Catapults History

Words: 503
Pages: 3
Open Document
People today might think that catapults were used during The Middle Ages for destroying castles and walls. But they have a very long history of what they are and how they are made. A catapult is a storing energy machine that quickly releases the energy to throw objects in distant reaches. Catapults developed from crossbows. A crossbow is a medieval bow supported by wood and has a groove for bolts and mechanism, for drawing and releasing the string. They were developed by the crossbow by making the crossbows larger and larger. It was at first a hand-held weapon and then being called the belly-bow. The belly-bow was so large they had to be braced against the knights belly. After the belly-bow they got even larger that they became the stand crossbow. …show more content…
Catapults were eight feet tall. This picture of a catapult shows how they looked in early times. The special development that turns the catapult into what we consider “The Swinging Arm”. To make a catapult what it is, you have to mount it on a pivot. The catapult was used first by the Greeks, Roman, and Chinese. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, was the first person to write down the firing of a mechanical catapult, early Ballista, in 399 B.C.E. Catapults were used in England in 1216, during Siege of Dover. The French were the first to use catapults on the English soil. For war, they used catapults for launching missiles and other objects. Catapults were used throughout Europe, until 885-886 A.D. because they created new technology that was stronger than catapults. Mangonel catapults work by turning a rod that is connected to ropes,that hold the potential energy and releases using the kinetic energy to throw an object. When it fires, it fires at a 90° angle and throws the object. The parts of a catapult is the bucket; which holds the object that will be thrown, the payload; the object, the arm; the part of the catapult that moves to throw the object, the rope; the support for the arm because if the arm is all the way to the ground, the catapult will not work, restraining rope; the rope that supports the bucket so it doesn't fly off the arm and off the catapult, cantilever-type spring; the object that
Show More

Related Documents: Catapults History

Catapults: Large Scale Warfare

Catapults are an interesting device that has been used throughout human history. The catapult was influenced by another medieval weapon by the name of the crossbow. Catapults were used for large scale warfare. The word catapult comes from the Greek words, “kata” and “pultos”. Kata means downwards and pultos is a small shield that was taken into battle. The early term for a catapult, katapultos, was taken to mean shield piercer. Catapults were used by many countries, such as the Chinese, Romans, French…

Words 394 - Pages 2

Guns In History Research Paper

years. However, I haven’t thought that firearms had affected largely history, because the battle in modern times is dependent on larger weapons, such as cannons, battleships, and missiles, not on firearms that an infantryman has. Therefore I have thought so for many years, but, as I search, I found that perhaps firearms have a quite important role on the history. In this paper, I’m going to write about how firearms affected history. First of all, I define the meaning of the firearms. According to…

Words 620 - Pages 3

Trebuchet Research Paper

Mediterranean in the 12th century. For example, in the year 1216, King Edward I ordered his engineer to build an extremely large trebuchet for him. It was called the Warwolf, and it is still considered to be one of the most powerful trebuchets in history. Before the 12th century, Greek and Roman engineers designed other war machines. However, after historians compared the earlier, more complex designs to the relatively simple design of the trebuchet, they discovered that creators in later years…

Words 1084 - Pages 5

Elie Wiesel Rhetorical Analysis

to me because my grandfather is a survivor from Buchenwald and his entire family perished in Auschwitz. Interestingly, the speech is not particularly about the Holocaust itself or his experiences but the plight of people during history. And he uses the Holocaust as a catapult to demonstrate the point he is making about indifference. Multiple students chose to evaluate this speech and I agree with your assessment regarding the structure of his speech. You gave a powerful assessment regarding the use…

Words 335 - Pages 2

Leonardo Da Vinci Essay

Brandon Martinez World History 8th period Leonardo Da Vinci Leonardo Da Vinci, perhaps the greatest man in history, invented thousands of things including the helicopter, tank and portable bridge. Leonardo was not only an inventor, but a sculptor, an artist and an architect. He was born on April 15, 1452 in the small town of Vinci in Tuscany. His father was a wealthy notary and his mother a peasant woman. In the mid 1460s the family moved to Florence where…

Words 405 - Pages 2

Essay on My Metamorphosis

Drowsily, I awoke rolled over in the grass, woken up by the strange noises of the forest accentuated by the soft flow of the creek. I had no idea how I had gotten over by the creek, it was about 5 clicks from where our campsite was. As I attempted to stand, I was brought down by this incredible inability to stay up on my two feet. As I fell into all fours I noticed what I had previously known to be hands, to what are now paws covered in black fur. I started to get a panicked attack and as I advanced…

Words 504 - Pages 3

Essay on Middle Ages: Weapons

Weapons and Arms in the Middle Ages In my observations of the Medieval time period I found the weapons to be brutal, and atrocious. From war hammers to napalm to the arquebus, this was by far the most in-humane advancement in weapons apart from modern day. The Medieval time went from about the 11th century to the 14th. During this time survival depended on the power of the certain ruler people served under. The power of the ruler depended directly upon his army and the army upon their weapons…

Words 2227 - Pages 9

The Roman Military Supremacy Essay

equipment of an everyday soldier. But the Romans didn’t rule by just conquering armies in hand to hand combat. To take over castles that were fortified with walls that no sword could pierce, they brought in their siege weaponry, mainly the ram, catapult, and scorpio. The scorpio was an anti infantry weapon, almost like a sniper. It was operated by one man, and was a primitive large crossbow. Its effective range varied from 100m to 400m for parabolic shooting. In an army the norm was for 60 scorpios…

Words 2185 - Pages 9

How Did The Plague Affect European Society

The survivors of the plague had just witnessed their family, friends, and community member die from one of the biggest death tolls in history, and people wanted to make sure that health was of serious concern. After the plague, the people saw a much bigger gap between the upper and the middle class, so new schools were also developed to give people another chance to become educated and…

Words 516 - Pages 3

Essay on Greece and Persia

The Greeks and the Persians are two major civilizations that arose in between Asia and Europe around 1000 BCE. Both groups grew in massive size and power ca. 500 BCE. Since the Greeks and the Persians were close to each other, it resulted in conflict and domination. Their conflict resulted first into an antagonism, then later on their lands became one under Alexander the Great. The relationship between the two civilizations changed constantly because of the strength of their rulers, the unity of…

Words 549 - Pages 3