During the summer of 1191, Richard the Lionhearted laid siege to the city of Acre that was captured by the Muslims during the Crusades. He placed a series of trebuchets surrounding the city, ordering them to continually hurl stones all day and night. A trebuchet is a type of catapult that was used in Medieval warfare. It is comprised of a weighted beam that swings a sling typically carrying a large stone. Richard's most effective trebuchet was called the Malvoisine Petraria, or the "Bad Neighbor stone hurler." One stone killed 12 men at once, and that stone was taken by messengers to Saladin in order to intimidate him. The stones thrown from this machine were even able to reach the inner city's meat district. Eventually, Bad Neighbor was able to tear down part of the city's wall and destroy their Cursed Tower, despite the Turks having their own trebuchet inside the city aimed solely at destroying the Bad Neighbor.
Talbot, Alice-Mary. "Dumbarton Oaks Papers, No. 54" Washington, DC. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. 2000. http://www.doaks.org/publications/doaks_online_publications/DOP54/DP54ch4.pdf
That's SO awesome! A giant catapult! I mean it's not exactly a well hidden product, but hey, if it gets the job done, right? It is kind of brutal though. Killing 12 men with one rock seems a little harsh to me. We've certainly downsized since then!
ReplyDeleteTo think that the weapons we see in movies, such as the Lord of the Rings, were actually used in human battles is mind-blowing. I wonder why they are no longer used. I understand that they are not exactly inconspicuous, but if they are launching huge rocks that can take out 12 men at one time, they seem like they would still be useful. Granted I would never want to hear about one of our soldiers being killed in such a way.
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