Archers weren’t the only badasses of the battlefield; other destructive weapons also created terror in the hearts of the enemy. Every city and castle feared the appearance of siege engines, especially the devastating counterweight trebuchet. This powerful gravity-driven engine could reduce a city’s walls to rubble. Infantry and cavalry alike feared the awesome pike formations of the Swiss and Landsknecht armies. Essentially a really long spear, the pike’s very simplicity provided a remarkable tactical versatility in many medieval battles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet#mediaviewer/File:Trebuchet_Castelnaud.jpg
Counterweight Trebuchet: God’s Stone Thrower
This uniquely medieval siege weapon was invented in 1097 by the Byzantine emperor
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Alexios I Komnenos who developed it for the Franks of the First Crusade. While traction and hybrid trebuchets had been used for centuries, the counterweight trebuchet was powered only by gravity. It was the mightiest of siege weapons, able to hurl 350 pound rocks at or into enemy walls using leverage and centripedal force. The trebuchet had a shorter end weighted by heavy sand, soil or stone. The throwing arm could be up to 60 foot long with a sling on the end. Projectiles used in trebuchets included heavy rocks, iron bolts, barrels of burning oil, dead horses or even diseased bodies in early biological warfare. When the short end fell, the throwing arm flew up, hurling its deadly barrage at the enemy. The counterweight trebuchet has been called the high point of mechanical warfare. Relatively inexpensive, an army’s engineers could build it with local materials at the site of a siege. Powerful enough to turn a castle’s walls to rubble, with a rapid rate of fire, counterweight trebuchets were the doomsday machines of medieval times. When the Franks first used the counterweight trebuchet at the Siege of Nicaea, its dramatic increase in performance from the usual traction trebuchet deeply impressed the crusaders, who continued to use it from then on. Trebuchets built by Philip II of France helped win the city of Acre in 1191 after a nearly two-year siege by finally breaching the city’s walls. King Philip called his massive trebuchets God’s Stone Thrower and Bad Neighbor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pike_%28weapon%29#mediaviewer/File:Schlacht_bei_Dorneck.jpg Renaissance Pike Pikes were the epitome of pole weapons, a long spear from 10 to 25 feet long weighing five to 13 pounds.
It was designed for thrusting, not throwing, and was held in both hands. The long shaft required strong wood, well seasoned. On the tip was a steel or iron spearhead.
The simple weapon brought victories for untrained peasant forces over professional armored armies. In early battles, pikes were used defensively but triumphantly as at the 1314 Battle of Bannockburn when the Scots successfully pushed back the English forces with pike formations. Earlier, in 1302, Fleming pikemen managed to absorb the mounted French attack and held them until their destruction by other Flemish soldiers in the Battle of Golden Spears.
In the 15th century, the Swiss decided to make the pike their primary weapon and they began to train their troops to use the pike aggressively, in attack. They used drums in their training, including marching to drums. The Swiss and later the German Landsknechts became so successful as pike formations they were hired as mercenaries across Europe. Swiss pikemen used both defense and attack tactics in the Burgundian Wars, achieving a brilliant battlefield victory. In the 16th century, pikemen marched alongside the first gun men—the arquebusiers—in a formation known as Pike and
Shot. In the 17th century, pikes were made obsolete by the advent of more portable muskets with their newly-invented bayonets, which in effect turned the musket into a short pike.
The Battle of Bannockburn happened in 1314 just outside of Stirling, Scotland. It was a war between the large English army and the much smaller Scottish army. The Scottish showed they were a force to be reckoned with when they took Stirling Castle for ransom. The English were trying to get the castle back from the Scottish which caused the Battle of Bannockburn
Question 5: “Texts construct characters who represent the best qualities in human nature, as well as those who represent the worst.” Discuss how at least ONE character is constructed in a text you have read or viewed. (Sem 2, 2016)
The Met museum said that the most popular used weapons were “spear, sword, axe, and the bow and arrow.” These weapons and tactics of fighting then became the backbone of weapons today, such as guns. Spears, bows and arrows allow knights to fight from a distance, such as hand grenades and guns used in today’s military.
Long distance weapons were essential to European combat. The main long distance weapons used by Europeans during that time were the longbow and the crossbow. Each form of weaponry had its unique advantages and their pejorative. The long bow (shown in figure 1) was the original form of distance weapons. The term ‘bow’ means to be made from wood, iron or steel. The Welsh, who inhabited England, were the first people to use longbows. Longbows were 6-7 feet long and had a range of 250 yards, and still had the ability to pierce a knight’s armor (Byam 12). A well trained archer could shot 10- 12 arrows in a single minute. Despite these pro’s the longbow had a lot of disadvantages as well. One draw back was only skilled archers, who were costly to train, could use a longbow. Another disadvantage was it didn’t have a ready loaded arrow (Edge 34). The crossbow (shown in figure 2) on the other had been emphatically different. The crossbow had a span of 2-3 feet and could kill a knight on horseback with one shot, because of good aim (Byam 30). Crossbows had ready loaded projectiles, while the longbow didn’t and the crossbow could be used by anyone since it didn’t require any skill. The crossbow did have a down side though, it had slow reloaded because of a crank and it was expensive. Crossbows were also used for other thi...
