Manuballista

[1493541]

Salvete,

I am curious when the manuballista was used, how often it was used, for what purpose and how it was used, and it's total effectiveness. Your answers are much appreciated.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

There was one found at Xanten. They were rather uncommon, being artillery, but here are some pics:

http://www.romanarmytalk.com/17-roman-mi...tml#321754

The Late Roman Arcuballista on the other hand was more common, but that was 3rd century AD onwards and would become the medieval crossbow.

I'm sure Dr. Campbell can elaborate.

[jvrjenivs]

Well, let start with the proper terminology. Although the topic starter may very well do indeed mean the Xanten catapulta when he refers to the manuballista, it actually may not be called as such.

So, what kind of artillery are you referring to,Charlie?

[1493541]

A handheld ballista

[Frank]

I am curious when the manuballista was used, how often it was used, for what purpose and how it was used, and it's total effectiveness. Your answers are much appreciated.

I am afraid, we have no clue. Even if experimental archaeology does its very best. :unsure:

[Gunthamund Hasding]

There was one found at Xanten. They were rather uncommon, being artillery, but here are some pics:

I'm sure Dr. Campbell can elaborate.

well Xanten might not necessarly be hand held, in my opinion it is pretty hard to go arround with it

I have the book about it and (will have to recheck) the weight of the reproduction is not small

also actually the authors are suggesting it might have beed used on a ship

Dr. Campbell will pop up at a certain point I bet and I am waiting for his answer

[D B Campbell]

Dr. Campbell will pop up at a certain point I bet and I am waiting for his answer

I'd better not disappoint then! :wink:

I am curious when the manuballista was used, how often it was used, for what purpose and how it was used, and it's total effectiveness.

You're not asking for much, are you?!

I suppose the problem comes down to terminology, as Jurjen pointed out. Back in 1986, I looked at possible ancient hand-held weapons (in this article).

Marsden had suggested that manuballistae were "small arrow-firers which one man could operate, and very similar indeed to Heron's cheiroballistra" (1969, p. 197). Unfortunately, he had (in my opinion) misinterpreted the cheiroballistra as a small stand-mounted catapult, whereas I agree with Dietwulf Baatz that it was a hand-held weapon. I think it would be true to say that most people would now take "manuballista" as a direct Latin translation of the Greek cheiroballistra. So it comes down to your interpretation of that weapon. Alan Wilkins, for example, still maintains that the cheiroballistra was a stand-mounted catapult, so I suppose logically he must think the same of the manuballista (although he has not explicitly said this, as far as I know).

Vegetius is our source for the term "manuballista". He claims that men called tragularii stood in the battle-line amongst the light-armed troops and "aimed arrows with manuballistas and arcuballistas" (Veg., Mil. 2.15; also mentioned at 3.14).

Total effectiveness? Unknown!

[Flavivs Aetivs]

Could the term have been synonymous with Scorpio?

[D B Campbell]

Could the term have been synonymous with Scorpio?

Ah, you're thinking of Veg., Mil. 4.22.6, where he writes: scorpiones dicebant quas nunc manuballistas vocant, ideo sic nuncupati quod parvis subtilibusque spiculis inferant mortem ("what they now call manuballistas they used to call scorpions, naming them in this way because they inflict death with small, slender darts"). Whether or not manuballistas were once called scorpions, there is no reason to equate them with the stand-mounted arrow-shooter that I presume you're thinking of. The name "manuballista" (being cognate with Greek cheiroballistra) seems (to me, at any rate) a better clue as to the machine's design.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I agree. I think mostly he is referring to a newer version of the Xanten device. (Comitatus' Scorpio comes to mind, as it is man portable fully assembled.)

[D B Campbell]

I think mostly he is referring to a newer version of the Xanten device.

I must respectfully disagree. The Xanten machine is a euthytone device. We know this from the narrowness of the frame, which is the defining characteristic of euthytones. This means that, whatever else it might have been called, it cannot ever have been called a "ballista" (except by mistake), as all ballistas are palintone devices.

If we agree that the manuballista is simply the cheiroballistra by another name, then it is a palintone.

Incidentally, I have no idea why the designers of Xantener Berichte Band 18 (2010) chose to entitle it Die frühkaiserzeitliche Manuballista aus Xanten-Wardt -- even the editor (Hans-Joachim Schalles) is careful to refer to the machine as a "Torsionsarmbrust" or "Torsionswaffe" or "Torsionskatapult", as it is plainly not a ballista.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I always thought of the manuballista as a handheld scorpio (I always thought of the Xantent device as the same). I forget too often that Ballista and Catapulta are opposites of what we think of them today.

[D B Campbell]

I always thought of the manuballista as a handheld scorpio (I always thought of the Xantent device as the same).

The Xanten machine may very well be a "scorpio", using Vitruvius' definition (e.g. De arch. 10.10.1, describing a euthytone arrow-shooter called a scorpio; cf. 10.1.3, where he uses the scorpio as an example of a machine that requires the skill of a single operator). The Xanten machine is small enough to be a hand-held weapon, while I would consider it unwieldy enough to probably require some support (what IBM used to call "luggable", as opposed to "portable"!) -- but it ain't a ballista! :wink:

[Eleatic Guest]

Just noticed someone on the internet rebuilt the hunting crossbow depicted on those two reliefs from central Gaul: http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index...ic=40448.0

[ciro]

Who knows german, read this:
https://apx.lvr.de//media/apx/lvr_archae...and_18.pdf