Genoese crossbowmen
Medieval mercenary corps known for crossbow expertise.
Their effectiveness in battle sometimes provoked extreme responses from medieval rulers.[1] Genoa was the training and organizational center for these mercenary soldiers, whose recruitment pool extended into other areas of Liguria.[2] Noble families from Genoa typically supplied the commanders for these companies.[2]
Quick Facts
- Notable battles
- Meloria, Curzola
- Prominent period
- First Crusade to 16th century
- Battle of crécy
- August 1346
- Commanders at crécy
- Ottone Doria, Carlo Grimaldi
- Number at crécy
- Upwards of 5,000
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Emperor Frederick II ordered that captured Genoese crossbowmen have their fingers cut off after a defeat at the siege of Parma.[1] The French advance to Crécy left behind the wagons carrying the crossbowmen's pavises and extra ammunition.[3] A sudden rainstorm at around 4 PM soaked the crossbow strings, which could not be unstrung without tools.[3][4] The rain-stretched crossbow strings were largely useless when used about an hour later against the English.[4]
When the unprotected Genoese crossbowmen retreated under English longbow fire, French knights behind them cut them down as cowards.[4][5] In August 1346, the French deployed over 5,000 Genoese crossbowmen under Ottone Doria and Carlo Grimaldi at the Battle of Crécy.[3] To protect their bowstrings from moisture, English longbowmen took them off and placed them beneath waterproof leather caps.[4] The commander and the majority of the crossbowmen perished.[5]
What the cited sources add
The same source notes that members came from Montferrat, towns of the Po plain, and Corsica, and that commanders came from Genoese noble families.[2] That article also describes Frederick II ordering the fingers cut off captured Genoese crossbowmen after the siege of Parma.[1] According to a 2012 Military History Now piece, medieval monarchs resorted to drastic actions because of the severe casualties inflicted by Genoese crossbows.[1]
References
- Wikipedia, "Genoese crossbowmen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Crossbow - A Medieval Doomsday Device?", Military History Now, 23 May 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Genoese crossbowmen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Romanoni, ""Boni balistrarii de ripperia Ianue". Balestrieri genovesi attraverso due cartulari del 1357, in "Archivio Storico Italiano", CLXVIII (2010)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Genoese crossbowmen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: N F Green: Lives and Times of the Garter Knights 1348-1600 pp16-17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Genoese crossbowmen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Malleson, "Studies from Genoese History", Longmans, Green & co, 1875, p. 271-272 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Genoese crossbowmen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Malleson, "Studies from Genoese History", Longmans, Green & co, 1875, p. 271-272; David Nicolle: Failure of an Elite - The Genoese at Crécy; Donald F. Featherstone, The History of the English Longbow (1993) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Genoese crossbowmen (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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