In relation to war, the most preferred weapon was the javelin, which could be used for both close combat and long range. The javelin was a highly effective weapon and it ensured that those using it were not easy to defeat. Furthermore, the javelin was often used alongside a shield, which was essential for not only blocking attacks, but also kept the enemy at bay while the javelin was used to strike. 'The horse' was also used but because of having to use both a shield and
This is a brief paragraph or two on each of the major siege weapons. For the not just the besiegers but also the defenders. Please note most of these weapons were not used alone and often had many different versions of the same weapon.
For almost as long as civilizations began they have been fighting against each other. Often times these wars come down to who has the better military equipment. When one army creates an elite war machine another army is sure to soon copy or improve it. For example the U.S. Army Signal Corps purchased the first ever military aircraft in 1902 (Taylor). Two years later the Italians were also using aircrafts. The trebuchet catapult is no exception; it was one of the most destructive military machines of its time (Chevedden, 2000). A trebuchet works by using the energy of a falling counterweight to launch a projectile (Trebuchet). In this research paper I intend to explain the history and dynamics of a trebuchet catapult.
Allen: They also surprised their opponents with their quickness. No one expected them to be fast because of how big they were, but the Celts were surprisingly quick. The Celts had different ways of fighting in each area in which they lived. In the French region, the Celts also referred to as “Gauls” as they were called, spiked their hair with lime. Some wore helmets with horns and wings on them to show how large they were.
In medieval Europe there were many different weapons and types of fighting. It depended on the time period they fought in. “A soldier's choice of armor depended on the time during which he lived, the type of fighting he did and his economic situation” (Blackwell 1). Some types of fighting were hand-to-hand, which were swords, axes, and many more. Another type would be projectiles, like crossbows, javelins. The last one would be firearms which guns and others. “Many medieval soldiers wore armor to protect themselves from the weapons of their enemies” (Blackwell 2). Siege weapons such as catapults helped armies break into castles and towns. Most soldiers carried some blades in addition to their swords. “A dagger had a hilt like sword and a double-edged blade that was typically between 6 and 12 inches long” (Blackwell 1). Medieval soldiers used many weapons for hand-to-hand combat. All knights carried a sword with them and were expected to be skilled at swordplay. If you could afford swords then there was always something cheaper like the Quarterstaffs, which are long...
The first sword used for fencing during this time was the broadsword. The broadsword was a large, double-bladed sword that was hard to use due to it’s heavyweight (Andrew 53). With the broadsword, came the sword-and-buckler technique. The sword-and-buckler technique involved using large, powerful slashes with the broadsword, and blocking with the buckler (a small shield strapped onto the forearm (Olsen 34). In the beginning of the 16th century, the rapier was introduced to fencing (Andrew 53). Unlike the thick and large broadsword, the rapier was thin light, long and maneuverable. With the rapier, a dagger was used for parrying and the rapier was used for attacking (Olsen 35). Later in the century, the dagger was replaced with a gauntlet due to gauntlet’s effectiveness in
(1503-05) > Hrunting is the sword that Unferth lends Beowulf for > the battle against Grendel’s mother. Hrunting is a lucky > sword, “No one who’d worn it into battle, swung it in > dangerous places, daring and brave, had ever been > deserted-�(1459-1461) However, Hrunting is useless against > Grendel’s mother, although no swords made by mortals would > have pierced the monster’s skin.
head which was wrapped in buckskin on a wooden handle. They also used the common bow and
In this essay, I will uncover the countless insights that can be learned about the characters in Beowulf, as well as the society as a whole, based on the weapons the characters choose to use in battle. During the Anglo-Saxon time, roughly between 400 and 1066, swords were considered the most precious weapon someone could own. Although it is not certain who wrote Beowulf, and when, many people believe it was composed in the middle to end of the Anglo-Saxon period. Analyzing the different weapons, and significance of each, in Beowulf, and comparing them to the weaponry at the time, provides the readers with a great deal of insight into the society during this period. The use of weapons in Beowulf not only provides the readers with insight into
In the joust the knight used the lance, a weapon specifically designed for mounted combat. At first jousters would simply spur their horses towards one another, weapons ready, each attempting to knock each other off there horses. If a knight was knocked to the ground, his battle was as good as lost. For the mounted warrior could run him down, trample him with his horse, or spear him with his lance; all while out of reach of the land bound fighter.
The trebuchet is used with a long wooden arm refreshed on a hinge point, which acted as a big level. A bullet was placed on one end and soldiers in this earlier form of the trebuchet pushed on slings devoted to the other end to fundamentals swing the arm around and throw the