The pic above is of a trebuchet mid-firing at an event. I am a proud member of the crew of this wonderful yet deadly machine. While it was constructed before I joined the group I can tell you it was made by the very people who use and operate it (apart from me of course!)

This trebuchet is a scaled down version of the true monsters they had in medieval times. Namely from the 13th century onwards right up until the widespread use of gunpowder. This version is roughly one quarter or in some cases one tenth the size of bigger trebs of the time period. This one would be used in an anti-infantry role as well as to pummel any and all structures to dust. It has a drawbox weighing in at half a ton which is capable of launching a football sized rock 500 metres+ accurately.

My primary role as part of the crew is to re-set the firing arm which involved pulling down the beam after it has fired, this takes two men to do safetly as I learned very early on. Yes I could feel myself being lifted slowly up by the sheer weight once when I tried it alone, never again! Once the arm is lowered, I put on the safetly and lean on the arm while another crew member re-sets the sling and places another shot in it. If this part is not done correctly the sling will get tangled up when it is fired and is a danger to any and all of the crew. It is imperative that this part be done correctly.

Also of note, just because the safety in on does not mean it is safe. There is a reason that someone leans on the arm to hold it down. Yes this is a re-enactment but this is a very dangerous machine if you do not treat it wit the respect it deserves. But once the sling is set and eveything is ready, I slowly take my weight off the arm and let the safety take all the strain. Then the commander shouts ‘Clear’ and all members of the team retreat at least 15 metres away except me. I have to stay to make sure that it is still safe to fire which means quickly re-doing all checks in my head and waiting until the firer is as far away as he can be while still holding the firing line, typically 5 metres. Then the commander shouts ‘Safety off’ to which I quickly take off the safety and run backwards as fast as I can shouting ‘Safety off’.

At this point there is no going back to the machine, it is all set to fire. The commander shouts ‘Clear’ one last time and all the crew who have spread out, which has the dual benefit of making sure the crowd is back as well safetly respond with a loud ‘Clear’. Then the order to fire is given which is ‘Loose’ and the treb fires. If it goes perfectly it will look like it does in the pic above which is awesome and it will fly towards our target which on that day was 350 metres away and was a 5 foot by 5 foot square. We hit it too. If it doesnt it will misfire which thankfully means the shot will only fly a few metres directly in front of the treb.

Well I hope you enjoyed reading about this as much as i enjoy being a part of its crew.