Crossbows and quarrels from the ethnological collections

The crossbow was a weapon used for hunting and warfare. The parts of the weapon are the stock or tiller, the prod attached horizontally to one end, the string and the stirrup. On the upper side of the tiller is a recess in which is the roller nut. Below the tiller is the trigger.

Based on arrowheads found in the ground, it has been concluded that the crossbow was used in Finland as early as the 14th century. The oldest crossbows had a wooden prod. Later, the prod was reinforced with bone inlays. In Finland, iron and steel prods became more common towards the end of the 16th century. The more durable the material, the better the range of the weapon. The string was made of flax or hemp or sometimes also of animal sinew or twine braided from intestines.

The tiller was made of wood but reinforced on the bottom, top and sides with bone. The tiller has a large recess by the roller nut, so it folds easily at that point. From around the 1660s onwards, the sides of the tiller started to be reinforced with iron bars.

The crossbow was spanned with the help of a pulley. The tiller was held upright at an angle so that the stirrup was on the ground. The crossbowman placed his foot in the stirrup and then the bowstring on the hooks of the pulley. The pulley was attached by a short strap to a wide spanning belt at the crossbowman’s waist and, when the crossbowman straightened his back, the pulley pulled the string into the roller nut on the tiller. The roller nut locked the string so that an arrow or quarrel could be placed in front of it. The tiller had a groove for the arrow. The weapon was fired using the long iron trigger below the tiller.

Crossbows were used as hunting weapons in Finland but, in Europe, they were also popular war weapons. In Finland, the crossbow was usually fired from the “hip”, meaning that the tiller rested on the crossbowman’s underarm or side. This prevented the tiller from kicking painfully into the shoulder when fired.

Arrows and quarrels

When hunting with bows, different arrows were used depending on what was being hunted. Arrows were either sharp-tipped, flat-tipped, blunt or pronged. The sharp arrows usually had an iron or bony point and were used to shoot predators. The blunt-tipped quarrels were mainly used to catch small furry animals, such as squirrels and pine martens, whose valuable skin was not to be damaged by a sharp arrowhead.

The arrows were feathered with a few feathers that tilted slightly to the sides. The feathers were tied to the arrow with a string, and tar was then applied to the surface of the braid. When fired, the feathers caused the arrow to rotate, which increased the accuracy of the shot.

Hunters were often assisted by “arrow boys”, who would knock on tree trunks to get squirrels moving. They would also search the ground for fallen arrows and squirrels.

Kerttuli Hoppa