not overly so, much like a lot of dueling pistols. That's probably what this thing was for. That said, it would also be useful as a weapon of assassination if you wanted something that would work with 100% reliability. This weapon basically can't malfunction, so if you combined it with a poisoned bolt, this would be viable weapon of assassination in certain environments. I think shooting form crowds or shooting in the rain, those are where this thing would be pretty nasty.
Well, you could imagine assassin-like use. For example for most nobility, it was probably a lot easier to get within 5-10m then a dagger distance. And this one is silent and offers higher chance of escape than a gun.
I think it could be also a self defence weapon. It probably won't kill your enemy, but even without any poison it is certainly capable of wounding him. And nobody wants to be wounded, so that weapon could prevent someone from attacking you. Pointing it to the enemy would be enough for it to do that job. For the same reason, it could be also used to threaten someone. Furthermore, it can be easily carried, is easy to use, and it is a weapon that can get wet and still be able to do its job unlike guns from that era.
Could it be a version of the small cabinets, made by both apprentices and masters, as demonstrations and advertisements for their skills? I would imagine that if someone who could make one of these they would have no trouble with a full sized weapon?
Here's my hypothesis: It may have been a mixture of status symbol, ethnic/national marker and sports weapon. The northern Italian cities were well-known for their expert crossbowmen during the Late Middle Ages, so this miniature crossbow may have served as a 'national' symbol, carried by the upper classes to show off their wealth, status and identification with their home city. As this weapon was popular at a time when the crossbow was gradually being replaced with black powder weapons, there may have been a degree of romanticising about it. I would envision posh, upper class Italians meeting and having small competitions in an exclusive context, a bit like polo or croquet in the UK. This is pure speculation of course.
Perhaps a 'walk by' stealth assassination with a poisoned tip? Like the famous Russian/Soviet poisoned umbrella airgun? There would be no blood trail from a dagger or stiletto and just a bolt on its own would be very hard to trace especially if handmade by the assassin themselves in secret, perhaps less so than a knife left in the body so not to be found on the assassin?
Would be a handy solution to a rat problem possibly, a blunt or broadhead would probably be enough to kill or daze it enough to kill, while still being small and quiet enough to not bother the kids sleeping in the next room. Just a random thought when you mentioned hunting, absolutely beautiful piece and seems like a lot of fun
My grandpa used to kill rats and housemice with homemade blowguns for fun as a boy, he was from a wealthy family too. I think you may be onto something.
This crossbow would be the secret dream of every lazy aristocratic mouser, then. X-D "I have to chase down the rat and catch him with my fangs ? Pshaw ! Kitty servant... Start the screw-spanning on that gizmo !"
@@JimGiant Wagering upon a difficult shot seems to have been a pass time of the day. If you had to have worried about damaging property, you probably couldn't have afforded such a 'toy'. If someone wanted to be rid of rats, a large cat or the right breed of dog would seem to have been more effective.
I was just thinking the same - seems like an all-steel, needle shape dart would have enough power at close range to seriously wound someone. Although someone else mentioned (maybe sarcastically) that this would be a good deterrent for stray animals in cities, which was a huge problem back then and continues to be today in countries like India where neutering is not common
These would be like the small ornate stone bows used at dinner parties to fling grapes at each other or clay pellets at small tabletop targets I'll bet.
As Todd was saying they're a difficult thing to make, with a great deal of engraving etc. within them, could they simply be a method of demonstrating the skill of the respective creator? As in a show piece that would allow the respective buyer to see the level of craftsmanship they can expect.
I'd imagine it could be used in various ways to cripple a target before an up close engagement. Shoot someone in the foot with that and their mobility will be severely hampered. And as much as it's a meme, shooting the knee could also do some decent damage. Of course, if you managed to hit someone in the neck or certain parts of the head, I'm sure it could kill. This is all assuming the crossbow is pre-loaded, because it would take way too long to load during a duel.
Wolfsbane/aconite was the traditional arrow poison from the dark ages to the renaissance. And its a common, easily sighted bright looking flower so applying poison to a weapon that is quiet and which can strike deep isn't that inconceivable.
