| We typically think of a catapult as something | | | | 3rd and 4th Century BC and this type of early |
| that was used in the Middle Ages to destroy | | | | catapult was much like a big crossbow. They |
| the walls of a castle. But catapults have a | | | | stood around 8 feet tall. True that these are |
| very long history dating long before the time | | | | catapults but the thing that makes a catapult |
| of castles and they were developed and | | | | into the machine we generally consider to be |
| designed in many different ways by many | | | | authentic is the development of the swinging |
| different cultures over the centuries. | | | | arm. This is the arm that holds the bucket |
| | | | and projectile. |
| What is a catapult? | | | | |
| | | | Variations of Catapults |
| The general definition is that a catapult is | | | | |
| a machine that stores energy then quickly | | | | The term "catapult" is used to define a very |
| releases this energy to fire a projectile. To | | | | wide variety of large machines for hurling |
| be a "real" catapult the machine generally | | | | projectiles and some of the more common |
| has to be too large for a person to carry. If | | | | variations include the trebuchet, which is a |
| we just used the storage and release of | | | | catapult that uses gravity and a seesaw |
| energy to define a catapult then a longbow | | | | effect to hurl its projectile. Another |
| would also fit this definition. So the size | | | | variation is the ballista, which is similar |
| of the machine is important. | | | | to a crossbow and uses twisted skeins of |
| | | | material to create torsion as its way of |
| How did catapults develop? | | | | storing energy for release. |
| | | | |
| Catapults are an offshoot of the Crossbow. | | | | The End of Catapults |
| Over time crossbows got larger and larger. | | | | |
| They went from being a hand-held weapon to | | | | With the invention and use of gunpowder and |
| something called the Belly-Bows which were so | | | | the subsequent creation of artillery the |
| large they had to be braced against a | | | | catapult became obsolete as the weapon of |
| knight's belly. From there they got even | | | | choice for warfare around the fourteenth |
| larger and became something called stand | | | | century. |
| crossbows where they were mounted on stands. | | | | |
| Eventually they got large enough to be | | | | Catapults have a long history and changed |
| defined as something in their own right and | | | | dramatically over many centuries. The true |
| no longer crossbows. This size change also | | | | catapult that we think of today as a siege |
| brought about changes in how they operated. | | | | engine only saw limited use in the middle |
| | | | ages. Just as it was coming into its power as |
| When did the first catapults appear and | | | | a machine of destruction gunpowder and |
| where? The earliest writings of catapults | | | | artillery quickly replaced it as the weapon |
| were that they originated in China around the | | | | of choice. |