Medieval Information

Catapults have been used in one way or another since the Roman times and probably even before. Their principle is very simple and they consist of a machine which quickly relieves its accumulated tension. The tension is originated when a person turns its handle generating energy in a rope or piece of wood. When a catapult fires, all the accumulated energy is converted to send a projectile very far away. Averaging 500 to 1000 feet away, a stone is launched with so much power that it can destroy a wall.

Attackers idealized many new projectiles to storm a besieged castle including dead animals, spoiled food and burning wood in an attempt to break the siege as soon as possible.

Leonardo Da Vinci and other thinkers improved the use of the catapult and evolved it for better usability and range. Of course the catapult kept evolving as the centuries passed, but it proved to be useless when gunpowder was introduced into medieval warfare.