Medieval Siege Weaponry: Castle Walls Beware

Medieval siege weaponry was required in any self-respecting war leader's arsenal in a time when castles with thick defense walls were common and cities surrounded by large, fortified walls were not out of place.

With warfare commonplace, it's little wonder the variety of medieval siege weaponry is great. After all, what was an attacking band of raiders to do when presented with an "impenetrable" castle wall? Break it down, of course, using one of the many designs of medieval siege weaponry available.

One of the earliest examples of medieval siege weaponry appeared around the 300s AD when the ballista was created. The ballista wasn't the most accurate in the line of medieval siege weaponry, but it could launch a wave of spears further than human arms could muster. Created using two wooden arms, tightly wound ropes and a cord to assist in the hurling of deadly projectiles, this example of medieval siege weaponry used torsion force to launch objects.

The Romans added their own model to the list of medieval siege weaponry when they created the mangonel. This model called for only one wooden arm. The mangonel, however, had somewhat of a design flaw in that in called for a wooden barrier to be constructed.

A ferocious example of medieval siege weaponry came online in the 12th century with the deploying of the trebuchet.

The trebuchet used a long wooden arm rested on a pivot point, which acted as a large lever. A projectile was placed on one end and warriors in this earlier version of the trebuchet pulled on ropes attached to the other end to essentially swing the arm around and hurl the stone.

As far as examples of commonly used medieval siege weaponry are concerned, however, catapults and their sister designs do not hold the only billing. Other tools were readily available to would-be conquerors.

The battering ram, for example, has been used through the ages and still is employed by modern law enforcement.

This version of medieval siege weaponry involved the creation of a very heavy weight placed on wheels used to help batter fortifications. It was usually made of a large tree trunk, and sometimes rather than wheels, a group of warriors or a sling frame helped provide the force necessary to crack fortifications using this simple, yet effective, example of medieval siege weaponry.

Other items in the medieval siege weaponry arsenal included ladders and not-so-simple siege towers. Ladders were employed simply to scale castle walls. If the defenses stopped this measure, siege towers might be built to allow archers clear lines of attack to enemies standing on castle walls.

As far as medieval siege weaponry is concerned, siege towers were somewhat difficult due to their cumbersome nature. Towers were rectangular and often constructed on four wheels. They were as tall as the castle walls or taller and were designed to protect archers, warriors and ladders as an army advanced. The downfall of siege towers in the long line of medieval siege weaponry, however, was their size and the propensity of the defending army to hurl projectiles at them.

The examples of medieval siege weaponry vary greatly, but whatever their design they all had one purpose ? to deliver an army to victory.

For more medieval siege weapons information, including how to build a catapult, visit http://www.med ieval-castle-siege-weapons.com/medieval-siege-weapons-index.html

Garben Catapult updates the information for http://www.medieval-castle-siege-weapons.com , a site filled with over 100 pages of interesting information covering many aspects of medieval castles and medieval weapons.

---

When We Was Kids In Chicago (Part 2)

From an early age my Mother sent me to the... Read More

Understanding Astrological Predictions

Opinions about astrological prediction are generally divided: "Mysterious! Magical!", say... Read More

Civil War Uniform Shirts ? When to Use a One and Two Piece Body!

So, you want to make your own Civil War shirt.... Read More

Hip-hop Jewelry and Todays Stars

Watch any of the major movie, television, and music award... Read More

Propaganda and American Journalism, Born Joined at Birth

Passion was the main stuff of journalism long before the... Read More

The Dazzling Beauty of the Shwedagon Paya

The Shwedagon Paya is much more than just another temple.... Read More

How to Create a Multi-Artistic Piece (Article 1 of 2)

In the late 19th century the music world was graced... Read More

Books on Horsemanship - Xenophon Had it Right

Xenophon was a 4th Century BC Greek cavalry officer and... Read More

Those Dirty Mexicans--Oh, Really?

When my wife and I announced that we were moving... Read More

Brazil--Comments by a Gilliam Fan a Little Too Late

Either I am one of the darkest people ever or... Read More

What About Those Pyramids?

'Mr. Rhodes aspired to be the creator of one of... Read More

How To Get Rich and Die Quick!

It is funny how web site promotion can suddently plunge... Read More

Amber Mysteries Revealed

Amber, the gem of a stone that's not really a... Read More

Learn How To Draw Faces Realistically

Drawing a face isn't as hard as it looks. To... Read More

Europes New Jews

They inhabit self-imposed ghettoes, subject to derision and worse, the... Read More

Are You Embarassed by Your Civil War Uniform Impression?

"Authentic," "authentic," "authentic" is all you hear if you are... Read More

Basic Chinese Pinyin Rules

* Make sure you set your browser encoding correctly to... Read More

Was there Always Bias in Journalism? Ask George Washington. Hell tell you

There is bias in the elite media! How often do... Read More

True Story; Why Can?t We all Just Get Along?

A little girl came up to her mom in the... Read More

Marilyn Monroe and Mary Jo Kopechne

I doubt Marilyn Monroe was anything but a confused star-struck... Read More

What Sets Chinese Painting Apart From Western Painting

Because of different instruments, materials and cultural background, Chinese paintings... Read More

ML - CHI - Zadok and the Making of Gold

ATOMIC HIGH-SPIN TECHNOLOGY: - In 1950 B.C. there was a... Read More

Conspiracies: The Pyramid and the Sphinx

Egypt has long been the source of countless conspiracies, ranging... Read More

From Dynasty to Destiny: Ten Celebrated Inventions of Ancient China

In the last two centuries, new cultural discoveries have nearly... Read More

Learn Chinese Language Tips and Techniques

There's no doubt learning any foreign language requires effort, time... Read More

Gymnastics History ? A Brief Overview

Gymnastics, as an activity, has been around for more than... Read More

Ogham and Aymara

OGHAM:As any reader of my work knows by now, Ogham... Read More

African Americans: Get the Winning Edge

Everybody wants an edge that will give him or her... Read More

When Does Man Become God?

Some scientists argue over creation and evolution and they argue... Read More

Unguided Men

Humanity - the sole endeavor of sanctity in every man,... Read More

Precious Stones -The Big Five: Part 1, The Emerald

The emerald is probably the most rare of all precious... Read More

Hello I Must Be Going: The Vanishing Twin

They walk among us. By the mid nineties, science had... Read More

The New Age Movement

New Age - A Paradigm Shift to Divine Consciousness &... Read More