Could it have been a demo or advertising thing, or an apprentice project. Or would it fit into the same class as the indoor guns for after dinner, or wet afternoon entertainment. (which is the posh toy idea stated in the video).
About it being easy to track. And the poison, which is also blatant. As an Italian, I can't help but think that you could use this one to assassinate someone and leave a message at the same time.
It's basically mechanical lawn darts for people who had time to play around rather than working themselves to death in the fields. It could probably be used as an aid to assassination...but in that case you'd just hire someone to do the deed for you. And they'd hire someone else.
Could it be a duelling weapon? Expensive, very ornate, effectively one shot due to the long reload time and dangerous without necessarily being deadly?
Maybe its the equvalent to a modern day handgun. Self defense weapon for everyday carry, if you're a thief it would be very intimidating having that pointed at you. But also something you can have a bit of fun with at the target range.
Considering how forceful a weapon like this could be at close range, perhaps it could have been used or usable as a personal defence weapon by those rich enough to afford it? Given how loud guns are, even early black powder ones, this might have been a preferable way to stop a would-be assailant or intruder. As it seems less lethal than other options, I can still see it incapacitating someone, especially if it were aimed at limbs or the face, and it certainly has range advantages over many melee weapons. I'm not saying it would be the most effective weapon for self-defence, but that doesn't always mean they wouldn't make or sell it for that. In that way, it might be like a sword in that it can be used both for self-preservation, and showing off your wealth/ power/ status.
Historically it was used by Witchers to 1 shot Drowners and finish off wounded Redhead Bruxae.
His-story
And to shoot down Griffins from the sky of course.
sushanalone I think the Witcher one is a bit more chunky
@@midshipman8654 It was totally different game, i won't compare it with 2 or 3 and had its own issues and charm.
What about Corvo Attano, Daud and Whalers?
i can just imagine todd calling matt : come over i got a new weapon i want to show you and matt just runs to his house with all the recording equipment all excited lol
This is so wholesome
Thank you for putting this image in my head :)
I love this, and can relate, my friends and I are exactly like this minus most of the recording equipment.
"Hi Matt, I've just finished the balles... hello? Hello? You still there?"
@@tods_workshop When I'll make videogame, I'll name blacksmith Tod 100%..
and weapon vendor Matt
Matt, please tell us more about poundage and powerstroke.
Shallow penetration and short strokes
But it has no butt!
Why my wee wee hard?
6 inch powerstroke.
And put the emphasis on the nut.
It could be a duelling weapon. Being basically a single-shot "pistol" without the bang of gunpowder, it'd provide discretion and privacy
The Code Duelo originated in Italy as did this tiny little crossbow. I think your supposition is correct.
I agree. Considering also the weight of clothing typical for the time and the range a duel might be fought I’m not sure it’s lethal, which was also a thing in Venice, settling disputes without the rich and powerful offing each other and upsetting trade.
i think this seems like the most likely answer, he also mentioned they were often elaborately engraved, like duelling pistols. not the most accurate (since the point of dueling wasn't actually to kill the opponent. being inaccurate was a good thing) they are single shot, and likely non-fatal even if they hit. i think a dueling weapon is a pretty good likelihood.
Francisco Vargas idk I think the more likely answer is that it is basically a toy for the rich and wealthy. Like the renaissance version of a nerf gun. Your not really going to hurt anyone significantly with this thing unless it’s through the eye or something.
@@midshipman8654 which is indeed the point. In a duel, you don't necessarily want to kill or even seriously injure your opponent
I love how these unique weapons are giving me cool ideas for a fantasy world.
I agree. I do digital fantasy art and animations (YT channel ruclips.net/channel/UC09qXTUgIsvks61ak9XybZg ) and I just did one which was a Van Helsing thing. In the illustration he carries two crossbow/pistols which he is firing off at a group of werewolves. I watch all of the 'medieval weapons' guys for inspiration.
peter blood Cool.
Schadiversity is god chanell as well about this topic.
Warhammer
The drow (dark elves) in D&D have these. Always tipped with poison. There's a novel where a drow bluffed his way through by just pointing his finger at a gap in a dwarf's armour. It was so well known that drow had them that most residents of the underdark recognize the gesture of a drow aiming a poisoned bolt so the dwarf panicked and let him be rather than risk a drow's wrath.
