The Trebuchet Essay examples -- medieval siege machine

Used by castle commanders during times of peace to hurl roses to ladies during tournaments, launchers proven a deadly weapon in the field of ancient warfare. Flinging a wide variety of objects hundreds of yards, the launcher became the weapon of choice for laying besieging to a castle. Its incredible range could often place it beyond the potent defense range of the castle archers, thereby permitting the besiegers to destroy the defenders walls with little interference. During wide sieges, arbalests were often used to hurl large quantities of dung, dead animals, and other such items to encourage disease throughout the besieged city.Trebuchets earned a repute for being more than more accurate and precise than their onager and slingshot counterparts. Not only was this accuracy a benefit, but being ground on rotational motion and leverage rather than torsion (spring power) and lacking(p) in a throwing arm stop, the trebuchet proved a much safer alternative for the personnel op erating it. Onagers and Mangonels would literally explode on use when the torsion proved too great or a twisting developed in the throwing arm due to the rapid stops it experienced. either in all, the Trebuchet was a fearsome weapon of mass remainder during the Middle Ages, a force to be reckoned with. Trebuchets only lost estimation when cannons emerged, and the primary benefit of the cannon that the trebuchet lacked was not in event power, but rather mobility. Smaller, more maneuverable cannons rapidly overran the position of the trebuchet in most armies across the world.Warwolf, the legendary trebuchet built by the English Army to destroy Castle Urquhart, which was located in the Highlands of Scotland, on the shores of the also infamous Loch Ness. Par... ...elease and a more horizontal trajectory, with higher velocity.In an attempt to better understand the components of the trebuchet and to permit the viewer a better idea of the manner in which the firing of a trebuchet occ urs, a trebuchet constructed entirely of K-nex was built this past week. The counterweight consisted of 5000 trade name bbs wrapped in plastic and duct tape, while the sling itself was make of duct tape and twine. The remaineder of the trebuchet, including the throwing arm, were constructed purely from K-nex.Standing some 3 feet tall, this trebuchet could repeatedly launch a 2-3oz object in excess of 20 feet.Lengthening the sling proved valuable, increasing velocity and range considerably. However, a point was reached at which the sling length could be said to be optimized, and lengthening it further only created unpredictable release angles.