The Skåne lockbow was an early form of

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

from Skåne or

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

, then a province of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. (It has been part of southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

since 1658.) An example was discovered in 1941 in Sweden dating from the 16th century, but seems to be similar to earlier models. The lockbow was used throughout northern Europe between ca. 900-1600 CE. Modern reproductions indicate an effective range of about and a draw weight of . It worked by drawing the bowstring back into a groove, from which it was dislodged by a wooden peg attached to the top of one end of a wooden lever. The upper part of the peg was pushed sharply upward, through a hole drilled underneath the groove holding the bowstring.

References

Bibliography

* Payne-Gallwey, Sir Ralph, ''The Crossbow'', Dover Press, reprinted 1995 *Wilson, G M (ed.) & Bartlett Wells, H (trans.); European crossbows: a survey, Royal Armouries, 1994 *Nicolle, D; Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era 1050–1350, Greenhill Books, 1999 *Sandy K. Albritto
Crossbow Reviews and Guide
2010 *Paterson, W. F.; A guide to the crossbow, Society of Archer Antiquaries, 1990 Crossbows Scania {{weapon-stub