Medieval Crossbow Attachments & Assassinations?

by CptJeiSparrow

So I'm a Medieval reenactor (time period 1066-1485, area Europe - mainly England) looking to make my Crossbow somewhat more interesting.

Small ones are easy to set up, hide under a cloak and walk up to someone, fire a shot at point blank and walk away fluidly. Likewise, large ones are optimal for sniping from massive distances, my brother estimates some of the most powerful ones might be able to travel 200-300 metres with very little bullet drop.

So I'd like to become a Medieval assassin, but I'm not too well-informed on the subject, so may I ask:

  • Are there records for Crossbows being used for assassination methods?
  • Are there records for Crossbows having attachments (i.e a Bipod, Bolt Rack for quicker reload etc)?
  • I know poison is a big one, but what other tools/techniques would hired killers use at the time for their assassination methods?
Valkine

I'm not aware of any records of crossbows being used as close up assassination weapons. The only record I can think of involving a major killing via crossbow was Richard I but he was shot at a siege. It's very possible that I'm forgetting something, though.

The archaeological evidence for medieval crossbows, particularly those from Europe, suggests that most crossbows were roughly two and a half feet long. That said there is a noticeable variance in individual crossbows so averages don't fully capture the full spectrum of possibilities. The archaeological record, especially for the earlier centuries of your stated time period, can be a bit spotty at times as well. That all said, the shortest crossbow I've studied was still a foot and a half long and was from the sixteenth century. It's in the Swedish Royal Armoury and their digital database is pretty great so you can look it up if you'd like. It should be ID 6815 (4698) assuming my database is right.

There was a series of articles in the Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries about a possible assassins crossbow which I believe was from the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. I'm not 100% certain on that, though, since it has been a while since I read the articles and I'm away from my notes right now. There were a few articles on the subject and certainly some debate as to the origin and use of the weapon but they're probably worth looking up if you're interested in them. I can probably dig around and find the exact references if you'd like.

For accessories the only ones I'm aware of are the usual suspects: spanning devices and quivers for bolts. I don't know of any bipods for crossbows and I'm not sure if it would help that much. These weapons were often supported by the armpit rather than against the shoulder so there wouldn't be much benefit to one anyway. Complex spanning devices were usually indicative of greater power, and thus greater reload times, than simpler belt hooks.

In general the really interesting and more eccentric accessories and design elements for crossbows emerged in the sixteenth century, later than your dates you gave. Honestly if you wanted to sneak up on someone and kill them you were probably best off with a wheel-lock pistol, another sixteenth century invention, or a dagger.