The 5 main Stuart castle
weapons
By Jamie Payne
Battering ram
• A battering ram is used to weaken or
break down thick castle walls with the
force of several men behind it the battering
ram could seriously damage the castle. As
the battering ram developed more and
more changes were made until eventually
wheels were added to make it easier to
push.
Trebuchet
• A trebuchet was kind of like a catapult but
an old version. It could throw things that
were a heavy as 350 pounds at high
speeds at a castle. The idea of a trebuchet
was to throw heavy rocks at the castle
walls and inside the castle to create high
damage.
Mangonel
• The magonel was important weapon in the
middle ages it was like a catapult. The
magonel fired its weapons from a round
shaped bucket from the end of its arm.
The missiles were thrown in a overhead
arc and could cause huge damage to the
castle the attacking side were trying to
destroy.
Ballista
• The ballista was like a giant crossbow and
worked by using tension. It was designed
to throw massive arrows or darts it threw
straight at the target like you would do with
a gun. The force that the missiles were
thrown at was so powerful it was capable
of killing several enemies at once it could
also cause damage to the castle itself.
Siege Tower
• The siege tower was a valuable weapon in
the middle ages as it not only gave
defence for the attackers they could also
attack from the top and rush into the
castle. It could also hold the other siege
weapons safely it was usually the size or
bigger than the castle wall so that the
attackers could climb into the castle.