Crossbow With Jalet 16th-17th Century - Wood And Wrought Iron -

Crossbow with Jalet France or Italy, 16th - 17th Century. Wood, steel, H. 19 cm, W. 45 cm, D. 37 cm approximately. The photos indicate the condition of the object quite well. The stock is missing. The wood, formerly worm-eaten, remains solid. All the ironwork is rusty but also solid. Reputed to be reserved for hunting small game, the crossbow nonetheless remains a very powerful weapon of war. Although its military use was condemned by the Second Lateran Council (1139) and its prohibition confirmed by successive popes, the kings of France and England developed units of crossbowmen. This was a bad thing for Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199), who was mortally wounded by a bolt. The jalet, a small round projectile made of clay or lead, supplanted the old plates in the 16th century. Our jalet crossbow is one of the examples of its kind.