Imagine standing on a castle wall and peering out into the darkness, and as your standing there you notice a flaming boulder coming straight for you, what do you do? In medieval times, castles were the major fortifications for both military and civilian life. If a ruler was in a castle, he believed that he was safe; this was true until a couple very important inventions. Many siege engines were used to help destroy or capture a castle in the Middle Ages; these weapons included catapults, battering rams, and belfries. With these weapons, the probability of taking or destroying a castle was greatly increased; without them, the chance was nearly impossible. The most common siege engine was the catapult.

When Lord Edward besieged Kenilworth Castle in 1266, he likely used catapults because they were mobile, highly damaging, and easy to protect (Corbett). Most catapults had mobility (some, like the...