Medieval Warfare Tactics

This second edition of DeVries and Smiths’ book, Medieval Military Technology, encompasses many of the weapons, fortifications, vessels, machines, and armour developed throughout the medieval period, to provide a brief cultural history of the relationship between military technology and medieval society. DeVries and Smiths’ purpose in compiling this book was to lay out their argument in a way to which the reader can understand the purpose of medieval military and its relationship to society. The central

The word trebuchet comes from the Middle French verb trebuch which means “tumble” or “fall over,” which was the intent of what the throwing arm did when it was released. The average mass of projectiles used in medieval times were around 50-100 kilograms, with a range of about 300 metres. They were extremely effective against castle walls; in fact, they were so effective that architects began to design new castles to be able to withstand the raw power and force of the trebuchet. Sometimes, corpses and carcasses were launched with trebuchets over castle walls as an early form of biological warfare. For example, in 1422 during the Hussite Wars, Prince Korybut shot men and manure into Karlstejn Castle and was apparently successful in spreading disease within the walls.

The wooden towers of a motte and bailey castle were removed and replaced with stone, because the towers were hollow, it was called a shell keep. Castles with a shell keep were better than the early Norman ‘motte and bailey castles’ because it was an expensive way of strengthening the motte, the fragile wooden fence around the motte was replaced with a stone wall. The castle engineers during the Norman period of time did not trust the motte to support the enormous weight of a stone keep, but the a common solution to that problem was to replace the wooden stakes enclosing the castle with a stone wall then building wooden buildings backing onto the inside of the wall. This construction was great because it meant that the walls could be thinner and lighter. The shell keep castles were less popular and were relatively short lived, the style stopped being popular very quickly. Castles like York castle Clifford tower have a stone

The castle would usually be built on higher ground to see enemies coming from below. This would also help to build a moat, the drawbridge would be the only pathway from the land to the castle. The castle would have multiple stories from basements to dungeons. The toilet would be built at the bottom story to let the waste go down into the water below.

Alchemists experimented with mixtures of natural ingredients, trying to find a substance that might allow people to live forever. They also searched for a way to make gold out of cheaper metals. By the 10th century, the Chinese had made the first weapon that used gunpowder: the flamethrower. Early flamethrowers contained gunpowder mixed with oil. The Chinese used them to spray enemies with a stream of fire.

A catapult has been used all throughout history as a siege engine. A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. A catapult was one of the approximately 10 weapons used in siege warfare during an assault on a castle or fortification. Some other weapons used in both ancient and medieval siege warfare included the well known trebuchet, the classic battering ram, and the siege tower. All of these devices and their relatives were used both in ancient and medieval times in large numbers, and to their users utter enjoyment, and they remained effective for ages, despite an opponent's usually inefficient ways of trying to impede the seige weapons

When castles evolved to be stone, they became very strong, tough military buildings. (Murrell 10). Moats were added, and this eliminated one of the most popular ways of attack; digging a big enough hole under the castle walls for the whole army to go through. This was a very big invention, because this is what really allowed castles to be so unstoppable. Moats were only about a meter deep, but even if someone was brave enough to go through it, there would often be sharp stakes placed in the water, so moats became even more useful.

The Siege of a Castle was a guarantied victory, but it took a long time of patience. Patience was the key to victory with this strategy, however it was scarce in the battlefield, because of the angry, impatient soldiers waiting to get home to their families. The city walls were suppose to be fortifying a position that could not be easily overrun, and that it could be strong enough to enable the defense to maintain that position for a long period of time. Siege of a fort, castle, or city walls had four basic concepts. The Sieging technique was directly directed towards these four. In order for the attackers to get inside they would have to go over the wall, tear a passage through the wall, dig a tunnel underneath it, or just wait until the defenders surrendered.

There are many ways that kingdoms defended themselves with things like moats, bridges, walls. (Morris & Exploring-Castles, n.d.). Luckily for the attackers there are ways to get pass defences such as battering rams for heavy doors. Also mining was used to go under a defensive wall. If you thought that chemical warfare was a new thing then you are wrong. In medieval times if a castle had wooden structures you were in grave danger of having it set on fire. Biological warfare was also used in medieval times. Diseases were a very dangerous way

The study of Medieval Warfare has been approached in a way that it concentrates on social, governmental and economic factors to the detriment of where military methods and practice. Most of the technological advances changed the Medieval Period and affected it in a myriad of ways. A lot of the advances that had to do with warfare were better weapons, armour and other stuff. The feudal system has been greatly studied but as to how wars were actually fought is still to this day widely misinterpreted and misconceived (The Myths of Medieval Warfare, 1994, para 1). One of the main types of warfare that was used was Siege Warfare. It was effective and quick, it also benefited the attacking

The Burg Eltz is an early German castle that focused more on looks and the good medieval life of a royal rather than the hard lines and toil of a defensive fortress. Castles are considered to be large, fortified private residences. Castles started showing up during the 9th and 10th centuries. These fortifications provided a home base from which attacks could be launched, or as protection from enemy raids. Also, the structures served as symbols of power and centers of administration. Castles were first constructed from timber and earth, but had their walls replaced later on by stone. Even though gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the 14th century, it was not powerful enough to significantly affect the construction of new castles until

By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.

The Middle Ages is a medieval time period in Western Europe that lasted from 500 to 1500 C.E. The Middle Ages began as a result from the collapse of the Roman Empire which began in 31 BCE, and fell in 476 C.E. In around 300 C.E. the emperor of the Rome divided the land for easier control. This began the decline of Rome. The Western half of Rome fell to Barbarian invaders, while the eastern half lived on as the Byzantine Empire. The Early Middle Ages began shortly after the western half fell. After the Roman Empire lost its position as the center of power, Western Europe fell into a time of chaos and warfare. There were a lot of attacks by Vikings, Magyars (hungarian nomads), and Muslims. The invasions caused disorder, and suffering, and the government system developed into feudalism.The High Middle Ages followed, the Early Middle Ages, and was the time period in Western Europe from around the 11th century to the 13th. The Middle Ages are referred to as the “Dark Ages” because of the disorder, hopelessness of the time. It is accurate to refer to the Middle Ages (500-1500) as a whole as a” the Dark Ages”.The Early Middle Ages meet the qualities of a dark age due to the, lack of government, education, and dysfunctional economy. However, the high middle ages was a time of improvement for these issues.

Bulwark seemed to mostly be a small fort surrounded by a six foot wooden stockade. At each corner of the walls stood a small watch town that looked

What are castles? Castles are immense building in the medieval times. They were built by an important person or a ruler such as a king. The castle was to protect the people from inside out, castles were both a home and a fortress What were they used for?