The Art of the Catapult

Build 7 Authentic Working Model Catapults

Whether playing at defending their own castle or simply chucking pumpkins over a fence, wannabe marauders and tinkerers will become fast acquainted with Ludgar, the War Wolf, Ill Neighbor, Cabulus, and the Wild Donkey—ancient artillery devices known commonly as catapults.

Building these ancient yet sophisticated machines introduces the budding medieval engineer to the mathematical and physical fundamentals of force, torsion, tension, and traction. Instructions and diagrams illustrate how to build seven authentic working model catapults, from early Greek ballistae, to the Roman onager, to arguably the apex of missile technology, the European trebuchet.

Additional projects include learning how to lash and make rope and how to construct and use a hand sling and a staff sling.

The colorful history of siege warfare is explored through the stories of Alexander the Great and his battle of Tyre; Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, and the Third Crusade; pirate-turned-soldier John Crabbe and his ship-mounted catapults; and Edward I of England and his battle against the Scots at Stirling Castle.