What can we learn from computer games about

medieval warfare?

From 1000-1400 fighting

• So far you have studied– Medieval weapons– Medieval armour

• You’ve compared your new knowledge to the computer games and asked how useful games are…

• Today you will investigate: “What can we learn from computer games about medieval castles?”

The REAL history of castles…

Let’s investigate!

• In pairs, you are Master Castle Builders

• You have been hired by the Kings of England to build castles for them

• You are about to receive your first instructions

• Listen carefully…the instructions will give you advice on how to build your castle

The year is 1066• William the Conqueror has just won at the Battle of

Hastings to become King of England• But in many parts of England the people don’t want him

to be King, so they are fighting against him• William and his soldiers must be protected and the

English people must be shown who is boss, so he decides to build a castle

• But he says it must be built very quickly• William only has wood and earth (soil) available• It is very important that he is high up to see any danger

approaching• He needs an area for the soldiers to live in too

Wooden fence

Hill (made from soil)

Square wooden castle, high up to see enemies

Wooden houses for soldiers

1066

The year is 1081• The castles William first built have problems

– The wood is rotting in the heavy rain, making them weak– Also, wood catches fire easily, so William’s castles are at

risk of being burnt down– Finally, you need bigger buildings for your soldiers to

live in – there is not enough room in the old design

• But King William still needs to keep control of England

• He has more servants now, and more money• Stone is available• William thinks the way the wooden castles looked

was good

Square stone castle (same design as the wooden ones)

Lots of levels giving room for many soldiers

1081

The year is 1126• Some English people have worked out that they

can make your stone castles collapse!• They are digging holes under the stone walls, so

the stone wall falls into it – breaking a hole in the castle so they can attack the soldiers

• You must add extra defences to your castles• You must act quickly – do not re-design your

castle: just add something that will protect it• Stone is available• Money is available too

Same square stone castle from before

New wall to protect the castle, giving extra defence

1126

The year is 1272• The English are surrounding castles (called a siege)• If 100s of them surround it, the soldiers inside are

trapped in one place, and will starve• You must revise your castle design• Make sure that the soldiers cannot be trapped in

one place• It would be good idea to have lots of little castles

within one bigger design, and more walls to protect people inside

• Also, you discover that round walls won’t collapse if anyone digs under them

• Stone is available• Money is available too

Lots of towers instead of one single castle

Rounded walls

1272

What are we learning about castles? True or false?

1. All castles were made of wood2. Wooden castles had to be replaced by stone

castles3. There was only ONE type of castle design4. There were DIFFERENT types of castle design5. Castle designs were all invented at the same

time6. Castle designs were invented bit by bit – they

changed over time7. New castle designs happened mostly because

of problems with the old designs

1272

1126

1081

1066

How castle design

changed over time

But do computer games make us think the right thing about medieval

castles?

?

The computer games say this is how castles looked in 1191

Two walls protecting castle

Square towerLots of towers – not just one

Insert screen shot from computer games

Square tower

At least two protective walls Rounded tower

Insert screen shot from computer games

Castle on a hill

Square tower Rounded tower

Insert screen shot from computer games

Compare the computer games to the REAL history…

• Can you spot the problem?

• Clue: look at the date the computer games say they are … Did the design of the castles in the games actually exist then?

How useful are computer games for learning history?

• Write a paragraph explaining how useful you think computer games are for learning about castles– First explain why they are useful (what have they got

right).– Next explain why they are not so useful (what have

they got wrong)– Try to suggest why you think they get things wrong

(think about the purpose of a game, and the motive of the game designers)

– Finally, suggest what else a really good historian could do to check the historical accuracy of games

Final thoughts…

• We can learn history from LOTS of different sources, like computer games, films, books and the internet

• Each source gives us a slightly different view of the past

• So we should always COMPARE sources to get our thinking right!

• Ps. Why not visit the Towerof London: an amazing castle here in London!