This was a crafty move as the successful attackers would then be the ones who would have to repair them.Ī siege tower or belfry was a tall timber structure which could either be a stationary platform to give attackers a better range of fire or a mobile structure with a drawbridge to enable them to get upon the battlements as shown here. Sometimes the defending castellan was invited to inspect works like this in the hope the garrison would surrender before the walls were destroyed.
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This should create a gap above once the flames have burnt through the timbers or have cracked the foundations. Beneath the ground miners have dug a tunnel under another section of wall and are bringing through kindling in order to create a fire. They would then start a fire in the gap, giving them time to escape before the supports burn through sending the wall above crashing down. Sappers (under the lean-to structure known as a sow or penthouse) removed masonry from the corner of a tower and at the same time inserted timbers to support the wall. But, it was only when they undermined its fortifications by digging tunnels beneath the structure that they finally broke through. The king’s forces had attacked the defences with crossbows and missiles, and bombarded its walls with siege engines. Depicted below is the moment when, after nearly two months of besieging Rochester Castle, Kent, military miners working for King John finally brought down the corner of the mighty stone keep. The knowledge for making this mixture (an early form of napalm) came via the Crusades to the Middle East in the 11th century where siege warfare was far more advanced than it was in Western Europe. More sophisticated arrowheads were designed with metal cages for coal, wood shavings, cloth or similar materials soaked in oil, which were then lit and fired.Ī more potent weapon which struck fear into the hearts of defenders was ‘Greek fire’, a petroleum-based mixture which could not be extinguished with water. The arrow could have been crudely assembled with a strip of material soaked in pitch, oil or resin wrapped around the shaft. Lit torches or fires set up against a wooden wall were probably the earliest type of incendiary device.įlaming arrows were used in the medieval period as, even after castle walls were built of masonry, there was still wood in the roofs and floors of stone buildings and lesser timber structures within the enclosure. Rain of fireįire was used by attackers to destroy fortifications which contained timber structures. If this leaves you wanting more, click here to buy your very own copy of the book. Just to give you a taste of what’s in the book, we’ve pulled a selection of highlights together here. The book is chock-full of illustrations and detailed descriptions that bring castle warfare vividly to life.
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How To Attack A Castle (And How To Defend It) by Trevor Yorke is out now. If you’ve ever considered any of this, then we have the book for you. How long did a siege last? What kinds of weapons were used by attackers and what counter-measures could a castle’s inhabitants deploy? Did attackers really fling the corpses of captured enemies back over the walls? Is it true that castle defenders poured boiling water onto the attacking forces scaling ladders towards them? If you’ve ever visited one of Britain’s magnificent castles, you’ve probably found yourself looking around and imagining what these conflicts were really like. Castle warfare was a grim and grisly business.
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