During a siege, a castle was surrounded by enemy soldiers. They prevented supplies from entering it and anyone inside from leaving it. Sooner or later, if the siege held, the castle inhabitants would be starved into surrender. Instead of waiting for this to happen, the attackers often set about forcing their way in to the castle. To do this, they used siege weapons.

While trebuchets (giant catapults) bombarded the castle from a distance, the besieging army drew up smaller catapults called mangonels close to the castle walls. They used these to hurl boulders at them. They also filled in the moat and rolled a battering ram right up to the gatehouse. They would then set about smashing the gate down. The defenders dropped a large mattress in front of the ram to try to cushion the blows. They also attempted to haul it away with a giant grabber.

Scaling the walls

Another way to get into the castle was by climbing over its walls. The besieging army could try climbing ladders, but these were easy to push away from the walls by the defending guards. Much better was a siege tower or belfry. Under cover from its timber frame, the men clambered up a staircase and leaped over the castle battlements.