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Ballistic Technologies of Antiquity
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Nova Medieval Siege VHS Video


"If you've ever had a hankering to build a full-sized trebuchet, but have yet to get that project together, this video will either satisfy that urge or make you crazy . . . An absolutely fascinating look at what was the equivalent of field artillery in the 13th and 15th centuries, this episode from NOVA is highly recommended."
-� Video Librarian

Watch a team of timberframers construct
two full-scale trebuchets!
In 1304 the Scots must have felt safe inside the massive stone fortress that was Stirling Castle, and well prepared for a long battle with the army of England's King Edward the First. But then 50 of the King's carpenters showed up to create the medieval equivalent of the atomic bomb- a massive trebuchet they called "Warwolf".



In this video you will see a team of timberframers, using medieval tools and techniques, re-create two competing versions of the Warwolf on the banks of Loch Ness, and use them to hurl 250 lb stones into a castle wall!

About the video-
Two competing theories about trebuchet design, the fixed counterweight vs. the hanging counterweight, are tested as the English land owner Hew Kennedy oversees the fixed counterweight machine, and Renaud Beffeyte, the French medieval expert and master carpenter oversees the hinged counterweight machine.


Each design has its advantages and potential problems. The fixed counterweight machine requires wheels in order to prevent it from becoming unstable. This makes the frame more complicated, but surprisingly the wheels increase the machine's performance!

The hinged counterweight machine is bigger in order to accommodate the large hanging basket of sand, but it is more stable and can be set firmly on the ground, making a simpler frame. And it's able to be constructed in much less time.
Both are impressive machines, and amazingly accurate considering the weight of the missiles and and the distance they are thrown. Also included is a demonstration of a traction trebuchet, not powered by counterweights, but by teams of men pulling on ropes. And a longbow archer tries his hand at picking off a soldier at 200 yards! This is a fabulous video!
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    Price: $19.95
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Definitions

Catapult

A catapult is any kind of device that shoots or launches a projectile by mechanical means. In England, a catapult is what we call a slingshot in the US. A catapult is also the part of an aircraft carrier that launches airplanes off the deck.

But for our purposes, a catapult is any of the ancient types of artillery, including Onagers, Scorpions, Trebuchets, Ballistae, Springalds, Coullards, Bricoles Perriers and more.

But most people tend to think of a catapult as the one-armed torsion machine used by the Romans. This is also known as the Onager or Mangonel.

Mangonel

The word Mangonel derives from the ancient Greek word "Manganon", literally meaning "engine of war". The Romans called it a Manganum. In pre-medieval French the word Manganum was changed to Manganeau, and the English changed that to Mangonel in the 1300s.

The history gets a little sketchy in the middle ages, but some historians believe that "mangonel" was shortened to the word "gonnel" about the same time that cannons were being developed, and later still, "gonnel" was shortened to "gun." And still today, in the military a "gun" is strictly a piece of big artillery.

Onager

Onager is originally the name for the wild Asian donkey. This donkey bucks like a bronco if anyone gets too close to it, and it is known to kick stones at people and predators too. So when the Romans needed a name for their one-armed torsion catapult, they called it the Onager!

The Onager (catapult) has a single arm that is powered by a large skein of twisted ropes. The ropes were usually made from hair or sinew for their elastic properties.

Trebuchet

The word "Trebuchet" is originally French, and meant something like "to fall over or rotate about the middle" as in a see-saw rotating on its axle. It also seems to have meant a big, heavy beam. Today a Trebuchet is any kind of catapult that is powered by a massive counterweight on one end of an arm, and a sling on the other end. This includes Perriers, or "traction" trebuchets which are powered by a mass of people pulling one end of the arm with ropes.

Ballista

This is a two-armed torsion device invented by the Greeks. It works similar to a crossbow, but instead of a flexible bow, it uses two stiff arms powered by twisted rope skeins like an Onager. The ballista predates the Onager by several centuries and was used to hurl stones (lithobolos style ballista) and also bolts or darts.

Obviously, this is where we get the word "ballistic".