Siege weapon: the Couillard
A few more Middle Age Siege Weapons to complete the series. These are all on display at Les Baux castle and constitute an interesting and rather unique collection. At the back, in this photo is the Trebuchet that I described previously. In front is a similar device called the Couilard which functions like the Trebuchet but is smaller, lighter, and more mobile. It uses smaller projectiles (up to 80 kg) and has a shorter range (180 m). But it could be reloaded much faster than the Trebuchet, up to 10 times per hour. When gunpowder cannons were introduced to the battlefields of Europe in the 14th century, initially they were no match for the Couillard because they could only fire two shots per hour. Of course, gun technology improved considerably afterwards – as we all know – but still the Couillard continued to be a practical weapon well into the 15th century and even into the 16th.
Siege weapon: the Couillard
A few more Middle Age Siege Weapons to complete the series. These are all on display at Les Baux castle and constitute an interesting and rather unique collection. At the back, in this photo is the Trebuchet that I described previously. In front is a similar device called the Couilard which functions like the Trebuchet but is smaller, lighter, and more mobile. It uses smaller projectiles (up to 80 kg) and has a shorter range (180 m). But it could be reloaded much faster than the Trebuchet, up to 10 times per hour. When gunpowder cannons were introduced to the battlefields of Europe in the 14th century, initially they were no match for the Couillard because they could only fire two shots per hour. Of course, gun technology improved considerably afterwards – as we all know – but still the Couillard continued to be a practical weapon well into the 15th century and even into the 16th.