The trebuchet is a type of catapult that hurls stones to knock down walls and can also be used to hurl things over walls such as pots of Greek fire or body parts, to name a few. A trebuchet can launch up to 2000 stones/objects in one day. It was developed from the stave sling and invented in China around 300BC. The trebuchet consists of a lever and a sling. It operated by having a large force applied to the shorter side of the lever arm launching the heavy load on the longer side of the arm. One type of trebuchet was the traction trebuchet, which used men to pull down the head to launch the projectile. The other type of trebuchet was the counterpoise trebuchet. It used a weight on the short end to pull down the head and release the projectile. The trebuchet reached Europe around 500AD. The term trebuchet comes from the French word 'trebucher' which means 'to throw over'. The trebuchet's arm could measure up to 60 ft in length and could through stones up to 200 lb with a range of up to 300 yd. The Warwolf, which was built by the chief engineer of King Edward I, was thought of as to be the most powerful and most famous of trebuchets in history.

The Trebuchet