The Trebuchet Essay examples -- medieval siege machine

Used by citadel commanders during times of peace to propel roses to ladies during tournaments, launchers proven a deadly heavy weapon in the field of ancient warfare. Flinging a wide variety of objects hundreds of yards, the trebuchet became the weapon of choice for laying siege to a fortification. Its incredible clip could often place it beyond the effectual defense range of the castle archers, thereby permitting the besiegers to supplant the defenders walls with little interference. During extended sieges, trebuchets 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 reputation for being much to a greater extent accurate and precise than their onager and catapult counterparts. Not sole(prenominal) was this true statement a benefit, but being based on rotational gesticulate and leverage rather than torsion (spring power) and lacking in a throwing strengthen stop, the tr ebuchet proved a much safer alternative for the personnel operational it. Onagers and Mangonels would literally explode on occasion when the torsion proved to a fault great or a crack developed in the throwing spike due to the rapid stops it experienced.All in all, the Trebuchet was a fearsome weapon of mass destruction during the Middle Ages, a mash to be reckoned with. Trebuchets only lost favor when ricochets emerged, and the primary benefit of the cannon that the trebuchet lacked was not in fact power, but rather mobility. Smaller, more(prenominal) 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 catch the components of the trebuchet and to permit t he viewer a better idea of the modality in which the firing of a trebuchet occurs, a trebuchet constructed alone of K-nex was built this past week. The counterweight consisted of 5000 steel bbs wrapped in pliable and duct tape, while the triangular bandage itself was made 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.