There is little historical evidence for its existence but various drawings from the medieval period do show bow powered siege engines and such a weapon would be a pretty obvious step in weapon design, combining a crossbow with a torsion powered throwing arm type of catapult.. There is mention of King Louis of France having a Petraria nicknamed "Malvoisin" ( bad neighbour ) at the siege of Acre 1189 - 1191 but what it´s actual design was ?
This model was scratch built by Tommy and Tina, the builders of the Medieval Castle.
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| All I have done is paint it up a bit. |
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| The Throwing arms are made from what looks like strips of Joghurt pots, put together as a leafspring which means the machine actually fires. |
