On the one side there stood a cruel man with a loaded arbalist aimed at his heart: on the other stood another holding a terrible and fierce dog which, had he let it, would have torn the king to pieces in a moment; and thus they tortured him to make him disclose the treasures; until a Franciscan monk, being informed of it, delivered him from their hands, though he died at last of his tortures.
"Bartholomew de Las Casas; his life, apostolate, and writings"
Francis Augustus MacNutt
Betwixt the third couple of towers were the butts for arquebus, crossbow, and arbalist.
"The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VII (of X)--Continental Europe I"
Various
Earthenware jars containing it were to be flung by hand or arbalist, and darts and arrows were wrapped with tow soaked in the substance.
"A History of Sea Power"
William Oliver Stevens and Allan Westcott