page_title: Medieval technology
section_title: Missile weapons
hierarchical_section_title: Medieval technology / Military technologies / Missile weapons
caption_attribution_description: Ελληνικά: Χειροβομβίδες υγρού πυρός του 10ου και 12ου αιώνα από το κάστρο των Χανίων. Εθνικό και Ιστορικό μουσείο Αθήνας English: Grenades that were filled with liquid fire (Υγρό Πυρ) and caltrops from the fortress of Chania (Χανιά) 10th and 12th century. National Historical Museum, Athens, Greece.
context_page_description: Medieval technology is the technology used in medieval Europe under Christian rule. After the Renaissance of the 12th century, medieval Europe saw a radical change in the rate of new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth. The period saw major technological advances, including the adoption of gunpowder, the invention of vertical windmills, spectacles, mechanical clocks, and greatly improved water mills, building techniques, and agriculture in general.
  The development of water mills from their ancient origins was impressive, and extended from agriculture to sawmills both for timber and stone. By the time of the Domesday Book, most large villages had turnable mills, around 6,500 in England alone. Water-power was also widely used in mining for raising ore from shafts, crushing ore, and even powering bellows.
  European technical advancements from the 12th to 14th centuries were either built on long-established techniques in medieval Europe, originating from Roman and Byzantine antecedents, or adapted from cross-cultural exchanges through trading networks with the Islamic world, China, and India.
context_section_description: Greek fire (7th century)
  An incendiary weapon which could even burn on water is also attributed to the Byzantines, where they installed it on their ships. It played a crucial role in the Byzantine Empire's victory over the Umayyad Caliphate during the 717-718 Siege of Constantinople.
  Grenade (8th century)
  Rudimentary incendiary grenades appeared in the Byzantine Empire, as the Byzantine soldiers learned that Greek fire, a Byzantine invention of the previous century, could not only be thrown by flamethrowers at the enemy, but also in stone and ceramic jars.
  Longbow with massed, disciplined archery (13th century)
  Having a high rate of fire and penetration power, the longbow contributed to the eventual demise of the medieval knight class. Used particularly by the English to great effect against the French cavalry during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453).
  Steel crossbow (late 14th century)
  European innovation came with several different cocking aids to enhance draw power, making the weapons also the first hand-held mechanical crossbows.
caption: Ceramic grenades that were filled with Greek fire, surrounded by caltrops, 10th–12th century, National Historical Museum, Athens, Greece
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