Heavy artillery before gunpowder: the trebuchet

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Heavy artillery before gunpowder: the trebuchet

Today, the heaviest piece of artillery constructed before the advent of gunpowder, the medieval trebuchet, needs little introduction, at least in concept (video 1 below). But the difficulties of aiming these cumbersome machines are well illustrated in the second and third videos below, which depict medium-sized and large examples.

For a good introduction to the physics and history involved, see Paul E. Chevedden, Les Eigenbrod, Vernard Foley and Werner Soedel, 'The Trebuchet', Scientific American (July 1995), available here. For more in depth analysis: W.T.S. Tarver, ‘The Traction Trebuchet: A Reconstruction of an Early Medieval Siege Engine’, Technology and Culture 36 (1995), 136-167.