The rope attached to the arm was the spring of the Mangonel. The ropes are made of twisted strands of human hair or animal sinew. The rope at the bottom end of the throwing arm was twisted, providing the force to propel the arm..
Wheels were added to the base of the Mangonel ensuring manoeuvrability. Missiles thrown from the Mangonel The Mangonel could launch missiles across long distances. Attackers were ingenious in their ideas for launching projectiles which would cause as much distress and discomfort inside the castle walls.
Mangonel missiles included the following:. The Mangonel and Medieval Warfare The castle owners ensured that their castles were built to withstand or combat a siege. Medieval Castles were built with access to fresh supplies from the sea. Various forms of defence including the Barbican, Portcullis, Gatehouse, Moat, Crenellations, Murder Holes etc were included in castle design.
Castle attackers employed siege Warfare including starvation tactics. Castle walls could fall due to bombardment from Siege Engines such as the trebuchet, the mangonel, battering ram, and of course, the Ballista. For example, in Spain it was known as an almanganiq, derived from an Arabic word. Whereas catapult is a general English term that is used to indicate all such projectiles of different throwing machines.
The structure of mangonel siege weapon consisted of two large timber uprights that were joined by two ropes that had a beam passing through it.
One end of mangonel beam had a spoon like structure that was used to hold the projectiles whereas the other end was tied. The spoon like side of the beam was pulled down with the help of the ropes, mostly by several men, loaded by the desired projectile and then released.
The torsion of the ropes generated a lot of force that was enough to hurl the projectile a considerable distance. The ropes used were mostly made from horse hair or human hair as they provided the best tensile strength in a fibre. Most Mangonels were large and heavy and they also needed wheels to move them from one place to another. It is believed that the Romans used staff-sling equipment long before anybody else but it was the Chinese who really invented the first beam-sling Mangonel Siege weapon between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC.
They mounted a larger staff-sling on a wooden frame or on a fixed pole and gave it the capability to throw larger rocks. Later considerable development was made from the Mediterranean to the Middle East as the Mangonel design was changed and adopted according to the different needs of different areas, but the primary purpose remained the same which was to pressurize and ultimately control the opponents during sieges by destroying walls.
Mangonel Siege Weapons outside castle grounds used to attack medieval castle walls. The Mangonel Siege weapon was mainly used in the siege warfare during medieval times in order to capture a castle or a town that was surrounded by a medieval attacking army. Most Castles and towns had walls and to enter them was not an easy task, hence the Mangonel siege weapons were used to damage the walls and to create panic among the defending troops and residents. During long sieges Mangonels were also used to throw certain items that spread disease and dead body parts were also thrown to frighten people.
Mangonels fired heavy projectiles from a bowl-shaped bucket at the end of its arm. The Mangonel was used for aiming various missiles at castles, fortresses and cities.
This type of catapult was easy to construct and wheels were added to the design to ensure manoeuvrability. The Mangonel complimented the other available siege weapons. The Mangonel was not as accurate as the Ballista but it was able to throw missiles further than a Trebuchet.
Missiles were thrown in an overhead arc as opposed to the straight trajectory of the dart throwing Ballista. The Mangonel similar to a catapult which worked by using torsion or counterpoise.
Mangonel History The Mangonel is believed to be an ancient war engine which invented by the Romans in BC as a light alternative to the Ballista which also had the addition of wheels. The Mangonel reached Europe during the Medieval era and was used extensively by the French.
It was introduced in England in during the Siege of Dover. Building and Design of the Mangonel The Mangonel was a highly accurate siege engine requiring expert building and design skills.
Mangonels were capable of firing projectiles up to 1, feet.
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