This is my second post on weapons and weaponry. Readers of Captured in Amber will realise that of all the equipment a Roman soldier had available, swords and knives are still used, and that crossbows are the main tool for shooting at a distance. Darts have evolved into a pub game, and javelins into a sporting implement. There seem to have been no other developments in nearly two thousand years. Why?
Simply, there has been peace throughout the Roman Empire. The military do not need to look for new weapons to fight a new enemy – they don’t have one.
Why crossbows, rather than the longbow?
In our timeline, medieval longbow training in England was a mandatory, lifelong discipline rooted in royal law. Training unofficially began around age seven, building strength progressively with smaller bows. All able-bodied men and boys (initially ages 15 to 60, later expanded) were required to practice, spending two hours shooting at local targets after church every Sunday.
Warbows required a heavy pull strength of 80 to 180 pounds. Intensive use warped archers’ skeletons, resulting in thickened left wrist and shoulder bones, enlarged left arms, and curved spines.
The longbow and crossbow were the two dominant ranged weapons of medieval Europe, each offering distinct advantages in training, range, and battlefield deployment. This quick comparison shows the difference:
| Feature | Longbow | Crossbow |
| Training Time | Years of constant practice | A few weeks or days |
| Rate of Fire | 10–12 arrows per minute | 1–2 bolts per minute |
| Max Draw Weight | Up to 180 lbs (human power) | Up to 1,000+ lbs (with mechanical aid) |
| Effective Range | Long (200–300 yards) | Medium (150–200 yards) |
| Physical Strain | High (deformed skeletons) | Low (uses mechanical levers) |
Crossbows required very little training, allowing commanders to turn peasants into deadly soldiers quickly. Longbows required a lifetime of mandatory practice; however Agincourt and Crécy demonstrated the advantage of having a trained corps of archers in the English army.
But, in the peaceful world of Captured in Amber, there is no need for an army of archers. Why should people spend a lifetime training (and deforming their bodies) to fire a longbow, when they could simply pick up a crossbow? Of course, there will be some people who enjoy the longbow as a hobby, but for the general population, the crossbow is the long-range weapon of choice.
In fact, the only real need for a weapon that can be used at a distance is for hunting. And so civilian crossbows are the only area of development over the years. They are built lighter, to carry for a day’s hunting of smaller targets; larger animals (like the boar hunt in chapter 90) may demand a more powerful crossbow, but they can be carried by horses. Even small, folding crossbows can be built, that a lady can carry in her bag.
Which leaves one more question, for my next post. Why are there no firearms in the world of Captured in Amber?
