Building Catapults Required Engineering Know How

When building catapults, armies had to include in their ranks those people capable of employing complicated mathematical formulas and turning them into machines of war.

While their appearance on the warfare scene dramatically changed tactics for quite literally hundreds of years, it was no easy task for medieval armies to create the machines of war they needed to help ensure victory.

The engineers were generally responsible for the production or mass production of larger scale weapons on the battlefield and leading up battle.

When building catapults on site, engineers had to rely on their own know how and the materials available to them, unless of course they transported the wood, sinew and in the case of some more complex catapults, the counterpoises and other materials with them.

When the idea was to create more simple machines such as ballistas or mangonels, the task of building catapults was much easier on site than let's say a trebuchet, which often required extremely heavy materials. In the case of the ballistas and mangonels, the main ingredients ? wood and rope or sinew ? were a little easier for engineers to find. The difficulty came in getting these machines together in a big hurry for an impending siege.

Since mass production factories and automation were years in the future, medieval armies had to rely on their own ingenuity to pull this off. Engineers who were responsible for building catapults understood the intricacies of design, they knew the formulas behind the trajectory theory and they were smart enough to create ways to make their designs more mobile and easier to construct with haste.

When building catapults such as the ballista and mangonel, engineers only needed to create simple designs. The ballista, for example, required a platform, two wooden arms and tightly wound ropes. These machines could be built in advance and put on platforms for an army to move along with it. The mangonel, too, was similar, and building catapults of this make required only one wooden arm. The drawback to both of these machines, however, was lack of accuracy, although mobility was a plus.

The great trebuchets created a different problem for those charged with building catapults. These much larger machines of war required a better understanding of physics and more, and heavier materials. Since they were known for their castle-wall crushing ability, building catapults of this design was often necessary on site.

Believed to have been created in 12 century France, the trebuchet used a long wooden arm rested on a pivot point to act as a larger level. When building catapults of this style, a very large projectile was also needed. Earlier versions called for warriors to pull on ropes to hurl the stone or object.

Although it wasn't easy to fill an order on site, much like the modern day Army Corp of Engineers, their early counterparts understood what was necessary to go about building catapults. They knew, too, success or failure of their military campaign might depend on their ability to build catapults with speed and accuracy. With a wealth of knowledge stored in their heads ? rather than in calculators ? they set about putting these machines together onsite, or in the case of the more mobile models in advance.

For more medieval siege weapons information, including catapult history, visit the Medieval Siege Weapons Index page at www.medieval-castle-siege-weapons.com

Garben Catapult is responsible for adding new information to All About Medieval Castles - Medieval Siege Weapons, a site filled with over 100 pages of interesting information covering many aspects of medieval castles and medieval weapons.

---

Google News Updated : Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:45:55 GMT McCain Co-Chairman, Under Fire, Steps Aside - New York Times ABC News McCain Co-Chairman, Under Fire, Steps Aside New York Times - 9 hours ago Carolyn Kaster/AP At a town-hall-style meeting Friday on energy, John McCain found himself questioned instead on his wartime positions. McCain Takes on the 'Cable Monster' and an 'Extreme' Obama Washington Post Gramm Out as McCain Co-Chair; Obama Reacts FOXNews The Associated Press - Dallas Morning News - Reuters - Boston Globe all 947 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:45:59 GMT Panel Finds Misconduct By Fusion Researcher - Washington Post Los Angeles Times Panel Finds Misconduct By Fusion Researcher Washington Post - 18 hours ago INDIANAPOLIS -- A Purdue University panel has found two instances of misconduct by a researcher who says he produced nuclear fusion in tabletop experiments. Purdue physicist found guilty of misconduct Los Angeles Times Details of what Purdue's investigation found Journal and Courier Chicago Tribune - RedOrbit - Newsweek all 157 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:47:31 GMT What's the best Oscar strategy for Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight'? - Los Angeles Times Times Online What's the best Oscar strategy for Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight'? Los Angeles Times - 1 hour ago That's a tricky Oscar question. On one hand you might think Heath Ledger should go supporting because, technically speaking, "The Dark Knight" is a film about Batman. Heath is where the heart is The Observer 'Dark Knight' sets box office record with $66.4M The Associated Press YourHub.com - New York Daily News - Chicago Tribune - OpEdNews all 3,291 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:18:18 GMT US banks ask SEC to expand stock trade protection - Reuters Wall Street Journal US banks ask SEC to expand stock trade protection Reuters - 7 hours ago By John Poirier WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An emergency move by US securities regulators this week aimed at curbing manipulative short-selling in some major financial firms should be expanded to all publicly traded banks, or it could erode confidence in ... SEC Short-Sale Rule Gets Negative Reviews Wall Street Journal SEC Spares Market Makers From `Naked-Short' Sales Ban (Update1) Bloomberg Forbes - MarketWatch - Taipei Times - New York Times all 582 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:02:49 GMT Growth ahead for more diversified game industry - Reuters Telegraph.co.uk Growth ahead for more diversified game industry Reuters - Jul 18, 2008 By Kiyoshi Takenaka - Analysis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The video game industry looks set for at least another year or two of strong growth, driven by geographical expansion, a strong hardware lineup and growing pool of casual gamers, ... Nintendo Wii Tops for Console Sales in June DailyTech Sony's press conference at E3 was a dazzling hi-tech showcase BBC News Shacknews - X-bit Labs - New York Times - Wired News all 1,145 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:07:32 GMT Venture Funding Drops for Youngest Companies As Older Ones Suck Up ... - New York Times Boston Globe Venture Funding Drops for Youngest Companies As Older Ones Suck Up ... New York Times - 1 hour ago By Abha Bhattarai In an ominous sign for Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial machine, venture capital firms are cutting back on their investments in companies at their earliest stage of development and being forced to provide extra funding for later-stage ... VC Deals In Charts (Q2 2008)?Exits? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Exits? Washington Post Venture investments in state total $77.6 million so far in '08 Detroit Free Press CNET News - The Associated Press - MarketWatch - RTT News all 195 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:54:52 GMT Aybar's triple caps Halos' rally over Sox - MLB.com Canoe.ca Aybar's triple caps Halos' rally over Sox MLB.com - 1 hour ago By Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com ANAHEIM -- Pinch-hitter Erick Aybar hit a three-run triple in the seventh inning, Vladimir Guerrero blasted a solo home run and left-hander Joe Saunders pitched 6 2/3 strong innings to lift the Angels to a 4-2 win over the ... Aybar's three-run triple sends streaking Halos over BoSox Sports Network Aybar's bases-clearing triple sparks Angels The Associated Press Rotoworld.com - Press-Enterprise - Boston Globe - United Press International all 506 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:52:04 GMT Datafeeds For Blogs Amazon Content