95% now sure it's an urban rich man's rat hunting toy. What else are you going to do if you're a merchant with too much money, but you can't leave the city and don't want to drink, read, or enjoy prostitutes anymore? Do not underestimate the boredom experienced by our ancestors in the pre-TV/Radio/Internet era.
i have a bug a salt gun for hunting flies in my house, so it seems a reasonable explanation to me.
Hold your horses! You don't need to give up prostitutes and booze to enjoy this thing!
Certain breeds of smallish dogs were bred for that. (Ratting, not drinking and ladies of the evening)
Given the antics of late-medieval and early modern era rich people, owning a mini-crossbow like this would be the ultimate in bragging rights. There were plenty of fancy swords, armours, expensive dinners and novelty furniture and novelty clothing accessories that only existed to show them off. "See how rich I am ? I can afford generally useless stuff like this !"
@@ZemplinTemplar Parlor guns for urban people existed all the way until the heavier regulation of firearms. Like Flobert ammunition ones. Also, one of the first ever firearm silencers (for .22LR) was marketed as a device for home entertainment, to shoot at targets with your friends in an apartment house or indoors in the city generally.
This is the basic weapon, but one +3, enchanted with accuracy, using piercing bolts, and the Rapid Reload skill, could be devastating with a back-stab critical multiplier from a shadowed level 12 thief.
Two of my favourite channels together!
cant wait for the jeorge version
I'd love him to show us its features!
He's going to make an automatic self-loading version, I'm sure of it.
I was thinking the same thing, this little crossbow totally has Joege written all over it. He'd make it rubbe powered and capable of going completely through that straw target.
Assassin: "Say hello to my leetle friend!" (twang)
Victim: "Ow! That bloody hurt, you bastard. Ouch, that's really in there. Somebody grab that guy, he just shot me with a tiny crossbow. That really smarts, dammit!"
Arthur Williams my name is inigo montoya you kill my father prepare to die (twang)
ow what the fuck dude that hurts!
[later on]
Victim: "I'm not feeling to good"
Why did I hear that in the voices of John Cheese and Graham Chapman? 😂
Arthur Williams “Awww that’s adorable! Please tell me where you got it. I just get one for my daughter!”
Liked the video. The warm historical presentation and very well done product as I can see. It was fun to watch.
Thank you very much.
I've heard a few times that the notion of toys being "only for children" is kind of a modern idea, and that throughout most of history toys have been a thing for all ages- and not something to be embarrassed by. I don't have a specific source, its just a thing I've hard a few times, but I find it rather likely that is is a fairly classic example of a toy that really isn't for children.
Also, insert obvious sex toy joke
Hobbies are just toys for adults.
firearms on the civilian market are just toys, gun owners may tell themselves that they do it for protecting their home and families, but in fact they just like guns and want to have fun with them at the firing range. Same with sports cars, Ferraris and Lamborghinis don't have any practical purpose, their only purpoe is to be fun to drive.
@@arx3516 While I support gun owners who just use their guns for fun on the range, they are, with the right training, great self defense tools. A good, reliable semi-automatic will definitely deter some attackers and, if they won't back off, cause some damage if need be.
@@Gakulon Okay, please describe a possible (preferably _actual_ but I doubt you'll find one) scenario where said self-defense is in any way plausible.
Frankenstein077 I was delivering pizzas to a bad neighborhood. Two cars blocked my truck in, and a mob of 10 to 12 people rushed my truck. The one in front reached into the front pocket of his hoodie. I was able to produce my .45 before he produced his weapon. The group ran off, and the two cars left hastily. The trend at the time was for gangs to call EMTs, Fire Dept., or delivery drivers in order to ambush and kill them as an initiation. If I was unarmed, I would be dead. You can do a cursory google search and find numerous accounts of civilians successfully defending themselves with guns. I don't know why people insist on being willfully ignorant of this.
I really enjoy these videos with Tod, I hope there are more on the way!
Executive toy... you guys nailed it! just like the desktop mounted .22 gatling gun or trebuchet
So it's the ballistic knife of the 16th century.
