The springald is a medieval torsion siege engine that threw bolts using twisted skeins of silk or sinew to power two inward swinging bow arms, working on the same principle as the ancient Greek or Roman ballista. Its earliest reference appears in France in 1249, and it was documented in England by 1266, most often mounted on towers and gates as a defensive weapon. By 1382 springalds were being phased out in favor of crossbows and firearms, though some Germanic and Swiss regions kept using them into the early fifteenth century. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Weapon Class (category) Weapon Class Introduced Year Classification
Service Status Sources
1. Wikipedia: Springald
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
- Service status stated explicitly in the entity's own sourced description text.
Article text
It is depicted in a diagram in an 11th-century Byzantine manuscript, but in Western Europe is more evident in the late 12th century and early 13th century.
History section, earliest reference
The earliest reference to the springald appears in France in 1249 and its presence is attested to in the arsenal at Reims in 1258.
In Group: Medieval Siege Engines and Cannon, Lead sentence
A springald, or espringal, was a torsion siege engine device for throwing bolts in medieval times.
View the SourceWikidata: Springald
Wikidata Q1261384, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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