A Fourteenth Century Castle

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anyone approaching the castle, and to fire at them with bows or siege engines.
The first point of attack was usually the main entrance. A gate house protected the way into the castle. Anybody who tried to get into the building was either caught by the guards or was killed by the traps that were set up in the castle.

In the castle there were several walls that enclosed the courtyards. Each courtyard was called a bailey. During the war men women and children sheltered here. When there was no war these court yards were used for work shops.

During the war The water supply was vital, especially when the castle was surrounded. Wells were dug into the rock below the castle, the water was used for bathing and drinking. The Lord lived at the heart of the castle which was called a keep. If the defenders broke into the castle all the remaining soldiers would go into the keep and fight to the death.

Women and children took shelter in the castle while the fighting was going on. If ...

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which hurled rocks into the air over the castles walls up to a distance of 300m. It was powered by a counterweight which swung the long end of the arm up and over to release the missile. The trebuchet didn’t just fire rocks: soldiers also loaded it with pots of lime, which burned the skin. They also threw dead animals hoping that the castle would be struck with disease. Even the soldiers fired severed human heads.

The mangonel was also a similar siege engine. It through rocks against the walls of the castle. The range of the mangonel was about 400m, which was more the trebuchet. The most powerful of the siege engines was the belfry. This was a huge wooden tower that was tall ...

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