A repeating crossbow is a crossbow where the separate actions of stringing the bow, placing the bolt and shooting it can be accomplished with a simple one-handed movement while keeping the crossbow stationary. This allows a higher rate of fire than a normal crossbow: there is a magazine containing a number of bolts on top of the bow, and the mechanism is worked by moving a rectangular lever forward and backward. More complex ancient designs such as the Polybolos worked with a chain drive instead.
Read more about Repeating Crossbow: History, Bow String, Power
Famous quotes containing the word repeating:
“If these were only words that I am speaking
Indifferent sounds and not the heraldic-ho
Of the clear sovereign that is reality,
Of the clearest reality that is sovereign,
How should I repeat them, keep repeating them....”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)