Illustrations of history

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Medieval Chinese garrison using a traction trebuchet against besiegers (infosec.pub)

submitted 3 weeks ago by PugJesus@lemmy.world to c/historyillustrations@lemmy.world

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[–] Naz@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

How does this thing even work? It looks as though they're using human bodies as the counterweight for the typical stone on a trebuchet.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 17 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet

There are two main types of trebuchet. The first is the traction trebuchet, or mangonel, which uses manpower to swing the arm. It first appeared in China by the 4th century BC. It spread westward, possibly via the Avars, and was adopted by the Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, and other neighboring peoples by the sixth to seventh centuries AD.[6][7][8]

The later, and often larger and more powerful, counterweight trebuchet, also known as the counterpoise trebuchet, uses a counterweight to swing the arm. It appeared in both Christian and Muslim lands around the Mediterranean in the 12th century, and was carried back to China by the Mongols in the 13th century.[9]

The OG form

[–] Naz@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Ah got it, thank you.

That's a ridiculous contraption but ingenious for the time period, combining the mass and energy of multiple people to throw a single projectile.

[–] Plaidboy@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago

I too was curious about this contraption. Here is a video of some people using one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5nQ3CpFCl8&t=12m39s

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