We know more, maybe, maybe not, we don't know a lot that they knew.
I set out 35 years ago to learn the craft my ancestors practiced, in an Appalachian mountain "holler". I made some functional rifles, but they don't come close to this' Maybe, if I had another 35 years....and didn't have to work to eat.
This isn't middle ages, it's from just before 1800, but they'd been doing work like this for centuries.
That is freakin gorgeous!
My old auto shop teacher had a video of a craftsman who built black-powder rifles by hand—worked at Williamsburg or some other re-enactment site, IIRC.
We wore out the tapes over the years and never got bored. His rifles were every bit as nice as these, and I will never forget watching him do the engraving. Talk about mastery—it was like he was uncovering the designs, not creating them. You only get one pass with a chisel or grave—simply amazing!
Mighty fine craftsmanship there. Some things they really don’t make like they used to.
That’s beautiful!