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The Genoese crossbowmen (Italian: Balestrieri genovesi) were a famous military corps of the Middle Ages, which acted both in defense of the Republic of Genoa and as a mercenary force for other Italian or European powers.
Members of the Genoese crossbowmen were trained and organized in Genoa, but also came from other parts of Liguria. They also came from other regions of Montferrat, certain towns of the Plain of the Po, including Pavia, Piacenza and Parma, and Corsica, but were formed and organized in Genoa.[1] Commanders of the companies usually came from the noble families of the city.
Equipment
The main armament of the Genoese crossbowmen was the crossbow, made in Genoa by the Balistrai Corporation. As well, the mercenaries were equipped with a dagger, a light metal helmet, a gorget, a hauberk and a large shield, called a pavese (pavise), which was used while reloading the crossbow. The usual team consisted of a crossbowman and two assistants, one supporting the pavise, the other responsible for spanning a second bow, thus doubling the rate of fire.
The Genoese crossbowmen came to prominence during the First Crusade, when the Genoese commander Guglielmo Embriaco used the corps in the course of the siege of Jerusalem, and again at the Battle of Jaffa in 1192 during the Third Crusade. The Genoese crossbowmen remained one of the most respected military corps until the 16th century, well after the introduction of black-powder weapons in Europe.
The heavy losses created by Genoese crossbows led medieval monarchs to extreme measures. Emperor Frederick II, after the defeat at the siege of Parma triggered by a Genoese sally, ordered that the crossbowmen taken prisoner have their fingers cut off.[2]
During the Battle of Crécy, in August 1346, upwards of 5,000 Genoese crossbowmen, led by Ottone Doria and Carlo Grimaldi, were employed by the French in the first line against the English. Unfortunately the precipitous nature of the French advance to Crécy had meant that the wagons containing the pavises and extra ammunition had been left behind and the crossbowmen found themselves unable to deploy in their usual well-protected teams.[3] At around 4 PM, a sudden rainstorm arose. The English longbowmen simply removed their bowstrings, and stored them under their water-resistant leather caps to keep them dry.[4] Crossbows, on the other hand, cannot be unstrung and restrung without tools. The strings of the crossbows thus became stretched upon being drenched by rain. When the rain-soaked and now-stretched crossbow strings were used roughly an hour later during the initial attack against the emplaced and defending English, the crossbows were largely rendered useless.[4] When the Genoese crossbowmen, unprotected by their usual pavises, came under heavy fire from the English longbowmen, the Genoese commander, Ottone Doria, ordered his troops to retreat. The French knights commanded by Charles II, Count of Alençon behind the Genoese crossbowmen saw this as cowardice and cut them down as they retreated. Most of the crossbowmen were killed, their commander included. Losing only a very small number of soldiers, the English won the battle handily through directed long distance shooting with longbows against the French men-at-arms and the Genoese crossbowmen.[4][5][6]
Notes
^Romanoni, Fabio. ""Boni balistrarii de ripperia Ianue". Balestrieri genovesi attraverso due cartulari del 1357, in "Archivio Storico Italiano", CLXVIII (2010)". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^"The Crossbow - A Medieval Doomsday Device?". Military History Now. 23 May 2012.
^N F Green: Lives and Times of the Garter Knights 1348-1600 pp16-17
^ abcMalleson, George Bruce (1875). Studies from Genoese History. Longmans, Green & co. pp. 271-272. OCLC 4029021. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
^David Nicolle: Failure of an Elite - The Genoese at Crécy 2009-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
^Donald F. Featherstone, The History of the English Longbow (1993)
January 07, 2023
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian February 2013 Click show for important translation instructions Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 2 719 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at it Balestrieri genovesi see its history for attribution You should also add the template Translated it Balestrieri genovesi to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Genoese crossbowmen news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Genoese crossbowmen Italian Balestrieri genovesi were a famous military corps of the Middle Ages which acted both in defense of the Republic of Genoa and as a mercenary force for other Italian or European powers Genoese crossbowmen during Battle of Crecy Armed with crossbows they fought both on land and in naval battles notable cases of the latter are the battles of Meloria and Curzola Contents 1 Membership 2 Equipment 3 History 4 NotesMembership EditMembers of the Genoese crossbowmen were trained and organized in Genoa but also came from other parts of Liguria They also came from other regions of Montferrat certain towns of the Plain of the Po including Pavia Piacenza and Parma and Corsica but were formed and organized in Genoa 1 Commanders of the companies usually came from the noble families of the city Equipment EditThe main armament of the Genoese crossbowmen was the crossbow made in Genoa by the Balistrai Corporation As well the mercenaries were equipped with a dagger a light metal helmet a gorget a hauberk and a large shield called a pavese pavise which was used while reloading the crossbow The usual team consisted of a crossbowman and two assistants one supporting the pavise the other responsible for spanning a second bow thus doubling the rate of fire History Edit Fresco by Lazzaro Tavarone at the Palazzo Cattaneo Adorno depicting the crossbowmen of Genoa during the storming of Jerusalem The Genoese crossbowmen came to prominence during the First Crusade when the Genoese commander Guglielmo Embriaco used the corps in the course of the siege of Jerusalem and again at the Battle of Jaffa in 1192 during the Third Crusade The Genoese crossbowmen remained one of the most respected military corps until the 16th century well after the introduction of black powder weapons in Europe The heavy losses created by Genoese crossbows led medieval monarchs to extreme measures Emperor Frederick II after the defeat at the siege of Parma triggered by a Genoese sally ordered that the crossbowmen taken prisoner have their fingers cut off 2 During the Battle of Crecy in August 1346 upwards of 5 000 Genoese crossbowmen led by Ottone Doria and Carlo Grimaldi were employed by the French in the first line against the English Unfortunately the precipitous nature of the French advance to Crecy had meant that the wagons containing the pavises and extra ammunition had been left behind and the crossbowmen found themselves unable to deploy in their usual well protected teams 3 At around 4 PM a sudden rainstorm arose The English longbowmen simply removed their bowstrings and stored them under their water resistant leather caps to keep them dry 4 Crossbows on the other hand cannot be unstrung and restrung without tools The strings of the crossbows thus became stretched upon being drenched by rain When the rain soaked and now stretched crossbow strings were used roughly an hour later during the initial attack against the emplaced and defending English the crossbows were largely rendered useless 4 When the Genoese crossbowmen unprotected by their usual pavises came under heavy fire from the English longbowmen the Genoese commander Ottone Doria ordered his troops to retreat The French knights commanded by Charles II Count of Alencon behind the Genoese crossbowmen saw this as cowardice and cut them down as they retreated Most of the crossbowmen were killed their commander included Losing only a very small number of soldiers the English won the battle handily through directed long distance shooting with longbows against the French men at arms and the Genoese crossbowmen 4 5 6 Notes Edit Romanoni Fabio Boni balistrarii de ripperia Ianue Balestrieri genovesi attraverso due cartulari del 1357 in Archivio Storico Italiano CLXVIII 2010 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help The Crossbow A Medieval Doomsday Device Military History Now 23 May 2012 N F Green Lives and Times of the Garter Knights 1348 1600 pp16 17 a b c Malleson George Bruce 1875 Studies from Genoese History Longmans Green amp co pp 271 272 OCLC 4029021 Retrieved February 13 2019 David Nicolle Failure of an Elite The Genoese at Crecy Archived 2009 10 15 at the Wayback Machine Donald F Featherstone The History of the English Longbow 1993 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Genoese crossbowmen amp oldid 1125116133, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