6:35 Or maybe the parlor gun of the 16th century...
At least ballistic knives are potentially useful tertiary weapons.
I just think of it like a Deagle. Purely a fun weapon for lulz and to show off on your friends.
Parlor guns were the first thing that sprang to mind. The originals were clearly made for someone with no little disposable income, and the more ornate ones signal or pay tribute to that status.
yep, parlor gun is it exactly
This is really cool. It reminds me of one of the Chinese concealed weapons, the sleeve arrow. It is not intended for assassination, but it was common for the travelers for self-protection during Qing dynasty.
LOL. It probably was a fly passing the microphone or something, but at 3:37 it's like there's a fart followed by Todd's line "So, my gut reaction is that." That cracked me up for a bit
Iol
Hahaha
Wealthy adults toy and perhaps a way for a craftsman to show piece his skills.
I think those two go very well together.
basically a way to play "shoot-a-target" without burning gunpowder, and potentially blowing the gun in your face or dirtying your hands/clothes.
I love this thing, i remember stupidly asking about the draw length many years ago.
I can see three uses for such a thing
1. Less than lethal duelling weapon, for when you want to settle a dispute but you’re too rich and powerful to be killed. So long as you’re far enough away it sticks in the clothes and knocks the wind out of you and that’s all.
2. Rich man’s self defense tool. say you’re riding along in a carriage and some brigand sticks his face in the window and says “oi, give us the gold” pull this out, thwack, no more brigand.
3. Salesman’s sample. look what I can make, you ought hire me to make your widgets.
salesmans sample is brilliant!
yeah i think it's more about option 2. It's a nice self defence weapon, you can load it put it in a drawer and use it quite easely. Shooting it under doesn't look hard either.
You can’t keep crossbows loaded a long time without damaging the bow and reducing the “poundage” and a self defense weapon you need fifteen seconds to crank up with both hands before being used is going to be extremely limited in scope. These were around when pistols were and were expensive. Pistols did the same thing, only better (in a self defense scenari0).
CAP198462 3 is most likely. It’s pretty much a toy, or after dinner archery set like the guy said. I would not trust seriously wounding a person to that dinky thing.
I once read an article on a set of hollow knives that fitted one into another like a set of Russian dolls. They were a sales man's sample from this period, if I recall.
Two legends of RUclips
I heard these things were also used for small game hunting in the recreational context. But looking at the shooting method it would be rather hard to hit small targets.
P.S. Ah, you guys covered this theory in the end.
Pelletbows seemed to be preferred for that among the novelty crossbows of the era. They were a little larger, and the larger physical dimensions added to the stability of the pellets or bullets (balls) instead of bolts. There are plenty of specimens from Germany in particular that were used for 16th and 17th century birdhunting.
When I was in the assassination game I used them all the time....
Assassin's Creed II
If you could, figure out how to build and test the power stroke of various chinese crossbows I would be very very interested. Because the power stroke is fairly long and mainly used mostly a metal or portion of metal for the bolt mainly bronze or iron. I would be really interested how much of a difference a longer power stroke makes vs more western crossbows. Mainly curious on how much power the recurve of the bow is transferred into the bolt with that longer stroke.
i love the look of the guy when Todd is all "oh it'll distract him".
212lbs is nothing to sneeze at.
The craftsmen of the day would produce a "Masterpiece" to qualify, and others to demonstrate their prowess. I think we're in this territory.
Might not have really been used for assassination, but us fantasy authors love weird things like this.
Fantasy is such a gay word. I prefer fictional journalist to fantasy author.
Look up pelletbows, sometimes also known as "balesters". Recreational weapon too, though larger, and some were actually used for practical hunting of smaller prey. Tod has manufactured a few of those as well.
@@jacklonghearse9821 That's just stupid. Journalism is something entirely different...
I love your example of the joules this crossbow has and the stronger air-rifle you can own in the UK. Many people in the tactical world, scientific world, fantasy world (Death Battle is notorious for this), etc all only look at the total force and utterly ignore how the projectile interacts with the target. More force doesn't mean more effectiveness, as Paul Harrell proves.
