Attacking & Defending a Castle 31/8/11 In the beginning, the reason for the erection of castles was to protect

its inhabitants and establish the reign of William the Conqueror. However, those that wanted to attack these fortresses still found ways to do so. Fire: Fire was the best way to attack early Motte & Bailey castles, since they were made entirely of WOOD. The fire might have been started by building a bonfire against the outer wooden fence (palisade) or, more usually, by archers shooting FIRE ARROWS into the castle. As the fire spread through the castle, those living inside would be forced to leave, allowing the attackers to take them prisoner, or kill them. This was one of the reasons why Motte & Bailey castles were soon replaced by Stone Keep castles... Fire has little effect on a STONE castle. Battering Ram: The thick stone walls of the STONE KEEP castles were difficult for men to knock down however, pick-axes could be used on castles with thinner walls. It would take a very long time to knock a hole through the castle with very thick walls. Consequently, the battering ram was incorporated, as it could utilise the strength of several men behind it. Often, they would try to target the front door/gate as this would be the weakest point. Early battering rams were simply giant wooden logs, sometimes with metal caps (to prevent shattering), however, this meant that defenders could fire arrows down onto the ram leading new battering rams to be built with a little roof on top. In order to inhibit the battering ram, castle doors/gates began to be built up some STAIRS, so that the ram, on rickety wooden wheels, was more difficult to manoeuvre. Ladders: Ladders were used by those attacking a castle to climb over the WALLS and fight the castle inhabitants. However, ladders had the disadvantage of leaving the man climbing the ladder completely exposed to attack by ARROW, BOILING WATER/OIL, PUSHED OFF THE WALL. To prevent this type of attack, the ladder began to be built with a little tower around it, known as the BELFRY/SEIGE TOWER. The belfry was a large structure on wheels that could be pushed up the castle walls. Ladders inside the tower allowed attackers to ascend up the walls, protected by the roof above.

Castle owners prevented this kind of attack by piling earth against the bottom of the wall/building thicker bases for the wall, so that the belfry could not be pushed up close enough to the wall. Attacking & Defending a Castle contd 31/8/11. Catapult: A variety of catapults or siege engines (give power in a siege) were developed during the Middle Ages to fire STONES, FIREBALLS or other objects such as DEAD SHEEP, CATTLE or PLAGUE VICTIMS at the castle walls (to try to break them down) or into the castle itself. This type of catapult works through FRICTION; by twisting rope as tightly as possible, so that it acts like elastic when the arm is released. Mining: A good way of attacking a stone castle was through mining. Attackers would DIG A TUNNEL underground, up to the castle walls, under the gatehouse if possible. They would then set a charge (using flint and fire) to make an explosion that would hopefully topple a weak wall, making it crumble and collapse. The advantage of mining was that the attack could be carried out mostly in secret, unseen by those living in the castle. However, if those inside the castle were aware that attackers were mining underground, they could create their own mine to meet the attackers and SWORD-FIGHT them underground, or pour hot oil and START A FIRE in the shaft, in order to smoke them back out. Siege: When all else failed, the final way of attacking a stone castle was by placing it under siege (or besieging it). Attackers would surround the castle with both men and siege weaponry (CATAPULTS, BALLISTAS, TREBUCHETS, MANGONELS) so that no one could enter or leave the castle. Sieges could last for months, or even years usually until the inhabitants ran out of food and were starving. Aside from ensuring that supplies were plentiful, one of the castle owners main strategies for defence against a siege, was to SEND ALL WOMEN, CHILDREN, ELDERLY & SICK people out of the castle (to fend for themselves). This meant that only those strong enough to fend off the attackers remained in the castle, and that food supply could last much longer. HW: complete the notes in books, finish off the weaponry table, define BALLISTAS, TREBUCHETS, MANGONELS, R&A PG. 180-181 of your books & answer Qs 2, 3, 7.