1. Medieval development
Shooting with a longbow, crossbow, and – from the 15th century on – increasingly with a handgun was engaged in throughout the early modern period in the context of war, hunting, and for pleasure (see below) – and by women as well as men in the latter two contexts [5. 58 f.]; [4. 57–62, 81].
When they gained municipal sovereign rights, medieval and early modern towns were permitted and forced to defend themselves. In the early 14th century…