Trebuchet

A trebuchet (French trébuchet) is a type of siege engine most frequently used in the Middle Ages. It is sometimes called a counterweight trebuchet or counterpoise trebuchet, to distinguish it from an earlier weapon called the traction trebuchet, where men pulling ropes provided the power.

The counterweight trebuchet appeared in both Christian and Muslim lands around the Mediterranean in the 12th century. It could fling projectiles weighing up to 350 pounds (160 kg) at or into enemy fortifications. Its use continued into the 15th century, well after the introduction of gunpowder.

Basic design

The three distinguishing characteristics of a trebuchet are:

Trebuchet MS

Trebuchet MS is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Vincent Connare for the Microsoft Corporation in 1996. It is named after the trebuchet, a medieval siege engine. The name was inspired by a puzzle question that Connare heard at Microsoft headquarters: "Can you make a trebuchet that could launch a person from main campus to the new consumer campus about a mile away? Mathematically, is it possible and how?" Connare "thought that would be a great name for a font that launches words across the Internet". Released freely by Microsoft as part of their core fonts for the Web package, it remains one of the most popular body text fonts on webpages.

Distinguishing characteristics

Connare commented in 2011 that, "inspiration came from many sources such as the motorway signage in America and sans serif typefaces like Akzidenz Grotesk and Alternate Gothic." Writing on Typophile in 2005 and also in his 1997 article on Trebuchet, he also noted that a goal was to provide a typeface that worked well onscreen while providing a contrast in texture to Verdana.

Trebuchet (disambiguation)

A trebuchet (French: trébuchet) is a siege engine used in the Middle Ages. It may also refer to: