Osprey New Vanguard 58 : Medieval Siege Weapons (1) : Western Europe 585 -1385 AD

The Medieval era was a period of huge variety and invention in the field of siege warfare. Before the use of cannon and other gun-powder artillery, siege engines relied on assorted sources of power from torsion 'energy storage' systems to man-power, counter-balances and others. In the Ancient world the Roman Empire and China had developed quite sophisticated siege warfare methods. The combining of technological traditions from the Graeco-Roman world, Persia, India and above all China made a massive contribution to the development of siege techniques. The Islamic world and later the explosion of the Mongol 'world empire' were largely responsible for the ease with which these traditions were brought together. Medieval military engineering was equally inventive in terms of mining, counter-mining, the breaking of walls, the use of noxious and chemical fumes as well as pre-explosive or semi-explosive fire-weapons. Such devices were used in both attack and defence during siege warfare, naval warfare and occasionally in open battle. Medieval military theoreticians were similarly fascinated by more complex, and often impractical, military devices which nevertheless contained the seeds of more realistic machines which appeared in later centuries. Text by David Nicolle with illustrations by Sam Thompson.

Contents

• Background
• The Romano-Byzantine Heritage
• The Middle Eastern Heritage
• The Indian Heritage
• The Chinese Heritage
• Stone Throwing Machines - Man-Powered, Torsion Powered, Counterweight Powered
• Giant and Multiple Crossbows, and Variations
• Mining and Boring Devices
• Towers and Man-Elevating Devices
• Moveable Defensive Systems
• Fire Weapons
• Noxious Weapons
• Naval Warfare
• The Frontiers of Possibility - Experimentation in Medieval Military Technology