Medieval Siege Weapons Essay, Research Paper

Medieval Siege Weapons

Essay submitted by Will

This is a brief paragraph or two on each of the major besieging arms. For the non merely

the besiegers but besides the guardians. Please note most of these arms were non

used entirely and frequently had many different versions of the same arm.

KNIGHT

At age seven a boy of a baronial household was sent to a Lord or Godhead, frequently who was a

relation. Here he was a page and taught how to sit a Equus caballus, and his manners. At the

age of 14 he was apprenticed to a knight. As the squire to the knight he would

take attention of his Equus caballus, help him set the knights armour on and maintain it clean. In bend he

was taught how to utilize a bow, carve meat, and other knightly accomplishments. The squire would

hold to travel into conflict with the knight to assist him when he was wounded or unhorsed.

If the squire was successful he would be knighted at the age of 21. When there wasn & # 8217 ; T

a war traveling on knight would hold to pattern, pattern, and pattern some more. They

would wrestle, battle with blunt blades, do tumblings, and besides do athleticss like javelin

and seting which is throwing a heavy rock every bit far as you can.

Experienced knights would take part in tourneies held by the male monarch. The victor

would normally merely acquire boasting rights and sometimes a amount of money. The most

common event was jousting. Jousting is a athletics where to to the full armoured knights drive at

each other on Equus caballuss while taking a long wooden spear at the each other. With velocities

making 60 stat mis per hr sometimes there could be fatal accidents. If the individual was

knocked off the other was winning.

Slingshot

The slingshot, was invented by the Romans, and plays a big function in the besieging of any

palace. Besiegers could fire 100-200 lb stones up to 1,000 pess. The slingshot was

used to destruct edifices and walls inside and outside of the palace walls, it could besides

destruct an enemies moral by throwing cut off caputs of companions, they could distribute

disease by throwing shit and dead animate beings in, and they could destruct wooden edifice

by throwing packages of fire in.

Earlier theoretical accounts merely used a big weight on one terminal of a pivoting arm. The arm was

pulled back the missile was placed and so allow travel. The weight went down the arm

went up and good-bye missile. Another ulterior theoretical account gained its power from a tightly

wound skein of rope, hair, and tegument. the skeins were twisted improbably tight and so

had a wooden arm up to sixty pess long placed in between them. The arm was pulled

back utilizing blocks and lasso the missile was placed in the wood cup and so the arm

was released. The arm sprang to a 90 grade angle where it was stopped by a big

cushioned piece of wood. The arm was so brought back down once more and fired once more.

Crossbow

The crossbow is an improbably powerful arm in the armory of any ground forces. A well aimed

shooting could kill a individual even if they were have oning armour! It did nevertheless take a long

clip to recharge this made it and ideal arm for guardians of a palace. While recharging

guardians could conceal behind crenelations where they wouldn & # 8217 ; t acquire shooting. Sometimes a

crossbowmen would hold an helper to recharge while they were taking another

crossbow. Besiegers after a piece built little movable shields wher

vitamin Es archers could

reload.

The crossbow gained its power from a tight cord was pulled back over a little bump,

the bolt was so placed in a small cranny and when the trigger was pulled the bolt

would travel winging. The bolt was a little pes long pointer with a four sided Fe tip.

When recharging the crossbow you would hold to set your pes in the stirrup and draw

back the cord some crossbows were excessively taught so a winch and block were needed.

Catapult

The catapult was like a much larger version of the crossbow used by besiegers. The

catapult used by the ancient Greeks was and anti-personnel arm. It was placed

outside the metropolis doors to deter sallies, when guardians rush out for a

countermove.

SIEGE TOWERS

Sometimes if other methods had failed an aggressor would hold to construct big besieging

towers. Siege towers were wooden constructions on wheels that were merely taller than the

palace wall itself. The tower had a big lift bridge type thing that lowered at wall

degree. When the lift bridge was lowered aggressors rushed in. The tower had arrow slits

so assaultive bowmans could pick off guardians. The tower ran the hazard of being burned

from fire pointers so besiegers placed carnal fells on the side to debar pointers. If a

palace had a ditch environing it the ditch had to be blocked with wood and soil so

rolled up following to the wall. Sometimes if a palace had a organic structure of H2O environing it

besieging towers had to be placed on boats so ferried across. If siege towers were non

available scaling ladders had to be used scaling ladders nevertheless could be throne off

and stones and boiling H2O could be tossed at work forces on them.

Random-access memory

A random-access memory was used to really interrupt down a wall or door. A random-access memory was normally one or more

trees that had a metal tip on the terminal was either held by people or swung on ironss

while inside a little penthouse. The random-access memory could interrupt down the wall and when it did

besiegers stormed in. This was unsafe work for the people since rocks and pointers

were winging down onto them. They so built wooden penthouses to debar those and

maintain them safe. Defenders would flip mattresses to buffer the blows.

Machicolation

Machicolations were pieces of the palace that jutted out from the top of walls that

aloud guardians to throw stones, boiling H2O, and other violative substances down on

the people below. Versions of machicolations have been incorporated into palaces all

over Europe. One in most normally found in the gate house are & # 8220 ; slaying holes & # 8221 ; they are

small holes in the ceiling where guardians throw all kinds of things down on aggressors.

TUNNELING

Tunneling was one of the techniques used by besiegers merely if they planned for a long

and difficult conflict. They didn & # 8217 ; t utilize it really much because of disbursal. When they would make

it they dug under one of the towers and put up shoring. When they had dug far plenty

under they put branchlets and flammable substances so burn it all. If it worked decently

the tunnel would undermine in and the tower would crumple to pieces. Defenders to counter

act this would either set out big puddles of H2O so that any burrowing would make

ripplings so they could counter excavation and have an belowground battle, or they could merely

hold a fosse which would do delving difficult and unsafe.