View source for Engineer

An '''engineer''' was, in [[period]], the term for a practical [[scientist]] and artificer, someone who could design and construct (few engineers would trust someone else to build their designs, as opposed to stealing them) mechanical contrivances.

The earliest engineers were probably the designers of the pyramids, and the machines which helped build them; the major development came in [[Roman Empire|Roman]] times, when the creation of [[aqueduct]]s also enabled the systematic use of water power, for [[mill]]s, workshops, [[factory|factories]] and so forth.

Engineers also designed and built the [[siege weapon|war engine]]s of the [[classical]] and [[medieval]] eras -- [[catapult]]s, [[ballista]], [[trebuchet]]s and the like.  In the [[Ottoman Empire]] they also developed the first [[cannon]]-type [[weapons]].

== Engineers in the SCA ==
In [[Lochac]] (and elsewhere?) the term '''engineer''' is sometimes used for the [[light fighter]]s operating [[siege weapon]]s.

[[category:occupation (medieval)]]