Published: 2020-10-30

Remnants of a Teutonic Order crossbow workshop in the castle in Człuchów

Maciej Miścicki
Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej
Section: Studies and Materials
DOI https://doi.org/10.23858/KHKM68.2020.3.002

Abstract

Excavations carried out in 2008–2018 in the Teutonic Order castle in Człuchów revealed numerous artefacts made of bone and antler as well as half-finished products and waste consisting of those materials. Out of those finds 894 were identified as connected with producing parts of crossbows: 73 were finished products (plates and nuts), 198 — half-finished parts of plates and 623 — production waste and part-processed material. 98.3% of the artefacts were made of deer antlers; the remaining 1.7% of animal bones. The products were divided into four groups. Group I includes plates from the front part of the tiller (between the prod and the nut), where the bolt was placed. Those were usually elongated rectangular pieces, meticulously polished, wider at the front of the tiller and narrower at half-length. Group II comprises plates from the rear part of the tiller (behind the nut), which were usually elongated triangles tapering towards the butt. Group III are thin elongated plates, probably of a decorative function, which were placed on other parts of the tiller. Group IV consists of nuts, which were part of the trigger mechanism. A common characteristics of plates from groups I–III was that they had regular grooves which helped in attaching them to the wooden tiller. An analysis of half-finished products and production waste makes it possible to identify the tools that were used and to reconstruct techniques of antler-processing. The data indicate that the Człuchów castle workshop not only produced but also mended crossbows. The finds suggest that it functioned between the mid-14th c. and the mid-15th c. and was located in the outer part of the fortification, since most of the artefacts in question were found the gatehouse backfill. Similar workshops have been excavated in Vilnius, Viljandi and Trondheim. Information about the functioning of crossbow workshops in many castles and towns of the Teutonic Order state can also be found in the Order’s inventories. Written sources also indicate
that such workshops were supplied with large amounts of antlers and materials to produce glue.

Keywords:

Człuchów, Teutonic Order, late Middle Ages, crossbow, crossbow workshops, antler artefacts, antler handicraft

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Miścicki, M. (2020). Remnants of a Teutonic Order crossbow workshop in the castle in Człuchów. Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej, 68(3), 289–313. https://doi.org/10.23858/KHKM68.2020.3.002

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