2a4all
Regular Member
Tonight on Jeopardy the answer was "In 1139, Pope Innocent II banned this type of weapon as too barbaric.". The correct response was "What is the crossbow?". I was a bit surprised, so I thought I'd share a bit of research.
[FONT="]In 1097, Pope Urban II outlawed the use of the crossbow. Four decades later, Pope Innocent II convened a Lateran Council with nearly 1,000 prelates. They forbade “under penalty of anathema” not just the use of crossbows, “the dastard’s weapon,” but the entire “deadly and God-detested art of slingers and archers.” You could get a waiver if you were on a crusade, but that’s a different conversation. Of course, it wasn’t just the Catholic Church. Conrad III, the Holy Roman Emperor (who we all know was not Holy, not Roman, and not known for particularly good teeth), banned the use of the crossbow in his army and his realm. Flanders — the nation, not Homer Simpson’s neighbor — outlawed the crossbow as well.
Now there were lots of reasons for the crossbow crackdown. Indeed, one of the more interesting lessons is for gun controllers. You see, with a crossbow (or long bow), a peasant could kill a knight while staying clear of the knight’s broadsword. Obviously, knights had been better armed and were generally in better health than the average peasant. Their military superiority only reinforced the aristocracy’s sense of (divine) entitlement. But the crossbow leveled the playing field. In a sense, it was a democratizing force. The crossbow radically reduced the ability of the knights to ride roughshod over the populace, and hence was considered destabilizing to the rigid social order. This lesson should be familiar to anyone who believes the right to bear arms to be a bulwark against tyranny. If you are as strong as the representatives of the state, the state has to treat you with respect.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/204995/crossbows-suicide-bombers-jonah-goldberg[/FONT]
[FONT="]In 1097, Pope Urban II outlawed the use of the crossbow. Four decades later, Pope Innocent II convened a Lateran Council with nearly 1,000 prelates. They forbade “under penalty of anathema” not just the use of crossbows, “the dastard’s weapon,” but the entire “deadly and God-detested art of slingers and archers.” You could get a waiver if you were on a crusade, but that’s a different conversation. Of course, it wasn’t just the Catholic Church. Conrad III, the Holy Roman Emperor (who we all know was not Holy, not Roman, and not known for particularly good teeth), banned the use of the crossbow in his army and his realm. Flanders — the nation, not Homer Simpson’s neighbor — outlawed the crossbow as well.
Now there were lots of reasons for the crossbow crackdown. Indeed, one of the more interesting lessons is for gun controllers. You see, with a crossbow (or long bow), a peasant could kill a knight while staying clear of the knight’s broadsword. Obviously, knights had been better armed and were generally in better health than the average peasant. Their military superiority only reinforced the aristocracy’s sense of (divine) entitlement. But the crossbow leveled the playing field. In a sense, it was a democratizing force. The crossbow radically reduced the ability of the knights to ride roughshod over the populace, and hence was considered destabilizing to the rigid social order. This lesson should be familiar to anyone who believes the right to bear arms to be a bulwark against tyranny. If you are as strong as the representatives of the state, the state has to treat you with respect.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/204995/crossbows-suicide-bombers-jonah-goldberg[/FONT]