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Posted: May 10, 2011

Siege The Day

Castles throughout history have been safe havens for the families who were lucky enough to dwell within its strong walls. With many of the necessary amenities such as water and food also protected, it would seem that these medieval “towns” could exist for centuries. Provided, of course, they could avoid the onset of a “siege”.

Matthew Swinney, 18, recently shared his knowledge of siege battles with visitors at OMF, and brought along an incredible collection of models to display. A trebuchet, ballista, catapult and siege tower, along with a model castle complete with knights and armor, were used to demonstrate not only the weapons themselves but also the properties of physics that made them work. Words like “kinetic and potential energy”, “centripetal force”, “mass”, and “velocity” were interspersed with “knights” and “soldiers” as Matthew explained the role these magnificent machines played in the history of Europe. Until siege machines were introduced, the power struggle between the occupants inside a castle and the invaders outside the castle could go on for months and even years. Siege machines made it possible to fling diseased carcasses and fireballs over the castle walls which often led to a much shorter stand-off. Luckily for us here at the Ozark Medieval Fortress, everyone has been very pleased with their visit, and also pleased that we have good volunteers like Matthew to make it even more enjoyable. Otherwise, it might be wise to keep a sharp eye out for flying cows.

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