Petrary (fromGreekpetra "stone") is a generic term formedieval stone-throwingsiege engines such asmangonels andtrebuchets, used to hurl large rocks against the walls of the besieged city, in an attempt to break down the wall and create an entry point.Catapult, trebuchet, and mangonel are all types of petrary, butballista-style armaments, which shoot bolts or arrows, would not fit into this category.
Petraries are sometimes considered smaller versions of mangonels. In 1159,Frederick Barbarossa, theHoly Roman Emperor, distinguished between petraries, which were small artillery, and mangonels, which were large artillery.[1] The opposite is also true and sometimes the petrary is considered the more powerful weapon, whereas mangonels were the smaller artillery, as was the case in 1185 when the French set up light "Turkish mangonels" and heavy petraries and 1195 whenBaldwin V, Count of Hainaut laid siege toHuy.[2]
