One bow that may have been used by the crusaders was the forerunner of the English longbow. It was a simple wooden bow made out of a single piece of wood. About five feet in length, the wooden bow could pull between 30 and 50 pounds in weight and shoot an arrow that was approximately 28 inches long (Bradford 100).
In spite of the simple wooden bow, or shortbow being used in the crusades, the bow that made its mark for the European forces was the crossbow. The crossbow could be used most successfully in situations where its slow rate of fire would not be a handicap. In the defense of a castle the crossbow was a deadly weapon, as in the open country where the Islamic forces could be seen coming well in advance. The crossbow was equal in range and superior in penetration to the composite bow used by the Muslims. However it could not be used as a mounted weapon since the archer would have to put his foot through a stirrup at the point of the crossbow where the two sections intersect to draw the bow back. This was achieved in a variety of different ways. The simplest of these ways was the use of a spanning belt. It consisted of a steel hook attatched to a strong girdle or belt. "With one foot in the crossbow's stirrup, the crossbowman stooped, engaged the hook on the cord and straightened, thus drawing the cord to the nut" (Reid 45). (Hurley 141, Bradbury 77)