Over decades of gradual colonization coupled with brutal warfare, much of the eastern coast of Britain fell under the control of the Anglo-Saxon tribes.  This harsh means of conquest, however, led to the unification of the British Celts under the able general Ambrosius Aurelius.  With great success, Aurelius and his forces fought back the Anglo Saxons.  The sling played a prominent role in the course of these savage battles.  Due to the greater range of the Celtic braided sling in comparison to the Saxon bow, Celtic slingers were able to rain volley after lethal volley of pebbles upon their enemies before coming into the range of Anglo-Saxon skirmishers.  This tactical advantage, when coupled with rapid follow-on Calvary attacks, proved devastating to the weakly formed shield walls of the Anglo-Saxon warriors.   Through the use of the Slingers and Calvary, Aurelius managed to gain a string of impressive victories against the Anglo-Saxon invaders.  It is long believed that the myth of King Arthur originated through the telling and re-telling of these epic battles.  The last and greatest victory of Aurelius was at the famed hill of Badon in the year 490 AD.  Upon that hill, the largest of the Anglo-Saxon armies had entrenched themselves.  According to the chronicles of Gildas and Bede, Aurelius and his Celtic forces laid siege to the hill:

“These valiant Squadrons arm'd with Slings and Bows,
Brave Talmar led to charge the Gallic Foes.
A truly martial, but impetuous Fire
Did with immoderate heat his breast inspire.
Nobly impatient of unbounded Power,
He strove Britannia's Freedom to secure.
A brave Assertor of her ancient Laws,
Of Pious Arthur's, and the Christian Cause. “

By most accounts, the siege lasted for three days.  Three days where Celtic slingers constantly bombarded the hill with stones and river-pebbles.  The Anglo-Saxon army was clearly demoralized and falling apart at the seams.  At the conclusion of the siege, a contingent of slingers and archers, guarded by a forward shield wall of Celtic infantry, advanced to the summit of Badon hill.  The unstoppable speed and accuracy of these projectiles routed the Saxon infantry and a general slaughter ensued.

By the account of Gildas, 960 Saxons fell on that day (Giles 1848, 237).  The Anglo-Saxons had suffered their worst defeat since their landing on the shores of Britannia.  And as for Aurelius, it was said that, out of rage for the Saxon enemy, the great warrior charged alone up the hill.   Armed only with his shield Pridwen and his famous sword Caliburn, Aurelius slew scores of Saxons in his fury before succumbing to the blows of the enemy defenders.  In his chronicles, Geldas surmised that this act of personal sacrifice, on the part of Aurelius, motivated the Celts to carry out their final advance.  Aurelius had gained an immense victory for his people and immortality for himself as the legendary King Arthur.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Anglo-Saxons were forced to sue for peace.  And the peace with the Celts lasted for fifty years.  The significance of Badon Hill cannot be underestimated.  The peace gained through this battle, changed the course of world history.  The extended period of non-aggression allowed the Celts to impress their Romanized high-culture upon the Saxons.  Along with the importation of Roman culture, the Christian faith had also entered the rude Anglo-Saxon society, greatly civilizing the spiritual and moral outlook of that people.  Thus, the sling, though it’s success at Badon Hill, re-shaped the face of Anglo-Saxon culture, and though this culture, the history of the English nation.    




Cunliffe, B. (1986). The Celtic world: an illustrated history of the Celtic race. England: Greenwich House.

Wise, T. (1986) Saxon, Viking and Norman. London: Osprey Publishing Ltd.

Pollington, S. (1996) The English Warrior from earliest times to 1066. Frithgarth: Anglo-Saxon Books.

Brooks, P. (1999) "Arms and Armour" In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. edited by M.Lapidge, J.Blair, S.Keynes and Donald Scragg, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 45-47.

Bohn, H; Giles, J. (1848) “Six Old English Chronicles” London

big with lots of long words. i like it.

I also didnt like the celts using trebuchet in king arthur, i msure thats not right
Rik

i read somewhere that the crusaders had a hand powerd catapult, all it was, was a big throwing arm mounted off of a stand. the guy firing would grab hold of the end not holding the ammo and jump off of the platform. the throwing arm being longer would throw the stone. I dont know how well it would work, and i guess its using the guy firing as a weight...

Do you have any sources that state this?  It would be interesting to read, I'm sure.

Thank you kindly.