tl;dr:<p>The abstract does a wonderful job.  It is will worth reading.<p>Longbow was cheap and technically superior, but required training.  Crossbow more expensive, required less training.  Rulers of England less worried about rebellion, OK to invest in training.  Rulers of France&#x2F;Scotland not so happy because of fear to give potential of overthrow to the people (Scotland not in title, but in article along with France).<p>Perhaps an analogy could be painted with companies today.  Those that churn, and those that nurture skills.