SOURCE2 A castle under siege
SkillBuilder discussion Historical significance 1. Study SOURCE2 .What defensive features of the castle are visible in the image, and how are they being used to repel the attackers?
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2. What methods and equipment are the
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attackers using to try to breach the castle’s defenses? 3. How do the people inside the castle appear to be responding to the siege?
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A The gatehouse was heavily defended. If attackers got in, defenders could shower them with rocks, red-hot sand or boiling water through a hole in the ceiling (called a murder hole). B A battering ram made of a huge, often reinforced timber beam would be driven against a castle gate or lower wall to try to break through. C Battlements lined the top of castle walls. D A castle was often surrounded by a ditch, sometimes filled with sharpened stakes (palisade) or water. E Sometimes castle walls sloped outwards at the base. This added strength to the walls and reduced the effectiveness of battering rams. F Missiles could be dropped on attackers through holes in the floor of the battlements known as machicolations. G The trebuchet, introduced to Europe from the Arab world, was a type of counterweighted catapult. It was used to hurl huge rocks weighing up to 90 kg against castle walls, and to toss rotting animal bodies over the walls. H The ballista was a giant crossbow that fired flaming bolts over castle walls. I A mangonel was a type of catapult used to hurl smaller objects (e.g. heads, smaller rocks or piles of dung) over castle walls.
DID YOU KNOW? Crenellations are the battlements on the top
of castle walls or towers. Primarily built for defensive purposes, they allow for cover while still giving the space to return fire or pour boiling oil on the enemy. A ‘licence to crenellate’ was supposedly a grant that gave official permission for a building to be fortified and was used by the monarch and barons who could grant them as a symbol of status and power.
3.5.3 A lord’s home is his castle A castle was a fortress and a home. It was usually owned by a lord or the Church. It had troop quarters, stables and an armoury. If owned by a lord, it also had comfortable facilities for his family. By the end of the Middle Ages, castles were less effective and desirable. The feudal system, which encouraged lords to show strength with a castle, was fading. Cannons had developed, making castle walls less protective against armies.
64 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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