what were catapults used for?

Question

what did they use them for in the medival times (besides battles)

Answer 1

They flung dead, disease-ridden bodies over the walls of their enemies' cities (honest to God). Besides that, they catapulted their trash out the garage door.

Answer 2

The catapult was a type of seige machine, used to hurl large stones, burning barrels of oil, or (as some of the previous answers have mentioned) diseased flesh at or over an enemy's defenses. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the extent of their usefulness. Catapults were not typically employed as defensive weapons, mainly because they are bulky to move and have a relatively slow rate of fire. To make the machine useful, the target needed to stay more or less in one place.

People tend to think of catapults as medieval weapons, but they were actually utilized by the Chinese in the 5th century BC, and all through history by various cultures and in various forms. The last recorded use was by Cortes in the 1500's when he laid seige to the Aztec capital city. So their use in military campaigns actually goes back quite a long time and was far broader than just western Europe.

There are also many styles of catapult. One of the most effective and most familiar was the counter-weight trebuchet. This type employed a sling at the end of a throwing arm to gain extra acceleration for the projectile. The arm was turned by a large counter-weight, hence the name. The largest versions of these catapults were capable of ranges up to around 300 yards.

Here's a good description of the counter-weight trebuchet from wikipedia....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet

Answer 3

I never heard of any other use than in besieging a fortress. The catapult could throw heavy stones, containers of burning oil, or dead bodies, over the walls of the castle or fort.
There are stories of fortresses surrendering if they saw a real large catapult being moved up into firing position.

Answer 4

They were used to attack castles and entrenched positions during the high Middle Ages. They could send bolts/heavy arrows of other objects a considerable distance without risking harm to the users.

Answer 5

that was the first form of air travel. they used it all the time to transport people from city to city, they also sent mail that way. ha not., there is no other use for it than hurling large objects at buildings or people. thats like asking what are toilets used for other than going to the bathroom in.

Answer 6

To fling objects into the air? they may have used the technology base to open gates at castles something similar liike a counter balance thing.

Answer 7

Yes, they flung dead bodies at their enemies. It was the original version of germ warfare. They wanted to infect their enemies with the disease that killed the ones who died. Then they'd wait until everyone got sick and then invade.