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What was the Mangonel catapult used for?

2 min read

Asked by: Mike Duncan

The mangonel was a type of catapult, used for smashing the walls of a castle during a siege. It consisted of an arm and bucket mounted on a wooden frame.

What were mangonel used for?

A mangonel (derived from Greco-Latin word manganon, meaning “engine of war”) was a type of catapult or siege engine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castle’s walls.

When were mangonel catapults used?

6th century AD

The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of trebuchet used in Ancient China starting from the Warring States period, and later across Eurasia by the 6th century AD.

When was a catapult used and for what purpose?

catapult, mechanism for forcefully propelling stones, spears, or other projectiles, in use mainly as a military weapon since ancient times. The ancient Greeks and Romans used a heavy crossbowlike weapon known as a ballista to shoot arrows and darts as well as stones at enemy soldiers.

How does a mangonel launch?

The mangonel consists of an arm with a bowl-shaped bucket attached to the end. In this bucket a payload is placed. Upon release, the arm rotates at a high speed and throws the payload out of the bucket, towards the target. The launch velocity of the payload is equal to the velocity of the arm at the bucket end.

Why was the catapult invented?

Catapults and trebuchets were invented to fill the need for a way to transmit a lot of force from a safe distance. A human arm could not throw a rock with enough force to knock down castle walls.