1. April 20, 2016 Please fill out your planners & get started on bellringer.
Bellringer – Medieval Weapons
Packet pages 5 & 6
Medieval Castles
Why create them?
Types
Defense
Ways to Attack
HW – None

2. After Rome… After Rome collapsed:
-Land is “up-for-grabs”; How would people claim this land?
No central government (no police system, laws, schools, trade)…a bad time to be alive
Warlords (leaders of self-made armies [no country allegiance, sole purpose is to loot and gain land/goods] claimed land and called themselves kings…built castles to protect themselves…

3. Medieval Castles

4. Motte & Bailey Earliest form of castles built The Motte The Bailey
was a large hill made of earth on which was built a wooden keep or lookout.
The outer edge was then surrounded with a large wooden fence.
The Bailey
was separated from the Motte by a wooden bridge
could be removed if the Bailey was occupied by enemies. 
where people lived and animals were kept.

6. Stone Keep Castle
This type of castle soon replaced the Motte and Bailey castles as it offered a better form of defense.
A stone keep was the central feature, with thick walls and few windows.  
The entire castle might be surrounded by a ditch or moat and entrance to the castle was by drawbridge. 

7. Concentric Castles 12th and 13th Centuries
Offered the best protection against attack.
The main feature of the concentric castle is its walls. An inner wall built of thick stone with turrets positioned at intervals is then surrounded by an equally thick but lower stone wall. The walls are built at different levels so that archers on the inner walls can fire over the archers on the outer walls. 
The space between the two walls was known as the 'death hole' for being trapped within the walls would almost certainly result in death for the attacker.
The entire castle was then often surrounded with a moat and entry would be across a drawbridge.

8. Fire
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 or, more usually, by archers shooting fire-arrows into the castle.
Those living inside would be forced to leave allowing the attackers to take them prisoner or kill them.
This was one of the reasons why Motte and Bailey castles were soon replaced by Stone Keep castles.
Fire has little effect on a stone castle.

9. Battering Ram
The thick stone walls of the Stone Keep castles were difficult for men to knock down.
The battering ram was particularly useful since the weight of several men would be put behind it.
This could seriously weaken and possibly destroy doors or walls.

10. Ladders
Ladders were used by those attacking a castle to climb over the walls and fight the people living in the castle.
Disadvantage - leaving the man climbing the ladder subject to attack by arrow, boiling water or oil, or by being thrown to the ground if the ladder was pushed away from the wall.
To prevent this type of attack the Belfry or Siege Tower was developed.

11. Belfry The Belfry was a large structure on wheels that could be pushed
up to the castle walls. (siege tower)
Ladders inside the Belfry allowed attackers to climb to the top under cover and get into the castle.
Castle owners prevented this type of attack by piling earth up against the castle walls so that the Belfry, which was on wheels, could not be pushed near to the castle.

12. Catapult
A variety of catapults or siege engines were developed during the Middle Ages to hurl:
fire stones,
fireballs
dead sheep, cattle, or plague victims

13. Mining A good way of attacking a stone castle.
Attackers would dig a tunnel underground up to the castle walls.
They would then set a charge and make an explosion which would make the walls crumble and collapse.
Advantage - the attack could not be seen by those living in the castle.
However, if those inside the castle were aware that attackers were mining underground, they would often mine from the castle to meet the attackers underground and there would be a sword battle.

14. Siege Good way of attacking a stone castle.
Attackers would surround a castle with both men and catapults so that no one could enter or leave the castle.
Sieges could last for months
Usually until the inhabitants of the castle ran out of food and were starving.
One of the castle owner's main line of defense against siege was to send all women, children, old, weak and sick people out of the castle.
This meant that only those strong enough to fight off attackers remained in the castle and that the food supply would last much longer.

15. True or False Quiz
1. The best way to attack an early castle was with fire. 2. Fire was a good way to attack a stone castle. 3. Battering rams were used to knock people out of the way. 4. Pick axes were sometimes used to knock holes through thin stone walls. 5. Ladders were used to climb castle walls. 6. The belfry tower was a closed in ladder on wheels. 7. A mangonel was used underground. 8. Tunnels were often dug underground and castles exploded from underneath. 9. A siege was used to starve people out of the castle. 10. Sieges were usually over very quickly.

16. Answers 1. True 2. False 3. False 4. True 5. True 6. True 7. False

17. Muiderslot - Netherlands

18. Burg Eltz - Germany

19. Château de PlessisBourré - France

20. Tower of London - England

21. Alcazar de Segovia - Spain

22. Caernarfon - Wales

23. Mont Saint Michel Castle - France

24. Mont Saint Michel Castle - France

25. Chambord Castle

26. Chambord Castle
Considered as the largest and most majestic castle of the Loire valley, Chambord Castle was commissioned as a hunting lodge by François I. However he only spent 42 days of his 32-year reign in this royal residence. The 365 chimneys, 440 rooms, 14 staircases and 800 turrets and capitals give an insight of the magnificent period architecture. The main attraction remains the intricate "double revolution" staircase attributed to Leonardo de Vinci. ~

27. Chambord Castle

28. The Castle of Versailles, France

29. The Castle of Versailles

30. The Castle of Versailles

31. The Castle of Versailles

32. The Castle of Versailles ~ Petit Trianon

33. The Queen’s Hamlet

34. Inside a Castle… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_w4FGgOVsM

35. Works Cited www.historyonthenet.com (Information taken from)
Motte and bailey castle -
Stone keep -
Concentric castle -
Title page, Ladders -
Catapult -
Siege -
Mining -
Battering ram -
Fire -
"Chambord castle, aerial view" by Lieven Smits - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –
"Ferme1". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -
"034Hameau de la Reine" by deror avi - Own work. Licensed under Attribution via Wikimedia Commons -
"Versailles Petit Trianon". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -