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!
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