Want one!! Doubt it'll ever happen, but it's such a nice bit of engineering.
Thinking derringer...personal protection? Being ornate and expensive to produce...maybe used as last line of defense if intruder makes it past royal defenses. (But difficult to conceal carry...maybe bedside? One shot would facilitate an escape distraction) Also agree with some possible ceremonial use. Great and unusual piece of history...
Like flobert parlour pistols. Very nice!
Tod is great, thanks for talking to him again.
I agree that it might not be a signature weapon for assassins, and why would real assassins use signature weapons? It would be too easy to track the maker of these, and then investigate who he sold to, and all these signature assassins, with their signature costumes and weapons who for some reason get together every Sunday in one large group, will be rounded up.
I would call it a "gallery" ballista. Indoor shooting galleries were quite popular amongst the rich of the era of the firearm being a novelty and incredibly expensive weapon
So interesting!
And for those of us that remember physics W=integral(F(x)dx) so if those bows worked like a spring according to hook's law that would be W = 1/2 K X^2. Long story short, double the spring constant(draw weight) you double the kinetic energy in the arrow or bolt. Double the draw distance and you multiply the energy by 4.
Haven't seen anything I want as much in a very long time......excellent!
They're gorgeous, I'd love one given that I had the budget.
Poisons? Insinuitive poisons in that period? Tell us more! =^[.]^=
Raycheetah Read Hamlet! And Romeo+Juliet. Both mention Italian poisons for sword tips.
@@johnfrancisdoe1563 Mentions in literature aren't what I'm looking for. I'd like to know if there is any historical documentation of the nature and effectiveness of period insinuative poisons. ='[.]'=
excrement (often used on arrow heads) was a capable and CHEAP poison back then because they could do very little agains infections. and they probably had more capable, less cheap poisons, too. I mean, it is just a matter of trying. all you need is money, and you can afford to keep trying
@@istvansipos9940 Punji sticks, Vietnam War.
@@Raycheetah the use of curare and poison dart frog secretions have been historically used at that time and far earlier as insinuative poisons.
it's the precursor to the parlour pistol...
of course a true assassin would attach it to his arm...lol
It's a status gift. All prettily engraved and showy, and absolutely impractical. You'd never buy one for yourself, but the Prince is going to remember it when you're looking for that Pizza contract.
They're an example of the craftsman's trade. In much the same way that Navaja makers would make folding blades two feet long. You couldn't use them for anything, but they displayed the skill of the maker.
Reminds me of what's described as an "alley piece" in the Locke Lamora novels.
A couple thoughts. Think about how store clerks and owners keep guns under counters. As for assassination. Well if you can get moderately close to someone but they have to many body guards to get right up to that would work well. Take a room someone is eating at or a bar. You might not be able to get right up to them but taking say a shot from the bar to a booth easy enough with that. Easy to conceal also under a jacket or cloak. Also try and carry a full size weapon through a crowd and try and fire it at someone but from a front row as someone passes by again it would work.Especially with poison. A lot less accurate weapons have been made for assassins. Daggers that fire blades out and other things. You also shouldn't consider it a throw down weapon either. It would be fired quick and easily concealed even could be fired from under or through a cloak and kept concealed.
Serious question, do you know where I could get a high quality steel crossbow arch? The bendy part. Always wanted to make my own little crossbow JUST like that one. 200 lb weight sounds wonderful. Beautiful little machine.
If there is an physicist out there you can fix me on this. But I'm pretty sure that energy has "momentum" and the mass of the device included and is pretty much directly telling of the amount of damage the object is going to do to the target. The main difference between crossbow bolts and airguns in damage is that the crossbow bolt is possibly sharp but 15 joules is 15 joules no matter how light the projectile. Well air resistance works differently for lighter and as such faster things but that is not during the event of impact.
Comparing projectile weapons with these numbers is a bit tricky. I think a way forward would be to look at the velocity of the projectile as it leaves the weapon and the weight of the projectile. From those two you can calculate the kinetic energy (in joules) and that value should be a pretty good benchmark for comparison. If you just look at the draw force (in newtons) and the stroke length (in meters with the appropriate prefix), you are getting into some really complicated territory. As the bolt begins to be pushed by the string, the initial few millimeters should receive the original draw force, but as the string moves forwards, that force should go down quite significantly. So just plugging the numbers into F=ma isn't going to work, since the projectile is being accelerated with a varying force. Sure, that formula can give you an estimate, but why don't we just skip to measuring velocities and masses instead.
