As the besieged Scots watched in awe, a new and colossal weapon rose slowly from the far end of the battlefield. Resembling a “Giant Seesaw”, the engine's beam was heavily weighted on one end, while the other held a massive sling capable of hurling a 250 pound stone projectile the 200 yards to the castle wall. This medieval weapon, which historians believe was a trebuchet, was dubbed  Warwolf.

While no physical evidence of this medieval weapon exists today, in Medieval Siege, two teams of medieval historians and craftsmen attempt to build and employ trebuchets against a castle wall at Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands .

Because the exact configuration of  Warwolf  is unknown, the teams explore two accepted theories of medieval trebuchet design : the fixed counterweight and pivoted counterweight.

With scale models, the designers, medieval historians Renaud Beffeyte and Michael Prestwich along with medieval armor expert and trebuchet builder Hew Kennedy and engineering professor Wayne Neel, first demonstrate the physics, advantages and drawbacks of both designs.

Once at Loch Ness, medieval craftsmen, including timber framers, stonemasons, carpenters and blacksmiths, using medieval tools and methods, construct, fire and zero the two massive trebuchets in an attempt to penetrate the castle wall.

Interspersed throughout the video are interesting and complimentary scenes and narration on medieval castle design, trades, warfare, science, history and culture.

If we could have only one resource for trebuchet design and construction, Secrets of the Lost Empires II: Medieval Siege is our choice. Beautifully done, with Nova's perfect balance of artistry and technical accuracy, Medieval Siege is not only a great primer for the uninitiated, but also a practical video manual for anyone considering designing and  building a medieval trebuchet of any size.
 

- TrebuchetStore.com

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Build your own working scale model medieval trebuchet catapult with our detailed trebuchet plans and  instructions. Perfect for tabletop wargaming.  Our full-size parts templates allow you to scale this trebuchet plan up, for a larger model, or down, for a smaller one, easily on any standard copy machine.
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Build your own working model Stirling Trebuchet. When built, this beautiful Trebuchet stands over 32 inches tall in the fired position and will throw a scale projectile up to 80 feet. Uses common, inexpensive and easy to find building materials, available at your local hardware store or home center. Basic woodworking skills & tools are required, but the straight forward design requires no complicated layout or joinery.  Perfect for demonstrating medieval warfare and technology and the physics of leverage and projectile motion .

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