What was the best way to attack a castle?

What was the best way to attack a castle?

Fire was the best way to attack the early Motte and Bailey castles since they were made entirely of wood. The fire might be started by building a bonfire against the outer wooden fence (palisade) or, more usually, by archers shooting fire-arrows into the castle.

What are the positions in a castle?

Officers & Servants in a Medieval Castle

• Seneschal, Major-domo or Steward.
• Constable – Horses, grooms and pages.
• Marshal – Marshalsea, Military, arms and discipline, knights, squires, men at arms.
• Chamberlain – Chambers, valet de chambres.
• Master of the Wardrobe – clothing and other domestic items.

How do you defend a castle under attack?

How to defend a castle

1. Building up high. Building a castle up high made it difficult for enemies to get to the castle.
2. Tall towers. Strong towers were added to curtain walls to watch out for enemies.
3. Battlements. Battlements were walls on the roof of a castle.
4. Arrow slits.
5. Moat.
6. Drawbridge.
7. Portcullis.
8. Dungeons.

How do you siege a castle?

Invaders smashed the walls with battering rams and launched heavy stone projectiles and flaming projectiles at and over the walls. They used catapults, trebuchets (heavy sling weapons) and ballistae (large mounted crossbows). Another way to bring down castle walls was to mine under them.

How would people attack castles?

There are a number of ways of assaulting a castle: over the top of the walls using towers or ladders, under the walls using a mine, or through the walls using a battering ram, pickaxes or other tools.

What is it called when you take over a castle?

Besieging a castle involved assembling and paying an army, gathering supplies, and hauling them to the siege site. Because the costs were so high, military leaders normally did not rush into a siege.

Did nobles have servants?

While nobles did employ maids, so did middle-class people, especially in the 19thc. In a medieval noble house, there tended to be female serfs who had household duties. They often were simply called servants (from Latin servus), though variations on maid did exist then as well. They also were often just called “girl”.

What are the king servants called?

In the largest courts, the royal households, many thousands of individuals comprised the court. These courtiers included the monarch or noble’s camarilla and retinue, household, nobility, those with court appointments, bodyguard, and may also include emissaries from other kingdoms or visitors to the court.

How many men are needed to defend a castle?

The total number of people living in it including the Knight’s family and the servants families was perhaps 20-40 people, of whom 8-15 might be men of military age. All of the men of military age would be armed if needed (they mostly would not carry arms around all the time).

What makes a strong castle?

A castle was built to withstand attack from enemy. Castle builders added many defensive features to make their castles difficult to attack. Many castles were built on high ground with clear views of the surrounding land. Tall thick curtain walls surrounded the castle buildings like a strong shield.

What are the three types of castles?

The three main types of castles are the motte and bailey castle, the stone keep castle, and the concentric castle.