Barbarians

The September 2018 feature “Barbarians at the Gate” was excellent. One minor oversight: Author Tang Long notes, “Unlike traditional recurve bowmen, crossbowmen required minimal training to achieve proficiency. Within 10 days of instruction a peasant farmer could become a competent crossbowman.” A recurve bow has a similar learning curve. What is near impossible to gain proficiency in is to ride on horseback shoot arrows competently. One has to be raised riding and shooting