Attack a CastleMedieval Warfare

Castle

Profile View

Aerial View

Defence!

Keep

• A keep was a self-sufficient structure that castle defenders could retreat to as a last resort during a battle. Sometimes the basement of the keep served as a prison, so the word dungeon soon developed as slang for the keep.

• There were two basic shapes of a keep, square and round. Almost all early keeps were square or rectangular, and were the easiest and fastest to build. Square keeps had one major drawback. They could easily be damaged at the corners by undermining or bombardment.

• Then came the development of the round keep. They were very difficult to successfully undermine. Arrows and rocks glanced off the rounded walls. Even in later times, after the invention of cannon, the cannon balls also glanced off the keep walls. The earliest round keep in Great Britain was at New Buckingham Castle, built in 1150.

Curtain Wall

• The curtain wall is the wall which surrounded the main portion of the castle. At first, they were just simple walls, but with time, they became much thicker. The curtain wall was intersected at various points (good for observing the activity outside the castle, and to watch for invaders) by different types of towers, most of which were used for observation, but also as living quarters, the chapel, for storage, or to house the dungeon.

Gatehouse

• One of the most important modifications to the curtain wall was the development of the gatehouse. At first, the gatehouse was just the way in and out of the castle, and was usually a simple doorway. However, they soon

became the strong point of many castles, the place where an enemy was most likely to try to break through, so the gatehouses were equipped with several defensive techniques to thwart an enemy's attack. These included: the portcullis, heavy wooden doors that could be barred shut; strategically-placed arrow loops and murder holes One of the most complex gatehouses can be found at Pembroke Castle in Wales.

Battlements

• A battlement in defensive architecture such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e. a short wall), in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the shooting of arrows or other missiles. Battlements often have openings between the supporting walls, through which stones or burning objects could be dropped on attackers. A wall with battlements is said to be crenellated or embattled. Battlements may have protected walkways behind them.

Moat• A moat is a deep, broad ditch,

either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices. In later castles the moat or water defences may be largely ornamental.

Drawbridge

• A drawbridge is a type of moveable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges.

Portcullis

• A portcullis is a latticed grille or gate made of wood, metal or a combination of the two. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defense during time of attack or siege. Each portcullis was mounted in vertical grooves in castle walls and could be raised or lowered quickly by means of chains or ropes attached to an internal winches.

Murder Holes

• A murder-hole is a hole in the ceiling gate through which the defenders can fire, throw or pour dangerous or noxious substances at attackers. As a result, the defenders would be able to rain rocks, arrows, heated sand, boiling water or boiling oil, and other substances down on the attackers' heads. Similar holes, called machicolations, were often located in the curtain walls of castles, fortified manor houses and city walls. The parapet would project over corbels so that holes would be located over the exterior (outside) face of the wall, and arrows could be shot at, rocks dropped on, or boiling water poured over, any attackers near the wall.

Arrow Loops

• Arrow loops, also known as arrow slits or bow loops, allowed defenders to fire their arrows from cover. There were several different styles, as illustrated below. Rare before 1190, they were normally just a simple vertical slot, less than two inches wide at the outside, and averaged between 3 to 12 feet in length.

Attack!

Battering RamA battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times to break open fortification walls or doors.

In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried by several people and propelled with force against an obstacle; the ram would be sufficient to damage the target if the log were massive enough and/or it were moved quickly enough, i.e. had enough momentum.

BallistaIt ejected heavy darts or spherical stone projectiles of various sizes for siege warfare.

Catapult

• Castles and fortified walled cities were common. Catapults were used as a key siege weapon against them. As well as attempting to breach the walls, rocks or other things could be thrown inside—or early biological warfare attempted with diseased carcasses or putrid garbage catapulted over the walls.

• Catapults were gradually replaced by the cannon in the 14th century.

Trebuchet• A trebuchet works by

using the mechanical advantage principle of leverage to propel a stone or other projectile much farther and more accurately than a catapult, which swings off the ground. The sling and the arm swing up to the vertical position, where, usually assisted by a hook, one end of the sling releases, propelling the projectile towards the target with great force.

Siege Tower• A siege tower is a specialized siege

engine, constructed to protect attackers and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on top of the tower and shoot into the fortification. Because the towers were wooden and therefore flammable, they had to have some non-flammable covering of iron or fresh animal skins. The siege tower was mainly made from wood but sometimes had metal parts.