Staff sling
Also known as: fustibal, fustibale, fustibule, stave sling, piao shi, shou pao
A sling fixed to the end of a wooden staff up to two metres long; a Roman and medieval weapon for heavier shot, used in sieges and for throwing incendiary mixtures.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
Fustibalus, a sling on a staff, is mentioned in the 4th century AD by the Roman writer Vegetius in De re militari: slingers in training threw stones from it at targets six hundred feet away. Its Chinese counterpart, piao shi ("whirling stone"), was also called shou pao ("hand cannon") under the Song dynasty. It is a wooden staff with a short sling at the end. One cord is tied firmly to the staff, the other ends in a loop that slips free on the throw and releases the shot. The staff measured roughly one to two metres, its length acting as a powerful lever. The Chinese form had the cord on a bamboo pole five chi long. The thrower holds the lower end and swings it over the shoulder and head. Sources disagree on range: some say it throws as far as a hand sling or farther, others that it throws heavier shot but not as far. Its steep arc could clear ramparts, suiting it to sieges; in China it aided defence alongside larger throwing machines. At close range the bare staff itself could serve. It stayed in use deep into the gunpowder era for throwing grenades, and in ship-to-ship combat for incendiary mixtures. The traction trebuchet works on the same principle, in essence a mechanised staff sling.
Parts of the weapon
- Shaft
- Chain or rope
Related weapons
- Variant of: Sling