The popinjay shooting tree. This implementation is a bit ahead of its time for the Middle Ages (especially with the chain linking the gear wheels), but the concept itself shouldn't be too far a stretch of reality. The sport of popinjay shooting has been and still is very popular in Flanders and the rest of Belgium. It has, like other archery sport branches, originated from the defensive archery guilds of the Middle Ages. The popinjay tree used in vertical popinjay shooting consists of a tall mast on which a frame is mounted. On this frame, the "roost", a number of colourful plumed targets, referred to as "birds", are pinned. The goal is to shoot off these birds with blunt arrows. In the early days, it was the habit to mount these roosts on the upstanding vane of a windmill, but later on these trees got in use. A number of reference pictures of popinjay shooting can be seen on this url : http://users.skynet.be/fa477482/CCContest/Inspiration/ . Since the archers in this model use a tree, and not a windmill, one can imagine the guild that organizes this popinjay shoot is a rather rich and well known guild. Archers from various villages and castles have come to test and showcase their abilities. As can be seen on the pictures, the top of the tree can be lowered, to replace the roost when all birds have been shot off.