3-057-229 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Siege of La Rochelle, c1325-c1350. Trebuchets in action. These were a sort of catapult which were used to launch missiles, such as large stones, at the enemy. Here a round stone sails towards the defenders, who are throwing smaller stones at the attackers. The siege of La Rochelle of 1224 was the decisive engagement in the campaign between the Capetians and the Plantagenets for control of Poitou. From Chroniques de France ou de Saint Denis, vol. 1.