Wednesday 02. September 2009 The Casapult master builders from Hermannstadt
By: Christian RummelIt took place...
It took place at a very nice sunny day in a midsummer of the XXI. century after christ.
It was the year MMIX.
The journeymen from the brotherhoods were busy at the bell tower of the evangelic church and they took a view over the roofs of Transylvania at lunch time, as the message from the municipal council of Hermannstadt arrived, that they should build a new catapult situated at the very east edge of the town wall, which was completed in 1470.
Shortly there was a gathering in the journeymen hospice at the Huet square, things were calculated and there were dicussions about how to reach the best result. It was the first time such kind of request came to the journeymen. Old written records about how to build defence- and siege machines were lost long time before. They came to an agreement as they decided to build a Tribock, a kind of slingshot which has a heavy weight on a short arm in the front and a rope with a leather bin, which should carry the missile in the back.
Till late at night the strategies went on in the neighbourhood pub, with lot's of beer and wine, but then the message was sent back to the municipal council, that all planings are done and that they should pay the price of 600 silvercoins in advance. The council agreed and the project started the next day in the shade of potters- and carpenter guild towers. Together they axed beams, they forged fittings and they spliced ropes. Four weeks later everything was done and the machine was constructed under the prying eyes of the council, the citizens and the clergy at the big market square. The journeymen remained at the wheel as they demonstrated their work with some precision bombings crossways the square. Unfortunately there was a tent of an order at the end of the square, which was battered by some missiles, not to the fun of the leisured ladies and knights.
At that day the big market took place in Hermannstadt and there were lot's of jugglers, lot's of traders as well as some folks from the authorities from other cities in Transylvania. From a delegation of the city Bistriz, which is situated in the north of Transylvania the question was brought to the journeymen, if it would be possible to bring the machine to their town, because they envinced their interest in having such kind of catapult...
It's obvious that this story did not happen 500 years ago, it took place this summer. After this year summer project the chamber of culture events from the city of Sibiu came to the Casa Calfelor with the request, if we could build a catapult for this year mediaeval festival. Of course we said yes, because we could earn money with that and even the task seemed like experiemental archaeology. After complex plannings and a dynamic calculation of the slingshot on the computer we made the reproduction of the Tribock within two weeks. From the top to the bottom of the relaxed arm the construction was 5.5 meters high. This construction was the highest stage of evolution from mediaeval catapults, which were used until the 16th century.
The kind of lumber we used was spruce, partly own axed beams or matured axed timber. The wooden joints were all made in the old fashion way from the carpenters, with mummy and daddy, wooden nails, and so on. All pieces of metal as bolts, the slingshot mechanic and the escapement were forged by ourself. No screws or similar modern things were used, so everything was historical correct.
The first shoot examples had already proved satisfactory, but as munition we only used waterbombs, which however hit the tent of a knight order during their performances 70 meters away, accurate in most of the tries. We were acclaimed a lot, but this was not enough for us. In the next week we took the catapult at night time and brought it to an old huge industrial area at the edge of the city, to test the load limit. Thereby we loaded the weight bin in the front with 170 kilogram of rocks and the leather strap in the back with one stone by the weight of almost two kilogram and we hit the area of a small front garden 130 meters away continuously.
But the whole thing was not always safe. The slingshot developed undreamed forces and it took four guys to stretch it. Moreover some missiles didn't flew in the expected parable forward, but rather vertical up if the slingshot was hooked off early. One missile missed myself by a hair and it is unnecessary to say, that this would have been terminal.
The conclusion in all:
All together a very succesful archaeological experiement and it was interesting to ascertain, that it must have been possible to besiege a town in those days with a catapult in bigger dimensions.