While i think its entirely likely this could've been just a status symbol/sport item/toy, i also think its possible, in addition to that, that it was used as an unorthodox dueling weapon; whereby the strategy would be to use it as a one-shot opener to either distract and/or get a lucky wound or decommission them early. I base this off the treatises that suggest to use your spear as a throwing weapon and open with it to create an opening to move in with sword and shield.
How easily does the bolt fall out of the flight groove? That seems like a significant obstacle to carrying it loaded for assassination or as a last resort while hunting.
Yeah, without a bolt catch (eventually adopted by some early modern crossbows), it's not very probable a would-be attacker could have it loaded while walking around, following someone. Loading just before shooting would be a must. Pre-spanning would make sense, though. The bolt-loading is never the longest process in readying a crossbow for shooting. The spanning is (though it's very dependent on type).
as a bowhunter with TRA Syndrome (T-Rex Arms) (25.5" draw length) i can attest to the fact that Draw weight is < Powerstroke in regards to energy transferred in your projectile.
One alternative theory: It's made of metal and quite honestly I doubt it would be possible to make a crossbow that small with such a draw strength out of wood or other more traditional material. The draw strength provides the high projectile speed needed to compensate for the projectile being so small. It could be considered as a medieval equivalent to the 5.7mm or 4.7mm bullets used in the FN P-90 and HK MP7 respectively. Both those weapons are very narrow application weapons useful only in specific circumstances. Could a narrow metal dart travelling at a high enough speed fired from at very short range be able to penetrate armor (although maybe not top of the line armor of the early 16th century) as the modern bullets I mentioned do to ballistic vests?
About the thing he mentioned about the japanese they had a gun that is almost as big as the weilders hand and its an only barrel thing that kinda looks like a matchlock crossbow
I would say it can be something like expensive extravagant gift. There are still gifts like that - for example high quality knifes that are working great but are too expensive to be actually used.
When you're talking about the energy and air rifle stuff. You're actually explaining how "joule creep" works. In snipers for airsoft one usually is limited to velocity 550 fps or some joule limit. messured with .2gram bb's. With such a light projectile you can't put enough energy into it so it gets the okay but with a projectile weigth of 2 or 3 times that you keep more energy and therefore have a "better" weapon that can indeed hurt people.
Sometimes the party ordering the hit wants it to be know that they did the assassination. E.g. using polonium 210
The bolt energy grows as the square of the draw length, e.g. a 100lb bow with 24 inch draw compared to a 3 inch draw on 200lb is a scale factor of 8. Squaredis 64 but the 24" bow has half the draw weight so has 32 times the energy
If you're pulling a thumb trigger back on the top of the bow to fire, it's naturally going to make your shots high. You have to learn to lower your shot based on the distance. Probably equals out with gravity drop at some point thought. Interesting weapon.
Agreed they seem more executive toy just from the cost of having one made. As desirable now as probably then. Boys sure like their toys.
More than lethal enough across a corridor, so possibly for self defence when firearms weren't quite so reliable.
For hunting boar with dogs then it saves using a hunting spear or large hunting knife. The hounds often held the beast and the huntsman finished the job off.
Anyhow, what a fantastic little thing; thanks for sharing.
Most likely it was used in a similar fashion to Flobert parlor rifles/pistols. Floberts were small caliber black powder firearms that were designed to be discharged inside the parlor (hence the name) as a manner of entertainment for wealthy individuals. They're extremely ornate, and designed to have very minimal power and noise. I wouldn't be surprised to find out these were the direct predecessors, or even competitors to the Floberts
It is used to end the enemy rightly if no pommel is available.
Schwarzer Ritter imagine the indignity of being finished off why a crossbow that looks like it’s built for a cat.
Probably the equivalent of a parlor pistol. Like the after dinner archery set mentioned, something for a rich fella to mess around with.
