![]() They were, he said, “Hateful to God and unfit for Christians.” Fearing the crossbow’s destabilizing potential, the Christian countries of Europe obeyed Innocent’s proclamation. This fear led to perhaps the first enactment of “gun control” laws: In 1139, Pope Innocent III issued a papal bull that outlawed the use of crossbows. If ready-to-use weapons like this got into the hands of insurgents or heretics, well, that could shake the foundations of government and religion. ![]() Too easy, according to medieval European government and religious officials. With crossbows, an iron lever called a “goat’s foot” allowed a bowman to apply leverage, which made it much easier to pull back and cock the heavy bowstring. A longbow’s power came from the bowman’s arm: He had to bend the heavy bow by hand, which could require him to apply more than a hundred pounds of force. Unlike longbows, which required years of practice to use effectively, crossbows could be used immediately. Nearly 700 years later, Europeans rediscovered the technology-and it became a game changer. The Romans invented the crossbow, but after this promising start, it disappeared from most Western armories.
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