The Traction Trebuchet

A Triumph of Four Civilizations

Bibliographic Data

ID9320101
AuthorsPaul E Chevedden (corresponding author), Zvi Shiller (0000-0003-1303-0367), R H And Thomas R Hinton Samuel, Samuel R, Donald J Kagay, Samuel Gilbert, Samuel R Gilbert
Year2000
Volume31
Pages433-486
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueViator (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0083-5897 • E-ISSN: 2031-0234
PublisherBrepols (PUBLISHER • BE)
DOI10.1484/j.viator.2.300774
OpenAlexW2184621311
LanguageEN
Citations received35

The Traction Trebuchet: A Triumph of Four Civilizations." This study of the traction trebuchet offers new perspectives on the development and employment of the piece of ordnance that dominated warfare far longer than any other form of artillery. The inquiry is both interdisciplinary and intercultural, combining an historical investigation with an engineering analysis of manually-powered artillery used for a millennium across Eurasia and North Africa. It reviews the accomplishments of China, Islam, Byzantium, and the Latin West to the development of the traction trebuchet and describes how Islamic, Byzantine, and European trebuchets were able to surpass their Chinese counterparts, despite the fact that China was the first to devise this class of artillery. Contrary to prevailing opinion, the traction trebuchet reached an advanced stage of development, comparable to the performance of the stone-projectors of the gravity-powered age of artillery; and it remained in use long after the invention of counterweight trebuchet because it fulfilled a vital tactical role in siege warfare

Aeronautics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Artillery · Byzantine architecture · China · Islam · Siege · Traction (geology · Engineering · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Mechanical Engineering · Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts · Military History and Strategy

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