Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

99

Castles 99-

DefenDing

a castle

During a siege, attackers

tried to climb over the

walls, smash them down

with siege engines,

or starve out the

inhabitants. the

defenders used archers

with bows and arrows

to keep attackers away

from the walls. if the

archers failed, soldiers pushed the

attackers’ scaling ladders away with

poles and poured tubs full of boiling

water or hot sand on to the enemy below. Deep moats

or solid rock foundations stopped the attackers from

digging under the walls. in peacetime, the knights

and soldiers of the castle trained for war by jousting

and playing war games in elaborate tournaments.

Attackers used a

battering ram to break

down drawbridge.

Siege engines had

to be tall enough

for attackers to

fire down on

castle defenders.

Sandbags protected

the attacking archers.

Towers that stuck out

from the walls gave

archers a clear view

of the attackers

trying to climb

the walls.

Even if the attackers

built a bridge across

a moat, they could be

stopped by boiling water

or hot sand dropped

on them from above.

Deep moats

surrounded

castle walls.

loopholes

archers fired through loopholes—

narrow slits in the walls that were wider

on the inside to make aiming easier.

the inner walls were often higher than

the outer walls, so archers could fire at

the attackers over the heads of their

own soldiers.

the massive walls anD towers of a castle were designed to make

it impossible for enemy soldiers to destroy it. inside was a whole world in

miniature—lords and ladies, government officials, soldiers, servants,

animals, gardens, treasure stores, and dungeons where prisoners could

be tortured. the best site for a castle was on a hill surrounded by water.

if there were no natural features, the builders made an artificial hill or

dug a deep ditch and filled it with water to make a moat. a well-built

castle with a good military commander in charge could withstand an

enemy siege for many months. most castles were built between the

9th and 16th centuries, when many countries were almost constantly

at war. early castles were small and made of wood; the later stone

buildings housed town-sized populations. many are still standing

today. the invention of gunpowder at the end of the

13th century made castles hard to defend. as times

grew more peaceful, kings and lords moved into

comfortable country houses.

Castle by night

US_099_Castles_1.indd 99 20/01/16 4:34 pm