The Trebuchet
The trebuchet was a wooden siege engine designed to destroy castle walls by
throwing large rocks at them. The engine was constructed using a sturdy base, a long
throwing arm and a bucket to hold weights. The projectile was connected by a rope to the end of the
throwing arm while the bucket at the other end of the arm was filled with a heavy material.
The arm was winched down lifting the bucket into the air and secured in place while the projectile
was attached. The projectile rested on a flat piece of wood.
The projectile was connected to the arm and the firing mechanism released. The weight of the bucket
brought the other end of the arm down and sent the projectile flying into the air. At the top of the
arc the projectile was released and sent speeding to hit the castle wall. The direction of the
projectile could be controlled by moving it left and right on the board. The distance could be
controlled by altering the shape of the release pin on the end of the arm, the amount of weight in
the bucket or the weight of the projectile itself.
Trebuchets came in many shapes and sizes, some having wheels so they could be moved
around the siege landscape. Trebuchets were built as kits that could be assembled and
disassembled and transported in sections to where they were needed. All the pieces slotted
together and were fixed with wooden or metal pegs.
Rocks were not the only things that were thrown by trebuchets. It was common to throw urns filled
with flammable material into the castle where many of the buildings were made of wood. The urn had a lit
fuse that would have ignited the material when the urn broke.
Dead animals were another type of projectile thrown into castles. Animals that were diseased were
preferred as they could spread disease if they landed in the castle's water source.
Being constructed of wood made trebuchets vunerable to attack by fire and had to be protected from this danger.
VRML Model
Images from VRML model
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Click here to explore
a castle siege using trebuchets. You will need to install the VRML plugin first by clicking on
the Cortona icon below.
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The VRML plugin from Cortona is required to display the trebuchet.
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