Arbalest skilled arbalestier (arbalester) could loose two bolts per minute. The term "arbalest" is sometimes used interchangeably with "crossbow". "Arbalest" is a Medieval French word originating from the Roman name ' (from ' 'bow' + " 'missile-throwing engine'), which was then used for crossbows, although originally used for types of artillery. Modern French uses the word ", which is linguistically one step further from the stem (disappearance of the "s" phoneme in the last syllable, before "t"). The word applies to both crossbow and arbalest (the latter may be referred to as a "heavy crossbow", but an actual heavy crossbow may
Medieval commune by the Italian precedent, but many northern ones (and even the Swiss communes north of Gotthard Pass) may well have developed concurrently and independently from the Italian ones. Only a few of these medieval rural communes ever attained imperial immediacy, where they would have been subject only to the king or emperor; most still remained subjects of some more or less distant liege. During the 11th century in northern Italy a new political and social structure emerged. At this time, some medieval communes developed to the form of city states. The civic culture which arose from this "urbs". In most