Kate Burke

In medieval times, the Roman created a siege weapon called the Mangonel. The

Mangonel was an attack weapon, similar to a catapult which worked by using torsion or

counterpoise. They would fire heavy projectiles from a cupped bucket at the end of the arm. It

was used for aiming missiles at castles, fortresses, and cities. These catapults were easy to

contract and they were able to add wheels to ensure it was maneuverable. The word Mangonel is

from the Latin word manganon which means, an engine of war. It was invented by the

Romans in 400 BC. It was an incredibly accurate engine that required expert building and

design skills. The Mangonel could launch missiles across long distances. Missiles would

include, stones, sharp wooden poles and darts, fire, dung, body parts, disease ridden bodies, etc.

The building of the Mangonel was very difficult. It requires intricate design and building skills.

Siege weapons were made to order. They were too cumbersome to move from one place to

another. In siege situations, commanders would evaluate a situation and use the siege weapons

to break a siege. Engineers instructed the soldiers as to the construction and building of weapons

This weapon was preferred to other siege weapons like the trebuchet, because it could

throw missiles farther. The ballista would throw items with an overhead trajectory, almost as if

throwing a dart.

The Mangonel was often referred to as the Onager. The Onager originally threw from a

sling, it was later exchanged for a bowl shaped bucket. Onager refers to a type of donkey

whose kicking motion were parallel to the Mangonel.

The Mangonel had one arm that was made of timber, missiles were thrown from the

cupped bucket at the end of the arm. There was s rope attached to the arm that was the spring on

the Mangonel. The ropes were made of human hair or animal sinew. The rop at the lower end of
the arm was twisted, which gave force to propel the arm Wheels are added later after the

completion of the Mangonel to help make it easier to maneuver. Castles were built to withstand

a siege. They would include barbican, portcullis, gatehouse, moat, crenellations, murder holes,

and more. Castle attackers would employ siege warfare including starvation tactics. The castle

walls would most commonly fall due to bombardment from siege engines like the trebuchet, the

Mangonel, battering ram, and the ballista. The Mangonel was the most common catapult used

during the medieval period because it was incredibly versatile, and easily maneuvered. The only

issue with the Mangonel was that it was not very accurate, but it was considered an everyday

weapon used during the medieval era. It was created as an alternative to the ballista because it

did not take as much man power to reload. Like the ballista, the Mangonel used torsion to twist

a wooden arm using a projectile. The arm would be released when it hits a crossbar, and the

projectile would be launched towards the target. The Mangonel was later introduced to Europe

during the medieval era. It was used in great numbers to destroy fortress walls so the attacking

army could enter without suffering as many casualties. There are not many recorded uses of the

Mangonel being used throughout history. It was noted to be used with ballistas and trebuchets

at the siege of Dover in 1216.

Wide varieties of missiles were thrown from a Mangonel, bit it depended on the purpose.

They would most commonly throw rocks, but would also throw body parts of animals and people

that were decomposed and diseased. They would do this to try and spread the disease.

The Mangonel was one of the more genius inventions of their time.. While they already

had created a catapult. It was inventive to create a trebuchet that would throw harder and farther

than any other.