Castle Elements and Siege Warfare

Portcullis

•Often used within the gatehouse.•A heavy timber or metal grill (grating) that protected the castle entrance.•Could be raised or lowered from within the castle. •It dropped vertically between grooves (worked by a winch or a counterweight) to block passage.•Used to trap attackers.

Refer to this element

“Murder Holes”

•A section between the main gate and an inner portcullis where arrows, rocks, and hot oil can be dropped from the roof though holes. •Provides good cover for defenders and leaves the attacker(s) open. •Only used when outer gate has been breached.

Other Machicolation Examples

•A heavy timber platform built to go over a moat between a gatehouse and surrounding land that could be raised when required to block an entrance.

Drawbridge

Refer to this element

Arrow Loops

•A narrow vertical slit cut into a wall through which arrows could be fired from inside.

What does an arrow loop look from the inside?

Battering Ram

•A large beam or log suspended from perpendicular beams. •By swinging it, the wall was shaken down or a hole was made through it.

•A giant siege engine in the form of a boulder firing catapult.

Trebuchet or Catapult

What about the other terms?

• Crelon

• Merlon

• Garderobe

• Moat

• Turret

Crenels

•The lower segment of battlements used to provide a firing point. •They were usually 2 to 3 feet wide. •Often had wooden shutters for greater protection.

Merlon

•The raised part of battlements.•Usually about 3 feet high.•Sometimes pierced with arrow slits to protect soldiers from enemy archers.

Garderobe

•Primitive toilet cut into the thick outer walls of the keep - just a stone seat over a hole/chute down into the wall that emptied into the moat. •A few had natural light, but most were lit by torches. •Iron bars were often fixed to the bottom of the chutes to prevent an invading army from gaining access that way.

Moat

•A deep flooded ditch round the castle. They were usually filled from a nearby water supply such as a spring, river or lake. •A dam would be placed on the supply to control the moat's water level.

Turret

A castle turret is a small tower rising above and resting on one of the main towers, usually used as a look out point.