A Trebuchet in France that may have been similar to that used  during 
		      the Siege of Stirling Castle in 1304, except wheels would allow 
			               a greater throwing distance.


"The Terrible Warwolf" Trebuche

Trebuchets were first used in Italy at the end of the 12th Century, and were introduced to England in 1216 during the Siege of Dover. During the Siege of Stirling Castle in 1304, Edward Longshanks the First, ordered his engineers to make a terrible giant trebuchet war machine for the British army, named "Warwolf." This trebuchet was used to hurl enormous stones and 250lb lead balls at the castle walls 200 yards away out of range of the archers at more than 120 miles per hour.

Nothing could stand against the power of this machine. The blow smashed everything, it struck. It shot with such force, and its blows were so effective, that no material or substance could withstand the unbearable impact without damage, no matter how solid or well built it was. Typically castle walls were a good five feet wide at their thickest construction with an outer stonewall sandwiched with rubble and mortar. But these were no match against the Warwolf's 250 pound lead balls that could reduce them to rubble and eventually even dust.

Edward Longshank's twelve siege engines hurled constantly day and night.
For four months Stirling Castle was bombarded by lead balls (stripped from nearby church roofs), Greek fire, stone balls, and even some sort of gunpowder mixture. Impatient with lack of progress, Edward ordered his chief engineer, Master craftman James of St. George, to begin work on a new monstrous more massive trebuchet engine called The Warwolf a 56 foot high awesome frightening weapon to see.

It can be firmly stated that one shot killed twelve men with a single stone.
Nothing could withstand the blows; everything was crushed or reduced to dust.
If the stones met no obstruction when they fell, they sank a foot deep into the ground. The garrison of 30, led by William Oliphant, eventually after four months of fighting, surrendered on July 20 1304, after Edward had previously refused to accept surrender until the Warwolf had been tested. You may read the full story here:


Stirling Castle

The Siege

The Trebuchet 

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