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Non-Gunpowder Artillery (Medieval Mechanical Artillery) Convention is to refer to non-gunpowder artillery as 'machines' or 'engines'. While some of the the large pieces used in the late medieval era can be traced to tension and torsion powered machines used in ancient times, the rotating-beam engine (most famous of which is the trébuchet) is unique to medieval warfare. Like modern artillery, medieval crew-operated weapons were of two general categories relating to tactical employment: indirect fire (throwing or lobbing) objects (projectiles) toward a target area, and directly shooting a missile (arrow/bolt or 'bullet') at a target. The size of such weapons and logistical demands of providing the consumable projectiles to be shot emphasized the use of such machines mainly for siege operations - employed both by the besiegers and the defenders. However, such machines, in their diminutive form, were occasionally used in field battles. Note that this page addresses only mechanical artillery and not the broader range of devices, such as towers and rams, employed in siege operations. open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com Directory Indirect-Firing Machines: trébuchet General Direct-Firing Further mangonel Remarks Machines Links catapult pierrière General Remarks W ar machines [engines] were employed throughout the middle ages, even after the introduction of effective gunpowder artillery. The names to distinguish specific machines used by contemporary chroniclers and other observers were not standard. This leaves today's historians with some doubt, in some cases, as to what specific machine is really being described in the old texts. However, contemporary drawings and the scattered written references allow for an understanding of the various types, even though there may be some disagreement as to the exact names. Names of categories used in this page are based upon those followed by M. Reanud Beffeyte, who has researched for many years and has successfully reconstructed an array of medieval war machines. His work is further exhibited at the ARMEDIEVAL website. Terminology is further compounded by the fact that some of the machines existed open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com during the ancient Greek and Roman eras, and they were also used by Eastern armies, especially the Muslims. It is in the Muslim realm that the one machine unique to the medieval era emerged (most likely it had an earlier origin in Chinia) and was introduced to the Western armies. The machine, in various configurations, operated on a balance or lever principal. It propelled its projectiles from force due to the rotation of a beam about a fulcrum. These machines are often described as trébuchets, though some authorities distinguish the different configurations of these machines with distinct terms for each. Unfortunately, there is not complete agreement on the various, specific terms. This page uses the expression 'rotating-beam' machines where some other authors employ 'lever-artillery' or 'balance-machines'. Scholars generally agree that rotating-beam throwing machines initially existed in ancient China, and are estimated to have been transmitted to Central Asia and then to the Western Muslim world around the seventh century C.E. Initially, a team of men, rather than a weight, were used to pull down the short length of a beam that rotated about a pivot point supported by an upright frame. This swiftly raised the long length of the beam which held the projectile to be launched. The use of human pulling power is described as 'traction power'. In some cases, both small counterweights and manpower were employed in these rotating-beam machines. Some authors see this combination as a 'hybrid' form in the evolution of the rotating-beam engines. In its final form, the robust rotating-beam engine operated entirely by the counterweight, and is sometimes described as a 'gravity engine'. Stone or earth filled hutches gave the energy to launch and hurl very heavy objects. When constructed with due consideration for the geometric aspects of balance, these large machines had remarkable stability and endurance, allowing repeated firings upon the same target over a long period. Estimates are that the counterweight trébuchet was developed in the eastern Mediterranean region in the late twelfth century and its use spread rapidly to norhtern Europe. The obvious military benefit led to the counterweight rotating-beam engines replacing in the medieval era most of the ancient open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com Greek and Roman arm-throwing catapults designs. As with all weapons, there was continuous experimentation and variations in construction. Some rotating-beam engines had the hutches rigidly fastend to the pivoting arm. Many historians believe that these were called 'mangonels' by Western Europeans of the thirteenth through fifteenth centuries. However, the expression 'mangonel' can be traced to a Byzantine-Greek word for the rotating-beam machines used in the seventh century. Obviously the names for the machines did not remain constant as the configurations evolved during the medieval era. More on the controversy of the mangonel is addressed later in this page. In this document, the 'mangonel' will be portrayed as M. Beffeyte, a leading authority on medieval siege weapons, has judged most appropriate based upon the frequency he has found the term used by medieval observers/authors. The most effective counterweight rotating-beam machine developed in the Western medieval armies had suspended hutches that swung on a piviot at the short end of the rotating arm. These are what M. Beffeyte calls 'trébuchets'. Expressions for 'trébuchet' ('trabuchis', 'trabuqet', etc.) reportedly first appear in Western accounts in the late twelfth century. The first references appear to be to rotating-beam machines, powered by swinging counterweight hutches, and using a sling to hold the projectile. There were variations of counterweight configurations. Some trébuchets had one hutch, others had two -- equally balanced on both sides of the beam. These were given (by some authors) a particular name, couillard. The specific war machines shown below are divided into two broad categories according to their artillery role: Indirect Fire and Direct Fire. RETURN To DIRECTORY open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com Indirect-Firing Machines TRÉBUCHET trébuchet. A rotating-beam throwing engine (machine) based upon counterweight induced energy quickly rotating the arm about a pivot. The principal required balance in the structure and was most effective when using a movable hutch ( articuler le � contrepoids), or hopper, that held the 'weight' of stones or earth. Trébuchet is the more current term, though it was called many names by the medieval chroniclers and writers. Even, open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com medieval chroniclers and writers. Even, today there is not complete agreement on what to call the engine when the hutch is fixed, and does not swing as the arm moves (see mangonel below). The trébuchet had great precision and the advantage of hitting the same spot repeatedly. It was quite effective in trying to blast a hole through stone walls or wooden barriers, and continuing bombardment into nightime. A form of the trébuchet which had split counterweights was a rotating-beam engine called a couillard, or biffa. The advantage was that it was lighter to transport and easier to assemble on site. Power of rotating-beam machines varied considerably due to the weight of objects thrown and of the counterweight, among many other factors unique to each firing and engine. It is estimated that the larger machines had a range of 200 meters for hurling a 100 kg object. Its rate of fire was about 2 times per hour. Crews could be well over 50 men. open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com trébuchet open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com trébuchet open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com trébuchet open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com A nineteeth-century scholar's version of a traction-assisted trébuchet. It is questionable that the manpower actually added much to the effectivness of the large counterweight rotating-beam machine illustrated here. However, this 'hybrid' system was significant as the rotating-beam engines grew in size (and throwing capability) beyond the simple 'bricole' machines shown later in this page. open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com