Other methods were also used when attacking a castle in Medieval Times. Attacking a Castle in Medieval Times - Siege Weapons The soldiers attacking a castle in Medieval Times had to use every siege weapon that might be available to them.
The Medieval Siege Weapons used during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages were constructed at the site of the castle which was to be placed under siege. The exact type and number of siege weapons and their design had to be established when plans were made to attack a castle. Medieval lords, knights and their Siege Engineers identified the weakest parts of the Castle and planned their siege strategy accordingly.
Siege Warfare was applied when attacking a concentric castle - Castle walls could fall due to bombardment from Siege Engines such as the ballista, the mangonel, and the trebuchet. Attacking a Medieval Castle The enemy would use all the seige engines to their best advantage when attacking a castle in Medieval Times.
Castle walls could fall due to bombardment from Siege Engines such as the ballista, the mangonel, and the trebuchet. Attacking a Medieval Castle The Medieval Times website provides interesting facts, history and information about these great fortresses and castles of Medieval times including this section on Attacking a Castle in Medieval Times.
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This was one of the reasons why Motte and Bailey castles were soon replaced by Stone Keep castles. Fire has little effect on a stone castle.
The thick stone walls of the Stone Keep castles were difficult for men to knock down. Although pickaxes could be used against castles with thinner walls, it would take a very long time to knock a hole through a castle with very thick walls. The battering ram was particularly useful since the weight of several men would be put behind it.
This would make it a considerable force that could seriously weaken and possibly destroy doors or walls. Ladders were used by those attacking a castle to climb over the walls and fight the castle inhabitants within the castle walls.
Attackers in the top of the tower would cross over to the walls of the castle using their own wooden bridge. Sometimes the attacking army simply surrounded the castle and waited for those inside to run out of food and surrender - but since all castles kept a supply of food ready, these sieges often lasted for as long as two years.
The outer wall of a castle was called the Bailey. Inside the Bailey were buildings where the lord of the castle's cattle, horses and servants lived.
Some of the soldiers needed to defend the castle might live in part of the gatehouse known as the Barbican. Barbican at Harlech Castle in Wales. This is a picture of the Barbican at Harlech Castle in Wales. If you came to a castle as a friend and not an enemy, you would be allowed to cross the moat by a drawbridge and arrive at the Barbican.
If the Porter there let you pass, you would leave your weapons and be taken into the castle itself. If a castle was attacked, however, the defenders would raise the drawbridge and lower the portcullis below.
They might also remove parts of the stairs inside the castle, leaving a long drop for any attackers who did manage to get in. In medieval castles, much of life for the lord and his followers went on in the Donjon. Our word 'dungeon' comes from donjon, because the place for keeping prisoners was also here - though down in the darkest, dampest parts underneath.
There were also rooms for storing food. These rooms had to be kept stocked with food to last for a long time in case there was a siege. There was usually a well, so people in the castle could get fresh water. There were kitchens for cooking the daily meals, and pantries where food was stored for everyday use. The Great Hall and the bedchambers were there too. The Donjon might be as much as 70 metres high, with a watchtower where sentries kept watch for any attack and the lord's flag flew from the top.
The most important room in a castle was the Great Hall. This is where all the members of the household sat down to eat at tables set up for every meal.
It was where feasts were held for special days, or when there were guests. King Arthur's Pentecost Feast takes place in such a Hall. The lord carried on nearly all the business of the castle in this Hall, giving orders about the running of his estate, listening to reports from his bailiff or his reeve the men who managed affairs on his land for him , hearing complaints from one peasant about another.
AD Homework index. Castle Defences. Moats Attackers were easy to shoot whilst swimming or rowing across the moats filled with water. Moats reduced the risk of tunnelling under the castle.
Ramparts Ramparts were steep banks of earth or rubble. High walls The walls of the castles were very high making it hard for attackers to climb over.
Curtain walls Tall thick curtain walls surrounded the castle buildings like a strong shield. There were few doors in the wall thus limiting access to the castle. Flanking Towers Towers built as part of the curtain wall. Battlements The top of the castle walls were the battlements, a protective, tooth shaped parapet often with a wall walk behind it for the soldiers to stand on. Machicolations These were stone boxes that projected from the walls of castles and had holes in the floors for dropping stones or boiling oil on attackers.
Gateway defences The entrance to the castle was always its weakest point.
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