A bolt from the blue

The crossbow was one of the most efficient military weapons of the Middle Ages but the development of portable firearms meant that it was eventually relegated to the museum shelf. The medieval crossbow was accurate and deadly but took some time to load because of the windlass used to wind the string, thus increasing the velocity and range of the bolt, or quarrel. By contrast, the English longbows of Crecy and Agincourt were far less accurate but could fire six arrows in the time taken to shoot one bolt and the continual raining-down of missiles proved more successful in battle than accuracy of aim. This paper describes the homicide of a young business woman outside her London flat in 1987. Today crossbow fatalities are extremely rare on both sides of the Atlantic but Dr Siva described a case of suicide in 1979 and Professor Gresham presented a case of crossbow homicide to the BAFM in June 1976.