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The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the medieval
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 European
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 crossbow
Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a Bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word Ballista, a siege engine resembling a crossbow in mechanism and appearance....
. A larger weapon
Weapon

A weapon is a tool used to apply or threaten to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack or defense in combat, subduing enemy personnel, or to destroy enemy weapons, equipment and defensive structures....
, the arbalest had a steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
 prod ("bow"). Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbow
Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a Bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word Ballista, a siege engine resembling a crossbow in mechanism and appearance....
s, and because of the greater tensile strength
Tensile strength

Tensile strength , or is the Stress at which a material breaks or permanently deforms. Tensile strength is an Intensive and extensive properties and, consequently, does not depend on the size of the test specimen....
 of steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
, it had a greater force. The strongest windlass
Windlass

A windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder , which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt....
-pulled arbalests could have up to 22 kN
Newton

The newton is the International System of Units SI derived unit of force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on classical mechanics....
 (5000 lbf
Pound-force

The pound-force or simply pound is a Units of measurement of force....
) strength and be accurate up to 500 m. A skilled arbalestier (arblaster) could shoot two bolt
Quarrel

A quarrel or bolt is the term for the ammunition used in a crossbow. The name "quarrel" is derived from the French language carr?, "square", referring to the fact that they typically have square heads....
s per minute.






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The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the medieval
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 European
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 crossbow
Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a Bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word Ballista, a siege engine resembling a crossbow in mechanism and appearance....
. A larger weapon
Weapon

A weapon is a tool used to apply or threaten to apply force for the purpose of hunting, attack or defense in combat, subduing enemy personnel, or to destroy enemy weapons, equipment and defensive structures....
, the arbalest had a steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
 prod ("bow"). Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbow
Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a Bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word Ballista, a siege engine resembling a crossbow in mechanism and appearance....
s, and because of the greater tensile strength
Tensile strength

Tensile strength , or is the Stress at which a material breaks or permanently deforms. Tensile strength is an Intensive and extensive properties and, consequently, does not depend on the size of the test specimen....
 of steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
, it had a greater force. The strongest windlass
Windlass

A windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder , which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt....
-pulled arbalests could have up to 22 kN
Newton

The newton is the International System of Units SI derived unit of force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on classical mechanics....
 (5000 lbf
Pound-force

The pound-force or simply pound is a Units of measurement of force....
) strength and be accurate up to 500 m. A skilled arbalestier (arblaster) could shoot two bolt
Quarrel

A quarrel or bolt is the term for the ammunition used in a crossbow. The name "quarrel" is derived from the French language carr?, "square", referring to the fact that they typically have square heads....
s per minute. Arbalests were sometimes considered inhumane or unfair weapons, since an inexperienced arbalestier could use one to kill a knight
Knight

File:Gothic armor 2.jpgKnight is the term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry....
 who had a lifetime of training.

The term arbalest is sometimes used interchangeably with crossbow. 'Arbalest' is Medieval French corruption from the Roman name arcuballista for crossbow; Modern French uses the word arbalète, which is linguistically one step further from the stem (disappearance of the s phoneme in the last syllable before t). The word applies for both crossbow and arbalest (the latter may be referred to as heavy crossbow, but an actual heavy crossbow may not be the same as an arbalest). In some cases, the word has been used to refer to the people who actually used the weapon.