Medieval Castles. By: Sage Luong Madison Morgan and Estefania Quintana

Transcription

1 Medieval Castles By: Sage Luong Madison Morgan and Estefania Quintana

2 Attacking a Castle By: Sage Luong

3 Why Build a Castle? A castle was a home for the lord, his family, and some of the servants. It was also a fortress, an outpost, and a safe place for everyone to take refuge in times of danger and war.

4 Why attack a castle? A castle had lots of goods if you can make it through the curtains and manage to capture it. In a castle, there were plenty of weapons and food. If you capture a castle, you would have another well-protected stronghold against enemies.

5 Who would attack a castle and how? Usually, knights would attack a castle and occasionally by some lords. They usually put a castle under siege, which is when they try to prevent food or supplies from entering a castle. Their goal was to either starve the people or force them to surrender. Sometimes, the attackers chose the weakest point of the castle and mined underneath a corner. The attackers would dig a tunnel underneath one of the corners of the castle using timber planks. The tunnel would then be packed with highly flammable wood and set aflame. By doing so, that corner of the castle would weaken and then collapse.

6 Other strategies Scale the Walls - Men armed with scaling ladders scaled the walls of the castle when attacking a castle. The main attribute of the scalers was their speed. They climbed up the walls of the castle to try to bring down the defenses. Treachery - Traitors or spies within the castle could turn on the inhabitants - this was a surprisingly common occurrence. They would tell the attackers how to breach the walls or inform them on weak points. Ram the Doors - If an invading army could break into the castle, they would use battering rams to pound against the gate or door and eventually break it. Sometimes, the wooden castle gates were set on fire to weaken them.

7 Starting a Castle siege Medieval sieges could last a long time, even for many months! Attacking armies would set up long-term encampments at a safe distance from the castle's defenses. The attackers would also try to cut off as many points of access to the castle as possible.

8 Helpful Weapons Catapults and trench buckets Catapults and trench buckets slung heavy rocks or any object at or over the castle walls. Sometimes the attackers would fling dead humans or animals over the walls to spread diseases. Cross bows and ballistae A ballistae is a huge mounted cross bow. The attackers would fire arrows over the walls or at the soldiers on the castle walls. Sometimes they would light the arrows on fire to burn down the castle. AHHHH! Siege Towers Siege towers are mobile towers. An attacker would be able to get a closer shot at the enemy. They then lower a plank, hoping to outnumber the enemy. Battering Rams A battering ram is pretty much a huge log. They use battering rams to break through doors and sometimes walls.

9 Difficulties Capturing a castle was, of course, very hard. The defenders had the advantage of high ground and walls and curtains were very thick. If the attackers happened to penetrate both of the curtains, there were still murder holes and arrow loops. The towers were narrow, so right-handed swordsmen could not use their sword properly. The moats were either wet or dry, but both were lethal. With all the armor, you would sink even if you knew how to swim. Dry moats had hidden stakes at the bottom, which would kill you if you fell in.

10 Thanks for listening! (not like you had a choice) Overall, attacking a castle was hard. Attackers could put a castle under siege or try to spread disease. They had crossbows, trench buckets, and much more deadly weapons, but the chance of succeeding was very slim. Although riches await if knights do succeed in capturing a castle, it wasn t really worth it. They would lose lots of their comrades even before breaching the walls! Next time you see a castle, word of advice, don t try to attack it. YAY!!!

11 Defending a Castle By: Madison Morgan

12 Why Were Castles Built? Who Lived There? A castle is a fortified military residence. They were usually built to hold down conquered territory and to intimidate the local people. Norman Castles were built from the 11 th to 13 th centuries. These were the first types of castles built by William the Conquerer. They were also living quarters for the lord and the lady, but other people lived there too. The most important people were the lord, lady, and the bishop. The atilliator was a guard who was skilled with the crossbow. The butler cared for the cellar and was in charge of the beer and wine. The Castilian was the resident owner or person in charge of the castle. The chaplain provided spiritual welfare for laborers and castle garrison. The cook served the meals for the lord, lady, and staff of the castle. The knight was a professional soldier, he protected the castle. Messengers were servants of the lord who carried letters, receipts, and commodities. The squire helped knights and started training to be a knight at the age of 14. The watchman was used for castle security.

