Crossbow Collegia - May 2023

On a somewhat grey afternoon a stalwart few members of the Archduchy of Esperance braved the mundane world to share a collegia on the medieval crossbow with the students of an archery club at Competitive Edge Charter Academy.

Through arcane magics we shared information about the history of the crossbow, how we research, and various uses of the crossbow. Originally coming from the continent to England with the Norman invasion of 1066, the crossbow was banned as a weapon on war by several popes and some kings due to the severe wounds it could impart.

Of course, use of the crossbow against infidels was always in order and the prohibitions against use were not universally respected. In fact, King Richard used the crossbow himself and permitted use in his armies. His eventually death, caused by a crossbow bolt, was seen by some as divine retribution.

Sir Logan provided a further discussion on various purpose designed arrow heads leading to a fair bit of energy as the children attempted to guess what different arrow heads would be used for.

The ability to pass around examples of the arrow heads kept the audience nicely engaged in preparation for the somewhat more dry discussion on the mechanics of the crossbow.

After the completion of the collegium we retired to an exterior area for a rousing game of "shoot the Archduke" which the children appeared to enjoy far too much.

This is how we don't kill our friends