Watch this replica medieval trebuchet smash a log palisade

Bags of flour, hurled by a siege weapon, leave a tracer and make a satisfying “poof” at impact.

2 Likes

I preferred the NOVA episode on trebuchets. Not only did they build different versions (and prove, somewhat counterintuitively, that wheeled trebuchets have a greater firing range than anchored ones) but they also destroyed an actual stone wall built with traditional construction techniques.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/builds.html

1 Like

About 25 years ago, I was part of this medieval reenactment group. We set up camp near Orleans in France for a week and decided to build a trebuchet ‘old style’ (meaning we only used tools and materials that were available in the 15th century). It wasn’t near the size of the one in the video, and we only used it to launch hay bales (about 75kg a piece), but boy did they fly! Cleared the entire football field and went into the woods behind it :slight_smile:

Ah, fond memories…

3 Likes

They were a bit less accurate than other siege weapons because of the distances involved. The trebuchet’s big advantages were range, power and durability. They were very smooth and didn’t tear themselves apart like catapults, bolt weapons, and other spring-and-sinew types. The range on them could be so impressive that you could attack the walls well out of range of even mounted counter attack, never mind archers. You could practically be one county over. That range meant you could siege relentlessly for months, even years. Eventually even the thickest walls will succumb to being hit for years on end.

4 Likes

This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.