THE MANGONEL

The mangonel was the most common used during the Medieval Period.  The mangonel was developed by the Romans.  It was powered by tension created by twisted ropes like the ballista, but had only one arm instead of two.  The advantage of this catapult was that it was very light and its ability to throw rock and fire.  The major disadvantage was that it was not that accurate.  The range was determined by the weight of the projectile and the strength of the mangonel.  In order to get the catapult into effective range of a castle, it would have to come into range of the castle's defenders.

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