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Medieval wooden catapult

Catapult: The Long-Reaching History of a Prominent Medieval Siege Engine

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One of the most iconic images of the European Middle Ages is the castle. This defensive structure was often heavily fortified and provided its inhabitants with much-needed safety. It was usually quite difficult for an enemy to capture a castle, and for that, an attacking army needed siege engines. The catapult was one of the most efficient of these war machines.

The Roman Onager

The catapult was a weapon used since ancient times. In its most basic form, the catapult may be described as a “one-armed stone thrower”. In the Roman world, a catapult-like siege engine known as the ‘onager’ (meaning ‘wild ass’) was used when the Romans were besieging an enemy. One suggestion for this name’s origins is that the Romans likened the stones that were hurled by the catapult to the rocks kicked up behind galloping hooves.

An alternate suggestion is that the device jumped when it fired its projectiles. Another type of catapult, which had a sling, was known as the ‘scorpion’, as a shot from this device is reported to resemble the movement of a scorpion’s tail.

A Roman onager with sling (‘Scorpion’).

A Roman onager with sling (‘Scorpion’). (Public Domain)

Chinese Traction Catapults

The use of catapults, however, was not limited to the Roman army. There are records which show that the catapult was also employed by the armies of ancient China as well. For example, during the early Spring and Autumn period (8th – 7th centuries BC), there was a machine called a ‘hui’ that was used by the King of Zhou against the Duke of Zheng during a battle in 707 BC. As the word ‘hui’ no longer exists, we cannot be completely sure of its meaning. Nevertheless, scholars from the Han Dynasty interpreted this device as a catapult.

A clearer mention of the catapult in Chinese sources may be found in the Mohist texts of the Warring States period (5th – 3rd centuries BC). In these texts, the catapults were operated using the lever principle, and are known as traction catapults. These devices could be used by either the besieger or the besieged. As a weapon employed by the besieged, the traction catapult could be used to attack enemy siege towers, and to hurl objects at enemy troops either to kill them or to disrupt their formation.

Ancient Chinese mobile catapult cart.

Ancient Chinese mobile catapult cart. (CC BY 1.0)

The Torsion Catapults

In the West, by contrast, catapults operated according to a different principle. Instead of using the lever technique, European catapults operated according to torsion mechanics. This technology was first introduced by the Greeks, and later adopted by the Romans.

By the European Middle Ages, a variation of the Roman ‘onager’ was developed. This was called the mangonel, which means ‘an engine of war’ (mangonel may also refer to other siege engines). The primary difference between an ‘onager’ and a mangonel is that the latter launched its projectiles from a fixed bowl rather than from a sling. This meant that instead of a large, single projectile, the mangonel could be used also to launch a few smaller projectiles.

Detail of a miniature of a mangonel devised by Nicholas Polo, his brother, and his son, for the siege of Saianfu. (Public Domain)

Traction Meets Torsion

Whilst torsion-operated catapults were being used by European armies, Chinese traction catapult technology had also spread westwards during and around the 6th century AD. It has been speculated that the knowledge of this technology was partially responsible for the victories achieved by the Islamic armies over the next few centuries.

Nevertheless, the first recorded Western encounter with the traction catapult was not during a battle with a Muslim army, but with a nomadic tribe known as the Avars. According to John, an Archbishop of Thessaloniki, during the siege of the city in 597 AD, the Avars were using 50 large traction catapults that hurled stones at the defenders.

It has been speculated that the Avars had interacted with the Northern Wei in China, and learned the traction catapult technology from them. European encounters with the traction catapults of the Muslims (commonly known as ‘al-manjaniq’) would only come later during the Islamic conquest of Iberia. However, it has been argued that it was only during the Crusades that such technology became adopted in Europe.

The Evolution of the Trebuchet

The catapult eventually evolved into the hinged counter-weight trebuchet, a siege engine that had much greater accuracy and range, as well as a higher trajectory than the catapult. Whilst the trebuchet dominated the European battlefield for several centuries, it soon became obsolete in China due to the introduction of gunpowder weapons.

