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A mangonel〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=What is a catapult? )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mangonel )〕〔from Old French or Norman ''mangonel(le)'', French ''mangoneau'', itself from Medieval Latin ''manganellus'', ''mangonellus'', from Greek μάγγανον meaning "engine of war", "axis of a pulley". T. F. Hoad, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Etymology'', Oxford Paperbacks, Oxford University Press, 1993, p. 280a.〕 was a type of catapult or siege engine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castle's walls. A mangonel had poorer accuracy than a trebuchet (which was introduced later, shortly before the discovery and widespread usage of gunpowder). The mangonel threw projectiles on a lower trajectory and at a higher velocity than the trebuchet, with the intention of destroying walls, rather than hurling projectiles over them. It was more suited to field battles. ''Mangonel'' is derived from the Greek ''mágganon'', meaning "engine of war", but ''mangonel'' may also be indirectly referring to the ''mangon'', a French hard stone found in the south of France. It may have been a name for counterweight artillery (trebuchets), possibly either a men-assisted fixed-counterweight type, or one with a particular type of frame. The Arabic term ''manajaniq'' comes from the same word, and applies to various kinds of trebuchet. It is also possible that it referred to more than one kind of engine, in different times or places, or was a general term. ==Role in war== Traction trebuchets (which may be what are referred to as mangonels in medieval sources) were beam-sling weapons, similar to trebuchets. They were used to hurl rocks, burning objects (fire pots, vessels filled with flammable materials that created a fireball on impact), or anything else readily available to the attacking and defending forces. The medieval mangonel was principally used in siege warfare to damage a castle or city's walls and infrastructure, or to harm or harass defending troops. The more unusual types of projectile included dead (and often partially decomposed) carcasses of animals or people (and even human heads), used to intimidate, demoralize, and spread disease among the besieged. This tactic often proved effective. The short supply of food, which was often of low quality or rotting, combined with the cramped living space of the defenders, poor hygiene, and vermin infestations, provided an ideal scenario for the spread of disease. Popular depictions of onager-like mangonels often show them shooting heavy projectiles from a bowl-shaped bucket at the end of the arm . This arrangement might suit a wider range of projectiles, but would be much less powerful than a weapon fitted with a sling. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「mangonel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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