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Art, Artists, and the Web: Part 1--Why Every Artist Should Have Their Own Website

First rate art is in danger of being left behind... Read More

Mars, the Mighty and Marvelous

Martius, the month of March, is named after him. So... Read More

Crazy Horse

My ancestry includes Colonel Miles (or Myles) Keough (or Keogh)... Read More

The Sterling Silver Story

Silver is the most common of the Precious Metals. It's... Read More

The Dazzling Beauty of the Shwedagon Paya

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

Rasputin

GRIGORY EFIMOVICH NOVYKH (RASPUTIN):'Hail, Hail, Ras-putin'. This man's story has... Read More

The Origin of Americas Corporate Elite (BC)

Ephesus had a shrine to the Anatolian mother-goddess and the... Read More

Mexican Living: Myth Busting

Myth One: Mexicans are lazy, good-for-nothings.I mention this one first... Read More

The Power of Words

I freely confess that I have had a life-long love... Read More

What is Y Ddraig Goch - the Welsh Red Dragon?

The red Dragon was introduced to Britain during Roman times.... Read More

Medieval Siege Weaponry: Castle Walls Beware

Medieval siege weaponry was required in any self-respecting war leader's... Read More

A Short Biography on Some of Europes Most Loved and Hated Monarchs - Pt 4 Queen Mary I

Queen Mary I of England was born in 1516 to... Read More

What is Your Birthstone?

Just about everyone knows what his or her birthstone is.... Read More

Tsunami Aftermath

On December 26, 2004 a massive tsunami swept through Thailand... Read More

Bureaucracy in Peru!

This article is from the pen of a New Zealander... Read More

The Trickster of Folklore

Folklore includes a traditional trickster figure, the subject of many... Read More

History and the Cathars (Courtly Love):

This is an entry from my three volume encyclopedia.CRUSADES, CATHARS... Read More

Painting as a Spiritual Expression

Is a painting no more than a piece of paper... Read More

When We Was Kids In Chicago

Radio was the big communicator, back when I was a... Read More

Berenguer Sauniere - This Place is Terrible

INSPIRATIONAL COMMENTS:"Let me issue and control a nation's money and... Read More

A Short Biography on Some of Europes Most Loved and Hated Monarchs - Pt 3 King Ludwig II

King Ludwig II of Bavaria, named after his grandfather, was... Read More

Shakespeare and Human Nature

Isn't it peculiar how human nature evolves through environmental and... Read More

Inuit Eskimo Art As Investments

Many people collect Inuit art as investments. Inuit art is... Read More

Egyptian Handmade Perfume Bottles

Blown glass, a very ancient technique, is the oldest among... Read More

Return to Ouvea, New Caledonia

"Ouvea is everything you'd expect in a South Pacific island.... Read More