  |
|
|
|
Castles Under SeigeBoth Attackers and Defenders Follow Systematic Strategies
Assuming possession of a castle meant gaining land, riches, and perhaps tolls on waterways insuring greater wealth. Both residents and invaders had to be vigilant.
Because invaders most often used a siege to attack, the castle had to be self-sufficient with water, food, supplies, and manpower within its walls. If the castle had enough supplies, it sometimes outlasted the attackers who had to forage in the surrounding countryside for provisions. Castle DefensesDefenders had other strategies as well. Defenders could stand on the walls, often more than fifty feet thick, and shoot arrows or throw lances at the attackers. On many castles, the higher inner wall enabled defenders to shoot over the heads of their fellow defenders on the outer wall. This photo of Carcassone Castle (below) near Toulouse, France shows the inner wall in the upper left. To further protect the defenders, castles had narrow corridors and winding entrances so attackers could be ambushed or fought one-on-one rather than en masse (see photo). Defensive ImprovementsDuring the Crusades, European leaders observed arrow loops on Middle Eastern castles, and used the concept to improve the defenses in their castles. Inside the wall, the openings widened to give archers room to turn from left to right to have a better view of their targets. Later gun loops spaced within the wall or in towers connected to the wall allowed defenders to shoot at their attackers while being relatively protected by the wall. Another Defensive Strategy - Human SacrificeOften to conserve provisions, lords ordered throwing small children, the elderly, and infirm over the walls of the castle to help reduce the amount of food consumed. On the other hand, attackers would sometimes catapult dead animals or bodies into the castle in an effort to cause disease to spread. One attacker, King Richard died of dysentery (severe diarrhea) while trying to attack a castle during the Crusades. Offensive Castle StrategiesAttackers had their own strategies. Scholar Philip Warner outlined ten steps invaders followed to set up a successful siege (qtd. in Nardo). • Create dissension among those living outside the walls of the castle by killing enemies and destroying crops. • Recruit sympathizers from those living outside the walls by promising rewards from the castle after it surrendered. • Build a second fortification near the enemy castle for protection and to store and distribute food and supplies. • Build siege engines such as battering rams, towers on wheels, catapults, and ladders. • Dig trenches under weaker right angles in the walls. • Fill in ditches and moats so the ladders and towers could be moved up to the walls. • Create a diversion in another part of the wall so ladders and towers could be set up. • Break down entries with battering rams. • Use catapults to throw stones at weak parts of the wall. • Set up archers to fire continuously at the defenders. Sewer InvasionsAnother tactic involved invading through sanitary facilities such as a hold or toilet where waste either fell directly into the moat or slid down a chute to a pit outside. Sometimes strong-willed (or strong-stomached) attackers would sneak into the castle by climbing through that chute. After gaining entry, attackers would act as spies or throw open the doors, lower the drawbridge, or raise the portcullis (the gated door that had spikes on the bottom). With the introduction of gunpowder, these tactics became outmoded as castles easily fell from the stronger barrage. Thus their owners abandoned their castles and made greater efforts to resolve their greed for power and prestige through marriage arrangements and diplomacy. Source: Nardo, Don. The Middle Ages: The History of Weapons and Warfare. Farmington Hills: Lucent, 2003.
The copyright of the article Castles Under Seige in Medieval History is owned by Susan M. Andrus. Permission to republish Castles Under Seige in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
