Arbalest

The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the medieval European crossbow coming into use during the 12th century. A large weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod ("bow"). Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force. The strongest windlass-pulled arbalests could have up to 22 kN (5000 lbf) of force and be accurate up to 300 m. A skilled arbalestier (arblaster) could shoot two bolts per minute.