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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,
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
stone or object.
Although it wasn’t easy to fill an order on site, much like
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
case of
more mobile models in advance.
For more medieval siege weapons information, including catapult history, visit
Medieval Siege Weapons Index page at www.medieval-castle-siege-weapons.com

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