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Attacking and Defending a Medieval Castle

Articles on on the construction, defense techniques, and battle tactics regarding a medieval castle.

Articles on on the construction, defense techniques, and battle tactics regarding a medieval castle.


Are you sure?

To place a castle under siege is usually a last resort and is used to starve the occupants of the castle into surrender. You need to surround the castle with soldiers and catapults and victory can take some time. There may be a better option. Back to the game!

Possibly

The battering ram will easily knock down the wooden palisade surrounding the bailey but you are not going to be able to push it up the steep slope of the motte. Plus, you are likely to be attacked with arrows, boiling water or oil and stones. There might be a…

Excellent Choice!

A few well placed shots and the thatched roofs of the motte and bailey castle will catch fire. The fire will spread and the castle will burn to the ground. You can stand away from the castle so that it is difficult for them to attack you. Back to the…

motte and bailey castle

Motte and Bailey Castles

If you were a brave knight and needed to attack a castle, what would you decide to attack it with? Choose your method of attack: Fire Arrows: Battering Ram: Seige: Ladders: Catapult: Belfry Tower: Mining: NEXT

Attacking and Defending a Castle – Lesson Plan

Learning Outcome: To discover the best way to attack motte and bailey, stone keep and concentric castles. To discover the defensive features of motte and bailey, stone keep and concentric castles. Skills Developed: Knowledge and Understanding, Historical Terms, Change over Time. Introduction: Remind pupils to read instructions carefully and to…

Concentric Castles

Image courtesy of http://www.castlewales.com The Concentric castle was developed in the 12th and 13th Centuries and offered the best protection against attack. The main feature of the concentric castle is its walls. An inner wall built of thick stone with turrets positioned at intervals is then surrounded by an equally…

Stone Keep Castles

This type of stone keep castl soon replaced the Motte and Bailey castles as it offered a better form of defense. A stone keep was the central feature, with thick walls and few windows. Entrance to the keep was by stone steps leading to the first floor. The kitchens were…

Motte and Bailey Castles

Motte and Bailey Castles were a common design of castles in the Middle Ages, combining ease of construction with defensibility. Motte and Bailiey castles were the earliest form of castles built completely from scratch by the Normans. The model above shows how they would have looked. As their name suggests,…

Attacking and Defending a Castle – Online Lesson

By the end of this lesson: You will know what different castles looked like You will know what defensive features different castles had You will have some understanding of which are the best ways to attack different castles You will see how castles developed over time to make them harder…

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