Siege Warfare
How castles were attacked and defended: siege weapons (trebuchets, battering rams, siege towers), boiling liquids, arrow slits, murder holes; the drama of a medieval siege
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name at least three siege weapons or attack methods
- Describe at least two ways a castle was designed to resist attack
- Explain what a siege was and why it could last weeks or months
The lesson
A siege happened when an army surrounded a castle and would not let anyone leave or bring in food. The attackers hoped the people inside would run out of supplies, or that a hole would open in the wall. A siege was not a quick fight. It could drag on for weeks or even months.
Picture soldiers pushing a huge log again and again into a castle gate. That log was a battering ram, and it took many hits to break through solid wood. Nearby, other soldiers loaded a trebuchet, a giant sling that flung heavy rocks at the walls. Some attackers rolled a tall wooden siege tower right up to the wall so they could climb over the top.
Defenders fought back with clever tricks. Arrow slits were narrow windows, perfect for shooting arrows out but almost impossible to shoot arrows in. High on the walls, defenders poured boiling water or hot sand down onto climbing attackers. Above the gate, murder holes let defenders drop rocks or boiling liquid on anyone trapped below.
A siege was a slow, clever battle: attackers smashed and climbed with rams, trebuchets, and towers, while defenders struck back through arrow slits, murder holes, and boiling liquid.
Watch it
Where it sits
This opens up
Nothing builds on it yet.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.