Medieval Siege Weapons

The Medieval Siege Weapons of heavier caliber (known also by the name of Petraria) seem to have taken four forms, the Arbalist, a weapon of some precision, constructed on the principle of crossbow, but larger and more powerful, for firing darts, the Mangonel, the Trebuchet, and the Espringold, for keeping up a rain of heavy missiles.

Of the Medieval Siege Weapons pertaining to the engineer rather than to the artillerist the most important and useful was the ram. Much less effective was the Mouse or Bore, a pole armed with an iron point, used to pick out the stones from the wall one at a time, using a screwing action, so as by degrees to pierce an opening rather then to breach the wall. To protect the artificers, with each of the Medieval Siege Weapons, a movable shelter or penthouse, the cat, known sometimes as a Testudo (from the Roman engine of that name), was provided. Less known among the Medieval Siege Weapons was the mine, which required more skill than the ram.

The method was more efficient in the case of castles placed on softer material such as chalk, clay, or sandstone. One of the most impressive Medieval Siege Weapons was the temporary tower. The latter was an elevated wooden structure, tall enough to overlook the walls, so that defenders might be picked off by sharp-shooters and an assault covered; the former was a lighter tower, mounted on wheels. Although we cannot classify it as one of the Medieval Siege Weapons per se, we should also mention the primitive method of the escalade, the attack by scaling-ladders, which offered a reasonable chance of success to assailants who were overwhelmingly superior in numbers and reckless of life.