[Loch-Ruadh] Fw: [SCA-Disabilities] Fwd: [NOVA] "Medieval Siege"

[Steve Rourke]

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For those of you who may have missed it the first couple times around. It will air locally at 7:00 P.M.

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NEXT ON NOVA: "MEDIEVAL SIEGE"

http://www.pbs.org/nova/trebuchet/

Broadcast: July 16, 2002
(NOVA airs Tuesdays on PBS at 8 p.m. Check your local listings as dates
and times may vary.)

Our image of warfare in the Middle Ages is of bold knights, gleaming
armor, and the clash of steel. In reality, battles were the exception
and long drawn-out, withering sieges were the rule. The only sure route
to conquest was to starve the defenders of a castle into submission --
until the advent of the trebuchet.

The trebuchet was a fearsome, gravity-powered catapult that flung stone
missiles with great speed, accuracy, and destructive power. It was ! the
first large-scale mechanized weapon, and it transformed warfare 300
years before the age of gunpowder. If ammunition ran low, trebuchets
could serve as instruments of terror. Among the projectiles mentioned
in medieval chronicles are wagonloads of manure, hives of angry bees,
spurned ambassadors, plague-infected corpses, and an early form of
napalm known as Greek Fire. All these were hurled at high speed over
castle walls at the luckless defenders.

Despite its central role in siege warfare, most aspects of trebuchet
design and operation remain a mystery. Were these crude contraptions of
a type that any mischievous adolescent might concoct? Or did the need
for high-power, precise artillery give birth to a genuine science of
trebuchet design?

NOVA set two teams of timber framers, engineers, and historians the
challenge of building precise replicas of this ultimate 13-century
deterrent. Armed only with traditional tools,! the teams began work
in a swampy field beside Loch Ness in northern Scotland, beset by
constant drizzle. Finally, the moment of truth arrived as the giant
wooden catapults stood poised to fling 250-pound stones high into the
air. In thrilling footage of these risky firing experiments, NOVA
recaptures all the suspense, violence, and ingenuity that characterized
the medieval siege.

Here's what you'll find online:

Medieval Arms Race
The trebuchet was only one of the weapons early European
warriors employed in siege warfare. They also relied on
battering rams, siege towers, tunnels -- anything to gain
access to a castle. Defenders, meanwhile, had a few tricks
of their own.

NOVA Builds a Trebuchet
Follow a slide show that documents NOVA's successful attempt
to build and shoot a giant trebuchet, the most destructive
war machine that ever laid siege to a medieval castle.

Life in a Castle
Professor Richard Ho! lmes, a British military historian and
member of the NOVA trebuchet-building team, describes what
everyday life was like in a typical English castle of the
Middle Ages.

Destroy the Castle (Hot Science)
Build your own virtual trebuchet and fire giant sandstone balls
at a castle wall. You decide on the size of your projectiles,
where to place your trebuchet, and other factors critical to
success.

Plus Resources and a Teacher's Guide


http://www.pbs.org/nova/trebuchet/

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