Ballista Facts: Know More About This Medieval Era War Weapon

The medieval era or middle ages is marked by various prominent wars fought and waged.

Some wars were won while others were lost, but these wars significantly helped determine the fates of many powerful kingdoms of that time. One of the things that determined the success of winning these wars was the massive military weapons used on the battlefield.

One such lethal ancient war engine used by ancient Greeks was the ballista. Ballista was a siege warfare weapon that looked like a giant crossbow but was powerful enough to launch a missile across a considerable distance.

The ballista used heavy bolts, pointed spears, darts with iron points, iron clad, and other kinds of missiles to destroy enemy troops and castles. Let's learn more about these ancient warfare weapons.

What is a ballista?

The word 'ballista' is derived from the word 'ballistes' of Greek origin, which means 'to throw.' In other countries, such as England, this siege engine was also commonly referenced as ingenium, which means 'ingenious device.' Even catapults have been around since the fifth century.

The ballista design derives inspiration from the huge dart-throwing machine, a giant crossbow.

A typical ballista missile mainly included darts with iron points or sharp wooden poles.

Thus, this war weapon had two arms and a rope tightly twisted around these bow arms. These metallic bow arms were further attached to the bowstring.

The iron caps ensure that the torsion-bundles can be adjusted when needed.

The twisted skeins of ropes powered the missiles to launch and follow the trajectory path with utmost precision.

This highly accurate siege engine required expert building and intricate design skills.

The most powerful weapon ever invented worked on the principle of tension and was capable enough to destroy huge stone castle walls.

Operating the ballista involved a few steps. The first step to operating any ballista involved pulling back the bowstring with a winch to create tension.

The missile was then loaded to the bowstring, which was pulled back via a winch, to be launched to a favorable distance.

While the arms were usually made of wood, ropes were made using different materials, including horsehair, sinew, animal intestines, animal gut, and even human hair.

To ensure that the missiles gained high momentum once launched, low-weight missiles, such as darts, mainly were used.

History Of Ballistas

The history of ballistas dates back to the Ancient Greeks, where the ballista charged heavy bolts, ironclads, and other kinds of missiles to kill and destroy enemy troops and castle walls.

These invaluable siege weapons are thought to have been invented sometime around 400 BC.

During that time, ballistae saw various modifications, which the Romans later inserted.

The ballista then traveled to different parts of Europe and began to be extensively used by French troops to launch missiles and blast their enemy castles.

During the siege of Dover, Louis, the Dauphin of France, laid siege and violently attacked Dover Castle using many ballistae.

Hugh de Burgh, the constable of Dover Castle, and the knights of Dover Castle refused to surrender despite these violent attacks against the wall.

Even though the design and building of these siege weapons were highly accurate, ballistae fell short in reaching the high momentum of the launched missiles than that of huge Trebuchet and other heavier missiles.

Purpose Of Ballistas

Even though the history of ballistae is filled with gruesome war stories, one cannot deny the number of purposes they served during battles and wars. Instead of metal components, it was made of human hair, wood, and springs.

The primary use of the ballista was to launch heavy objects, such as darts or nails, to destroy castle walls and kill many enemies at once.

The two arms of the ballistic weapon, when pulled, are believed to have a remarkable range, which could go up to about 546.8 yd (500 m).

This means a missile launched from the ballista had the ability to do massive damage to enemies.

It was used as a defense weapon as well as a siege engine to attack other enemies.

Uses Of Ballistas

Ballistae is, undoubtedly, one of the massive siege weapons invented in the Middle Ages. This is why they were highly popular among most knights and troops during warfare.

Since the ballista was used to launch darts and other missiles, they were primarily used to fire bolts on enemy fortifications and enemies.

Ballistae, used in the Roman Empires, are presently used by archaeologists to understand and further reconstruct these weapons.

Ancient ballistae were heavy weapons, which means they were not mobile and were mounted at a certain place. Modifications made by other empires involved making battleships with mounted ballistae on the roof to attack enemy ships approaching from the seaway.

Did You Know...

If you did not get enough of these amazing ballista facts, we have some more to share with you.

Since ballistae were mainly used by the Eastern Empire, the greek added an extra 'r' to the word ballista.

Since women in the Middle Ages were not allowed to participate in military or any warfare, women had a unique way of showing their patriotism.

Women used to grow long hair to donate them in making ropes in situations where new ballistae were needed.

The twisted skeins of ropes used in ballista were made from various products, including guts and intestines of cats.