Not surprisingly, the noble class despised both crossbows and longbows. .
A Longbow was reasonably cheap to make and Edward III was able to require all able-bodied Englishmen to become proficient in its use. Archers alone were not enough to win the day, but they modified battlefield tactics, serving as mobile field artillery. .
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Warfare.
Swiss Pikemen.
The Swiss pike was a nasty piece of work. Anywhere from 14 to 20 feet long, the pike was in effective the infantryman's version of the lance. At its end it had a point for impaling, a hook for grabbing, and often a blade for cutting. There were many variations on these. .
As with the longbow, the real effectiveness of the pike was not so much the weapon itself but how it was used on the battlefield. The Swiss became adept at fighting in formation. A solid square of Pikemen, with the front lines planting their pikes in the ground, presented a bristling wall that cavalry charges were generally unable to break. As with the English, too, the Swiss fought as traditional infantry once the cavalry charge was thoroughly disrupted. The Swiss Pikemen wore only light armor, for mobility was important and his real armor was his fellows in his unit. So long as they held together, they were protected, and it was long time before other armies learned how to break up a Swiss square.
Warfare.
Gunpowder.
The invention of guns, handguns, artillery, field artillery - changed warfare in ways that were unimaginable those days. Effective cannons meant that castles were no longer safe. Field artillery and handguns revolutionized battlefield tactics. And all of this made warfare far more expensive, so that governments were driven to heroics of taxation to pay for their wars. .
The old ways still became a natural way of life for the people for a long time. Castles continued to be built, and if it were on the edge on a high moat , even a traditional castle could rest securely out of range of most guns.