History Main / BowsVersusCrossbows

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina'': Vex, deprived of her normal bow during a fight in "Shadows of the Gates", is disgusted when she has to take a crossbow off a guard.
--> ''Vex'': A trigger? Ew.

[[caption-width-right:300:Genoese crossbows versus English longbows.[[note]]Cut off on the left: a retreating Genoese crossbowman [[ShotInTheAss with an arrow stuck in his arse]].[[/note]]]]

Bows carry an air of elitism about them, in a manner of speaking. While almost anyone could be taught to use a crossbow in relatively short time, and as such large armies with less training were equipped with them, a bow requires many years of practice to be truly good at. Thus anyone using a bow in a fight is likely to have many more years of training, and potentially be more of a career fighter. Going along with that, a truly great archer with a bow generally can be more lethal than a great archer with a crossbow, due to how much faster their shooting rate could be.

Crossbows were the first of the two to disappear from European warfare, since by the 16th century the arquebus[[note]]an early gun that was the first really practical small arm[[/note]] had stolen its niche as the mass point-and-shoot weapon of the battlefield; crossbows continued to stick around around as recreational and hunting weapons. For another century or more the English tried to supplement arquebus armies with units of longbowmen because they could still beat the arquebus in shooting speed. However, the ease of equipping and training soldiers with guns and the dwindling numbers of skilled warbow archers eventually retired the bow from warfare as well. Western Europe was actually a bit of an outlier in terms of how early they gave up military archery, since warriors in many other parts of Eurasia liked to arm themselves with both musket and bow for different applications well into the 19th century.

** ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition fifth edition]] continues the "crossbows more powerful but fire more slowly" style of this trope... unless you take the Crossbow Expert feat, which [[RemovedAchillesHeel removes crossbows' shots-per-round limit]] and makes Heavy Crossbows essentially the strongest ranged weapon in the game.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Elves are divided into three factions; the "good" and "neutral" (in that they're merely insular, xenophobic, and obnoxious) High and Wood Elves, and the evil (in that they're murder-worshiping psychopathic slavers; no [[GreyAndGrayMorality grey]] here) Dark Elves. The first two have bows and longbows as their primary ranged weapons, while the Dark Elves favor AutomaticCrossbows.

Despite being very different weapons, each built with a different purpose in mind, in many {{Fantasy}} settings, standard bows and crossbows seem to be at odds with each other. For instance, Mooks are more likely to have crossbows, while heroes get regular bows. Less graceful, more 'brutish' or 'brute force' characters get crossbows while the graceful characters get arrows.

Bows also carry an air of elitism about them, in a manner of speaking. While almost anyone could be taught to use a crossbow in relatively short time, and as such large masses of people with less training were equipped with them, a bow requires many years of practice to be truly good at. Thus anyone using a bow in a fight is likely to have many more years of training, and potentially be more of a career fighter. Going along with that, a truly great archer with a bow generally can be more lethal than a great archer with a crossbow, due to how much faster their shooting rate could be.

Based on the fact that men are stronger than women on average, fictional stories sometimes portray men using crossbows and women using bows, the notion being that crossbows are utilitarian and brutal while bows are elegant and rely on finesse rather than brute strength. In reality, if you were going to train men and women to use different weapons it should be the other way around: crossbows with spanning devices would allow women to repeatedly shoot powerful bolts without tiring even if they have less raw upper body strength, while a man (or indeed any person) with greater strength could handle a bow with a heavy enough draw to yield respectable range and penetrating power, and use it to shoot more rapidly than with a crossbow.

Crossbows were the first of the two to disappear from European warfare, since by the 16th century the arquebus[[note]]a long-barrelled, smooth-bored matchlock firearm that was the first really practical small arm[[/note]] had stolen its niche as the mass point-and-shoot weapon of the battlefield; crossbows continued to stick around around as recreational and hunting weapons. For another century or more the English tried to supplement arquebus armies with units of longbowmen because they could still beat the arquebus in shooting speed. However, the ease of equipping and training soldiers with guns and the dwindling numbers of skilled warbow archers eventually retired the bow from warfare as well. Western Europe was actually a bit of an outlier in terms of how early they gave up military archery, since warriors in many other parts of Eurasia liked to arm themselves with both musket and bow for different applications well into the 19th century.

** ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Unless they're playing a SquishyWizard, most players will never even touch a crossbow. Bows allow you to add your Strength bonus to your ranged attacks (if you had a mighty composite bow, which was more expensive than a normal bow but still easy for most PCs to afford by third or fourth level), while crossbows can only use a single die roll with no bonuses aside from weapon enchantments. Also, when at higher levels, bows can be fired multiple times per round, while crossbows can still only be fired once, unless you take the Rapid Reload Feat or it's a Repeating Crossbow (five shots per round before needing to recharge, and as an Exotic Weapon you need a different feat to use it, making it worse than a Light Crossbow with Rapid Reload).
** ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition fifth edition]] continues the "crossbows more powerful but fire more slowly" style of this trope... unless you take the Crossbow Expert feat, which [[RemovedAchillesHeel removes crossbows' shots-per-round limit]] and makes Heavy Crossbows strictly the strongest ranged weapon in the game.

* In the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series, crossbows have only been widely available in the [[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins first game]], whereas later installments only offer drawn bows and magic as ranged combat options, with Varric's token AutomaticCrossbow Bianca being the only exception. Interestingly, the advantages of using crossbows, particularly in large scale deployments where common footsoldiers need to be trained to shoot within limited time, are {{discussed|Trope}} by Varric and Solas during PartyBanter in ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Inquisition]]'', but the PlayerParty is still restricted to using bows and Bianca. Enemies, particularly Darkspawn, still carry them on occasion.

* Apparently, the crossbow was, at first, considered "vile" and unfair compared to the bow. The Church also had a dim view of ranged weapons at certain points in history. In a bit of a subversion, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Council_of_the_Lateran Second Council of the Lateran, Canon 29]] decreed the ban of missile weapons - such as bows ''and'' crossbows - in battles between Christian armies. They were [[MoralMyopia still permitted against Muslim or pagan armies, though]]. The oft-repeated myth that "the Papacy banned crossbows, specifically crossbows" is ''[[ThemeParkVersion just that,]]'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH431Lguuis a misconception.]] Medieval polities and armies being what they were, military crossbow usage continued unhindered...

* One popculture cliché surrounding crossbows is that they could only be constructed by advanced cultures knowledgeable about metallurgy. Historically, crossbows were used and invented independently by a wide array of cultures, including ones with little to no knowledge of metalworking. These crossbows tended to be all-wooden in construction, with the bowstring the only non-wooden part. They also had simplified trigger and release mechanisms, most lacking a nut altogether. However, as a consequence of that simpler design from more readily available materials, they were usually relegated to the role of hunting weapons, or self-defence weapons for use against unarmoured opponents, and were not military crossbows. Good for hunting birds, quadrupeds or even smaller water-dwelling animals, or protecting your home, but not weapons of war. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk5drua6sK4 An early medieval]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWiZpenRGx8 European example,]] [[http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/arms_and_armour_-_africa_20101126_1888203229.jpg West]] [[http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/fan-crossbow.jpg African]] examples, and an [[http://www.inuitcontact.ca/index.php/en/artifact/312 Inuit]] [[http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/tools_crossbow.jpg example.]]

** The game also follows the "bows good, crossbows bad" trope with the two major elf races: surface elves, being traditional Tolkien-style elves, favor longbows, while drow prefer crossbows, especially hand crossbows (a pistol-sized version typically used to deliver poison or tranquilizers). Since drow live underground, longbows can be cumbersome in close quarters.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Elves are divided into three factions; the "good" and "neutral" (in that they're merely insular, xenophobic, and hugely obnoxious) High and Wood Elves, and the evil (in that they're murder-worshiping psychopathic slavers; no [[GreyAndGrayMorality grey]] here) Dark Elves. The first two have bows and longbows as their primary ranged weapons, while the Dark Elves favor AutomaticCrossbows.

* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi: In ''Out-of-Dungeon Experiences'', 'dark elves', in comparison to the Light surfacer "elves":
--> They also seemed to have exchanged the traditional elven weapon of bow and arrows for crossbows.

* In ''Film/KingArthur2004'', the heroic knights and their Pictish allies all wield bows of one sort or another; their evil Saxon enemies carry somewhat anachronistic crossbows.
* In ''Film/TheLastSamurai'', Omura's hired ninja assassins open their attack on Katsumoto's village using small compact crossbows, while the samurai shoot back with bows and arrows.
* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'', the heroic humans and Elves use bows while the evil Uruk-hai use crossbows (never mentioned in [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings the original book]]) at the siege of Helm's Deep.
* In ''Film/TheMessengerTheStoryOfJoanOfArc'', the protagonists are French and have crossbowmen and their enemies bow-wielding English.

Crossbows were the first of the two to disappear from European warfare, since by the 16th century the arquebus had stolen its niche as the mass point-and-shoot weapon of the battlefield; crossbows continued to stick around around as recreational and hunting weapons. For another century or more the English tried to supplement arquebus armies with units of longbowmen because they could still beat the arquebus in shooting speed. However, the ease of equipping and training soldiers with guns and the dwindling numbers of skilled warbow archers eventually retired the bow from warfare as well. Western Europe was actually a bit of an outlier in terms of how early they gave up military archery, since warriors in many other parts of Eurasia liked to arm themselves with both musket and bow for different applications well into the 19th century.

* Shows up in ''Literature/RangersApprentice'' with surprising historical accuracy. The WeaponOfChoice of the rangers is the bow because they have the time and training to become experts at using it. The bow allows them to fire off many shots very quickly while their training means they rarely miss. On the other hand, crossbows tend to show up in the hands of guardsmen and villains who need to be able to kill things at a distance without needing to master a weapon.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' has bows and bowguns. Bows are more mobile and can be charged while on the move (though this drains stamina), and charging is in fact crucial due to the low damage for each individual arrow. But multiple can be fire at once based on the bow's innate quality, you do not have to worry about ammunition, and elemental damage is built in to specific bows (though you will have to use coatings for status effects). Bowguns are less mobile and have limited (though replenishable through purchasing or crafting) ammunition you have to reload, and storage space is at a premium for them due to many bows having room for more ammunition types than your inventory does, but this makes it somewhat more bearable to deal with multiple monsters with different elemental weaknesses. Bowguns themselves are further split between Light and Heavy versions, with the {{LBG}} having a faster movement speed and "Rapid Fire" on certain ammunition types that let multiple shots be fired from a single round of ammunition for a small damage penalty (making it deal for inflicting status ailments), whereas a {{HBG}} will have you move at a crawl while it's drawn, but allow for "Artillery Mode", letting you stay rooted in one place and drastically increasing the magazine size and fire rate for certain ammunition types. On top of ''all of that'', you can also optionally remove the limiters on Bowguns, and trading the Rapid or Artillery shots in exchange for using a special, high-damage type of ammunition and either load all your ammunition at once and eliminate the need for reloading, or increase damage and clip size.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Drakensang}}'', this trope can be seen as another way to underline the slight ElvesVersusDwarves trope, with Elves using mostly "natural" weapons like bows, spears, daggers and, rarely, swords, while the Dwarves are fond of using heavy weapons and crossbows, especially big ones to take down [[FantasticRacism Dragons]]. In-game the standard assumption is followed: bows deal less damage but can be reloaded istantly (except the largest Longbow, which takes two turns) while crossbows and arbalests packs a bigger punch but take from two to four rounds to reload, though you can choose a feat that halves the reloading time of crossbows; as a result, Bows were generally better at long-distance fighting. This was toned down in the sequel, were none of the bows has a reload time and even the biggest crossbow (which is also one of the most damaging weapons stat-wise) take at most two rounds to reload, and the above mentioned feat is still avaible.

* [[CurbStompBattle The battle of Crecy]] during UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar undoubtedly did much to give rise to some of the common assumptions about the two weapons. Earlier in the day before the battle, the French had slogged through rain and mud to reach the area where the English had set up position. The Genoese crossbowmen mercenaries who fought on the French side were ordered forward to begin firing a first wave against the English position, despite the fact that their bowstrings were wet from the rain and the large shields called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavise Pavises]] that the crossbowmen would duck behind while reloading were stuck in the army's baggage train. Predictably, the crossbowmen could barely even reach the English lines with their shots due to the bowstrings being weakened, while [[RainOfArrows the return fire from the English longbows]] cut the exposed crossbowmen (and the French knights who tried charging the English afterwards, trampling the survivors) down like grass. The page image is a cropped version of a 15th century illustration that accompanied a chronicle compiled by a contemporary who fought on the English side, available in its entirely as the leading image for the page about the battle on Wiki/TheOtherWiki.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Despite theoretically being together to help their allies Franchise/WonderWoman Franchise/{{Batman}}, ContinuitySnarl/DonnaTroy and ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} when ComicBook/{{Artemis}} (who uses a tall drawn bow) and ComicBook/{{Huntress}} (who uses a crossbow) first meet they can't stop arguing, insult each other's weapon of choice and repeatedly nearly come to shooting at each other despite the enemies they could be focusing on. They finally start truly working together once Tim Drake and [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie Sandsmark]] show up.

** ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Unless they're playing a SquishyWizard, most players will never even touch a crossbow. Bows allow you to add your Strength bonus to your ranged attacks, while crossbows can only use a single die roll. Also, when at higher levels, bows can be fired multiple times per round, while crossbows can still only be fired once, unless you take the appropriate Feat or it's a Repeating Crossbow (five shots per round before needing to recharge).

* In the 2004 ''Film/KingArthur'' film, the heroic knights and their Pictish allies all wield bows of one sort or another; their evil Saxon enemies carry somewhat anachronistic crossbows.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Despite theoretically being together to help their allies Franchise/WonderWoman Franchise/{{Batman}}, ContinuitySnarl/DonnaTroy and ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} when ComicBook/{{Artemis}} (who uses a tall drawn bow) and ComicBook/{{Huntress}} (who uses a crossbow) first meet they can't stop arguing, insult each other's weapon of choice and repeatedly nearly come to shooting at each other despite the enemies they could be focusing on. They finally start truly working together once [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim]] and [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie]] show up.

[[folder:Fanfic]]

Related to FantasyGunControl, in which crossbows tend to stand in for absent guns. See also KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter.

* Apparently, the crossobow was, at first, considered "vile" and unfair compared to the bow. The Church also had a dim view of ranged weapons at certain points in history. In a bit of a subversion, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Council_of_the_Lateran Second Council of the Lateran, Canon 29]] decreeted the ban of missile weapons - such as ''bows and crossbows'' - in battles between Christian armies. They were [[LoopholeAbuse still permitted against Muslim or pagan armies, though]]. The oft-repeated myth that "the Papacy banned crossbows, specifically crossbows" is ''[[ThemeParkVersion just that,]]'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH431Lguuis a misconception.]] Medieval polities and armies being what they were, military crossbow usage continued unhindered...

** ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIV'' on the other hand introduce separate archers and crossbowmen unit lines. Archers are cheaper, available earlier and fire faster, but struggle against armored units due to their low damage. Crossbowmen on the other hand are more expensive and fire slower, but they explicitly deal bonus damage against armored units.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3.5: Unless they're playing a SquishyWizard, most players will never even touch a crossbow. Bows allow you to add your Strength bonus to your ranged attacks, while crossbows can only use a single die roll. Also, when at higher levels, bows can be fired multiple times per round, while crossbows can still only be fired once, unless you take the appropriate Feat or it's a Repeating Crossbow (five shots per round before needing to recharge).

* In ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' V, most civilizations upgrade from bowmen to crossbowmen in the Medieval Era. However, the British get the longbowman as a unique unit, replacing the normal crossbowman. It has the same attack strength as the crossbowman, but it's also the only pre-industrial era unit which can fire 3 tiles, making it extremely useful in mid-game sieges.

* Apparently, the crossobow was, at first, considered "vile" and unfair compared to the bow. The Church also had a dim view of ranged weapons at certain points in history. In a bit of a subversion, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Council_of_the_Lateran Second Council of the Lateran, Canon 29]] decreeted the ban of missile weapons - such as ''bows and crossbows'' - in battles between Christian armies. They were [[LoopholeAbuse still permitted against Muslim or pagan armies, though]]. The oft-repeated myth that "the Papacy banned crossbows, specifically crossbows" is ''[[ThemeParkVersion just tha,]]'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH431Lguuis a misconception.]] Medieval polities and armies being what they were, military crossbow usage continued unhindered...

Based on the fact that men are stronger than women on average, fictional stories sometimes portray men using crossbows and women using bows, the notion being that crossbows are utilitarian and brutal while bows are elegant and rely on finesse rather than brute strength. In reality, if you were going to give men and women different weapons it should be the other way around: crossbows with spanning devices would allow women to repeatedly shoot powerful bolts without tiring even if they have less raw upper body strength, while a man (or indeed any person) with greater strength could handle a bow with a heavy enough draw to yield respectable range and penetrating power, and use it to shoot more rapidly than if you gave them a crossbow.