Matt: thats about an inch
Tod: yeah 25 mm
Tod knows his units of measure. Please be more like Tod!
These have one Advantage over an antique pistol: they work in the rain.
could this be armed by pushing the bolt-channel in ? that might go much faster.
I would combine it with a large belt-buckle that has a round Impression matching the stock of the ballestrino, with that you could just press the fired ballestrino against a wall or large desk(or similar), respanning it.
In that combination it might be reloaded faster than a pistol of the time.
the exact idea of a quick reload would be to change the construction so you could slide the trigger and boltchannel forward without unscrewing the screw.
The Name "assassins crossbow" could refer to a self-defendse weapon, wich you need against assassins.
That is if you could keep it nearby in a spanned condition.
Logically, provided that equal "muzzle velocity" could be reached, would it be better to use heavy steel bolts? For a weightier deeper penetrating projectile.
weld another bow under it and you've got Waylanders Crossbow!
also reminds me a bit of the "One shot" crossbow from a couple of Terry Pratchett books...
I think this is a dueling weapon. It's kind of ornate, but not overly so, much like a lot of dueling pistols. That's probably what this thing was for. That said, it would also be useful as a weapon of assassination if you wanted something that would work with 100% reliability. This weapon basically can't malfunction, so if you combined it with a poisoned bolt, this would be viable weapon of assassination in certain environments. I think shooting form crowds or shooting in the rain, those are where this thing would be pretty nasty.
Well, you could imagine assassin-like use. For example for most nobility, it was probably a lot easier to get within 5-10m then a dagger distance. And this one is silent and offers higher chance of escape than a gun.
I think it could be also a self defence weapon.
It probably won't kill your enemy, but even without any poison it is certainly capable of wounding him. And nobody wants to be wounded, so that weapon could prevent someone from attacking you. Pointing it to the enemy would be enough for it to do that job. For the same reason, it could be also used to threaten someone.
Furthermore, it can be easily carried, is easy to use, and it is a weapon that can get wet and still be able to do its job unlike guns from that era.
Would have been cool to see them do some distance tests.
Could it be a version of the small cabinets, made by both apprentices and masters, as demonstrations and advertisements for their skills? I would imagine that if someone who could make one of these they would have no trouble with a full sized weapon?
You said the bolt is 5-6 grams? I'd be curious to see what a bolt made of steel masses and what kind of damage it could do.
3:37, gotta love the farting noise before the "gut reaction" explanation ;-) It cracked me up.
Here's my hypothesis:
It may have been a mixture of status symbol, ethnic/national marker and sports weapon. The northern Italian cities were well-known for their expert crossbowmen during the Late Middle Ages, so this miniature crossbow may have served as a 'national' symbol, carried by the upper classes to show off their wealth, status and identification with their home city. As this weapon was popular at a time when the crossbow was gradually being replaced with black powder weapons, there may have been a degree of romanticising about it. I would envision posh, upper class Italians meeting and having small competitions in an exclusive context, a bit like polo or croquet in the UK.
This is pure speculation of course.
Perhaps a 'walk by' stealth assassination with a poisoned tip? Like the famous Russian/Soviet poisoned umbrella airgun? There would be no blood trail from a dagger or stiletto and just a bolt on its own would be very hard to trace especially if handmade by the assassin themselves in secret, perhaps less so than a knife left in the body so not to be found on the assassin?
Well made video, Matt!
Would be a handy solution to a rat problem possibly, a blunt or broadhead would probably be enough to kill or daze it enough to kill, while still being small and quiet enough to not bother the kids sleeping in the next room. Just a random thought when you mentioned hunting, absolutely beautiful piece and seems like a lot of fun
My grandpa used to kill rats and housemice with homemade blowguns for fun as a boy, he was from a wealthy family too. I think you may be onto something.
Benvenuto Cellini's tale of Tocco's pigeon comes to mind. It must be on line somewhere.
This crossbow would be the secret dream of every lazy aristocratic mouser, then. X-D
"I have to chase down the rat and catch him with my fangs ? Pshaw ! Kitty servant... Start the screw-spanning on that gizmo !"
