A significant proportion of the infantry were armed with missile weapons. This was particularly true in the English army, where they commonly made up between three-quarters and nine-tenths of the army in the 15th century.
English and Welsh longbowmen played a decisive part in many battles. Like the rest of the infantry, they were equipped with whatever armour they could afford, from leather brigandines to chainmail. They carried swords and daggers for close quarters fighting, in which they also sometimes used the mallets they carried for hammering stakes into the ground. Some could fire ten arrows in a minute.
French missile troops were usually crossbowmen and often mercenaries, such as the Genoese, who served at Crécy. These men carried large shields called pavises, behind which they could shelter to reload.