13th Century illustration of Mongols laying siege to a Middle-Eastern city using a trebuchet. (Public Domain)

The arrival of gunpowder in Europe also signaled the end of the widespread use of these siege engines. However, the last major use of catapults in battle is said to have happened during the First World War, when French troops used these devices to hurl grenades into German trenches.

French soldiers using a grenade catapult in World War I.

French soldiers using a grenade catapult in World War I. (Public Domain)

Top Image: A wooden Medieval catapult. Source: Tomasz Zajda /Adobe Stock

By: Ḏḥwty

Updated on February 26, 2021.

In the ancient world, warfare was more than fighting itself. It was an integral part of daily life that encompassed political, economic, and cultural spheres. Find out more about ancient warfare in the Ancient Origins February 2019 magazine HERE.

References

Kellaway, S., 2012. Siege Engines: Medieval Mechanical Mayhem. [Online]
Available at: http://medievallifestyle.com/siege-engines/

Kellaway, S., 2012. The Catapult. [Online]
Available at: http://medievallifestyle.com/siege-engines/catapult.html

Leong Kit Meng, 2005. A Brief History of the Catapult. [Online]
Available at: http://www.grandhistorian.com/chinesesiegewarfare/siegewarfare-briefhistory.html

Leong Kit Meng, 2006. Siege Weapons Types in Chinese Warfare. [Online]
Available at: http://www.grandhistorian.com/chinesesiegewarfare/index-english12122007.html

www.medieval-life-and-times.info, 2015. Siege Weapons. [Online]
Available at: http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-weapons/siege-weapons.htm

www.medievalwarfare.info, 2013. Medieval Warfare. [Online]
Available at: http://www.medievalwarfare.info/

www.medievalwarfare.info, 2013. Medieval Weapons & Armour. [Online]
Available at: http://www.medievalwarfare.info/weapons.htm

 

Comments

Pete Wagner's picture

The more interesting and important aspect here is the construction of the WAGON that carries the implement.  Forget the implement, look at the wagon.  Wagons were critical in ancient times.  None of the impressive Atlantean-era stonework would have been possible without them.  Moreover, the roads (attributed to the Romans, but built by the Atlanteans prior to the Ice Age) were designed for heavy wagons such as this, pulled by large draft animals, to include Mammoths – as proven by the solidified cart tracks (Phrygian Valley of Turkey) showing mammoth prints between the wheel tracks, ...frozen in time from the very start of the Ice Age, (circa 115k BC, adding the zero back to Plato’s Atlantis timeline).

Nobody gets paid to tell the truth.

Pete Wagner's picture

You make a good point, my friend.  Like with many things in the present times, the people in charge (directors or owners) who produce the products and/or services that are marketed to us, are probably not using (as we are) those same products and services, ...or they would say, ‘wait, that’s not good, let’s fix that issue’.  It’s like when you buy a product, and try to open the package, and it is too hard, too clumsy, and/or rips the wrong way, ...but an easy fix that they never do.  The money people seem to be NOT interested in those types of issues, ...unless there’s more money to be made.  But the thing is, they lose customers if they don’t, i.e., ‘that’s the last time for me on this crap!’ So NOT smart in the long run.

Nobody gets paid to tell the truth.

Your website takes ages to load, due in no small part to the huge number of adverts on each page. I realise that you require funding to continue, but do there have to be so many ads making loading ultra slow?

Scorpion in fact is like oversized crossbow mounted in system much like modern machinegun mount. Much like this:  https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxnQufUChKs7o_JCp_v0aXKABRtqCwtuaKaY3iUqFE7mRAf3RS
Most likely etymology of name is from that it “stings” like scorpion.  And yes there are quite good contemporary sources giving hints what scorpion is. For example Caesar’s “De Bello Gallico”. 
Single arrow from scorpion was so powerfull it could penetrate and nail together many men when shot though dense formation. 

   
dhwty's picture

Wu

Wu Mingren (‘Dhwty’) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods.... Read More

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