@@JimGiant Wagering upon a difficult shot seems to have been a pass time of the day. If you had to have worried about damaging property, you probably couldn't have afforded such a 'toy'. If someone wanted to be rid of rats, a large cat or the right breed of dog would seem to have been more effective.
Perhaps using steel bolts for extra mass would allow more energy to be imparted over a short power stroke. Do we know if they ever used steel bolts?
I was just thinking the same - seems like an all-steel, needle shape dart would have enough power at close range to seriously wound someone. Although someone else mentioned (maybe sarcastically) that this would be a good deterrent for stray animals in cities, which was a huge problem back then and continues to be today in countries like India where neutering is not common
emanresu187 certiainly less antisocial than discharging a pistol at every stray dog.
Is it legal to own in Uk? Here in Canada it would be classed as a prohibited weapon.
These would be like the small ornate stone bows used at dinner parties to fling grapes at each other or clay pellets at small tabletop targets I'll bet.
As Todd was saying they're a difficult thing to make, with a great deal of engraving etc. within them, could they simply be a method of demonstrating the skill of the respective creator? As in a show piece that would allow the respective buyer to see the level of craftsmanship they can expect.
Speaking of air rifles, you should do a video on the Girandoni air rifle.
I kinda just want a dart board and needle tips on those bolts and to shoot at the dart board with that. That’d be fun
I'd imagine it could be used in various ways to cripple a target before an up close engagement. Shoot someone in the foot with that and their mobility will be severely hampered. And as much as it's a meme, shooting the knee could also do some decent damage. Of course, if you managed to hit someone in the neck or certain parts of the head, I'm sure it could kill. This is all assuming the crossbow is pre-loaded, because it would take way too long to load during a duel.
Wolfsbane/aconite was the traditional arrow poison from the dark ages to the renaissance. And its a common, easily sighted bright looking flower so applying poison to a weapon that is quiet and which can strike deep isn't that inconceivable.
Could it have been a demo or advertising thing, or an apprentice project.
Or would it fit into the same class as the indoor guns for after dinner, or wet afternoon entertainment. (which is the posh toy idea stated in the video).
You know what? That would be a great present for someone who likes crossbows! And it might be just that.
What about those after dinner archery sets tho? Sounds fun, I also want one of these but I'm broke XD so I may have to try my hand at making one
It could be useful for snail hunting, specifically snails with rabbits riding them. Those are bloody terrifying!
I would suggest this is probably something akin to an early "lady gun" possibly to assist in spurning the advances of any would be malcontent.
About it being easy to track. And the poison, which is also blatant. As an Italian, I can't help but think that you could use this one to assassinate someone and leave a message at the same time.
People who've read the "Traitor Son Cycle" will know it - favourite weapon of Jules Kronmir!
It's basically mechanical lawn darts for people who had time to play around rather than working themselves to death in the fields. It could probably be used as an aid to assassination...but in that case you'd just hire someone to do the deed for you. And they'd hire someone else.
Could it be a duelling weapon? Expensive, very ornate, effectively one shot due to the long reload time and dangerous without necessarily being deadly?
It sounds powerful for such a small crossbow
They were obviously used for playing darts in the Irish pubs in Genoa
Maybe its the equvalent to a modern day handgun. Self defense weapon for everyday carry, if you're a thief it would be very intimidating having that pointed at you. But also something you can have a bit of fun with at the target range.
Were blowguns popular or at least heard of in medieval Europe? Wouldn't that be a better, cheaper and easier method of delivering a poisoned dart?
Considering how forceful a weapon like this could be at close range, perhaps it could have been used or usable as a personal defence weapon by those rich enough to afford it? Given how loud guns are, even early black powder ones, this might have been a preferable way to stop a would-be assailant or intruder. As it seems less lethal than other options, I can still see it incapacitating someone, especially if it were aimed at limbs or the face, and it certainly has range advantages over many melee weapons. I'm not saying it would be the most effective weapon for self-defence, but that doesn't always mean they wouldn't make or sell it for that.
In that way, it might be like a sword in that it can be used both for self-preservation, and showing off your wealth/ power/ status.
would it be any more efective with a metal bolt
quality video. much better than others i feel like
What is the maximum range? 30-40m?