13 Medieval Knights Knights were professional soldiers used for protecting a castle, the castle guard. They were high in the order of chivalry, bearing most noble arms. They rode the best horses because they were high in the feudal pyramid. Most knights were looking to fight. They would participate in tournaments and jousting to win favors, power, and money. The knights didn t only start as knights, and had to work very hard to get to being a knight. Knights started training at the age of 7, then they were called a Page. Once they were 14, they became a squire. Then they would start real training to become a knight. They would be assigned a knight and care for his weapons and horse. Last, at 21, they would be dubbed a knight in the castle chapel with their family and friends watching proudly. Their prospects were to marry a wealthy heiress, to have inheritance of lands, and to bring service to a noble as a high official. Some knights inherited, built, or were given powerful castles.

14 Castle Defense There were lots of defense tools in castles used in case of an attack from invaders. Arrow loops allowed defenders to fire arrows from cover in a vertical slot. A barbarican was an exterior defense protecting the entrance of the castle. Battlements provided a walk on wall summit, a fighting platform and a defense against scaling the walls. A curtain wall surrounded the bailey or castle buildings with sometimes arrow slits for safely shooting. A drawbridge was a moveable wooden bridge that gapped the castle or moat that could be raised or lowered. A keep was used for a last resort place of refuge used during a siege. Moats were ditches full of water to prevent castles from being besieged. Murder holes were openings in the floor in which defenders could drop missiles or liquids upon attackers.

15 Castle Design A castle s design was a key factor to a strong kingdom. Luckily, in the middle ages they had no problem with that. Most castles had many key features to be good with attack and defense. Most castles had drawbridges, a wooden bridge that gapped the castle ditch or moat and could be raised or lowered. A gatehouse was also in a castle. It was an entrance to the castle containing at least one porticullis that could be raised or lowered. Moats were ditches full of water to prevent being besieged. The castle walls were very thick [8-20 feet] to withstand or battering ram. The towers were round, and used for defense from the strong tower walls. Curtain walls were thick and surrounded the main portion of the castle and stabilized it.

16 Castle sieges started because invaders wanted more land and power. Attacking forces sent messengers to the castle they were planning to attack and told them they had intentions to attack. The steps to attack a castle were not to attack the castle, but seize the land around it, lay siege to the castle, then besiege it. Once the attackers made it to the inner bailey, the defenders retreated to the keep, and the castle was under the attacker s control. Besieging was when defenders starve a castle by keeping its supplies out until it surrenders. Attacks and Sieges

17 Castle Structure By Estefania Quintana

18 Castle Basics Castles were built for defense, literally. They had many different parts that all served different purposes. Some of the main ones are the keep, bailey, gatehouse, curtains, towers, moat, and great hall. There are many more pieces but these are some of the basics.

19 Castle Pieces

20 Continued

21 Bibliography 1., Elizabeth. "What Is the Purpose of Medieval Castles?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 28 Jan Lee, Jordan. "Attacking a Castle." Answers. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 28 Jan Findling, John. "Attacking a Castle in the Middle Ages." Attacking a Castle in the Middle Ages. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan Carnine, Douglas. "Knighthood and Chivalry." World History: Medieval and Early Modern times. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, N. pag. Print. 5. Medieval-castles.net. "Medieval Castle Sieges." Medieval Castle Sieges. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan Freudenrich, Craig. "Medieval Sieges - HowStuffWorks." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan "Medieval Castle Layout: A Typical Castle Layout, Explaining Different Areas and Buildings." Medieval Castle Layout: A Typical Castle Layout, Explaining Different Areas and Buildings. Ed Morris, n.d. Web. 08 Feb