History
Castles & knights
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Castles and knights
The Middle Ages, also known as medieval times, lasted from around 600 to 1500. In those days, the most powerful person in the kingdom was, of course, the king. But even he had to...
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Battering ram
The battering ram was used during a siege to break down the castle gate—but could be brought in to smash the walls as well. The ram was housed inside a timber carriage, called a...
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Building a castle
The most important factors to be taken into consideration when building a castle were that it should be able both to resist attack and to withstand a siege for at least several...
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Castle gatehouse
The castle's massive gatehouse was its only entrance—and it was more heavily fortified than any other part. The drawbridge over the moat, a water-filed ditch that ran all round...
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Castle walls and battlements
A castle's first line of defence was the high, thick, outer wall that completely surrounded it. The tops of the walls, the battlements, usually had a jagged design known as...
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Heraldry
Knights looked the same when clad in full armour. So, to ensure they were not attacked by their own men, or so that they could be easily identified at a tournament, the knights...
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Inside a castle
A late 13th-century castle had no separate keep. Instead, one of the towers was much grander than the others and contained the bedchambers for the lord and his family. Four turrets...
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Knights
Knights were fighting men of the Middle Ages. They were “gentlemen soldiers” and formed a separate class of people below the higher nobility of the feudal system but above...
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Knights' armour
The first knights wore chainmail coats, made from thousands of metal rings joined together. Plate armour offered much more protection than mail, and so by the 1400s complete suits...
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Life in a castle
A castle was the residence for the lord, his family and his followers, while his guards, the castle’s peacetime garrison, manned the battlements. The lady took charge of the...
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Mangonel
The mangonel was a type of catapult, used for smashing the walls of a castle during a siege. It consisted of an arm and bucket mounted on a wooden frame. The power was provided by...
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Medieval soldiers and weapons
Footsoldiers were a mixture of ordinary men, pressed into service as part of their rent to their lord, and mercenaries, who fought for money. They wore quilted tunics, helmets and...
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Siege
During a siege, a castle was surrounded by an enemy army. It prevented supplies from entering it and anyone inside from leaving it. Sooner or later, if the siege held, the castle...
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Squires
Only the sons of a knight could grow up to be a knight. In order to fulfil their destiny, they had to go through years of training as a squire, to learn the fighting skills and the...
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Story of castles
Castles are found in different parts of the world; today, many lie in ruins. Most castles were built hundreds of years ago by rich and powerful people, such as kings or wealthy...
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Tournaments
A knight was granted land from a noble lord in return for around 40 days’ military service each year. The rest of the year, a knight would travel up and down the land from one...
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Trebuchet
During the Middle Ages, the trebuchet was one of the largest and most powerful weapons in a siege army's armoury. It was a huge catapult, capable of flinging objects with great...
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Castles and knights A-Z