The most famous types of siege warfare was the Ballista, Mangonel, Battering ram and the most amazing of them all, the trebuchet but these weapons cost a lot of money so all sieges had to be accurately planed.
To attack the correct part of the castle there were engineers which inspected the targeted castle to look for the weak points. The workforce would have included carpenters and blacksmiths. At the battlefield itself the siege weapon of the attack would be built, while the attacking army would try to seek terms of surrender with the defenders. If the terms of surrender were not met then the siege of the castle would start. The possible siege weapons which could be used were:
The Battering Ram:
This weapon would literally be punching, pounding, shaking and drilling anything just to get into the castle grounds. The development of the battering ram was:
1. A Simple Log Battering Ram
2. It was then suspended in Slings
3. Next the Head of the Battering Ram would become flat which would be able to crack surfaces
4. After that the Head of the Battering Ram was reinforced with bronze or iron
5. After the Body of the Battering Ram was reinforced with bands of metal
6. The Head of the Battering Ram was changed into the strange representation of a ram's head
7. Then it was it was held by ropes or chains from a frame fixed over it
8. The Battering Ram was mounted on wheels to be able to move the large object easier
9. The Battering Ram was covered by a roof to protect the operators from missiles - this was called the Penthouse
10. The Ram was then suspended by a series of chains or ropes from the Penthouse ceiling
11. A series of levers, ropes, rollers, pulleys, and winches were included to enable the Penthouse and Ram to be moved to the target
Although all these changes had taken place, the battering ram still came out of fashion when the famous trebuchet came in.
Ballista:
The ballista was a massive crossbow which fired from the tension of the strings. This weapon would be able to fire: darts with iron points or sharp wooden poles.
The Trebuchet:
- This was a huge arm with a sling which would throw stones weighing up to 200 lbs up to around 300 yards. Other items which could be thrown were:
- .Sharp wooden poles - Stick into people
- .Spikes - Stick into people
- .Fire - Burns, kills
- .Casks of burning tar - Burn the place, destroys, kill
- .Burning sand which would become stuck inside armour - Uncomfortable and very painful for the defender
- .Dung - Spread disease and not pleasant
- .Dead and even rotted bodies - Spread disease
- .Diseased bodies - Infect the inhabitants of the castle
- .Body parts - Arms, legs
- .Dead animals - Not very nice to look at
- .Anything rotting - Animals, food
- .Quicklime - basically Calcium Hydroxide
Mangonel:
This was a weapon which missiles could be fired from a bowl shaped container at the end of a huge arm. This weapon would fire the exact same items as the trebuchet but further as it could fire up to 433 yards.
The Trebuchet and the Mangonel both used an arm with something at the end, this is because the arm acted as a leaver and that meant with enough force you could lift anything with a leaver so that was why these weapons were widely used.
There was in fact another weapon which was used, this was about miners going underground and digging through until they get to the target castle wall, they then would plant explosives under there and then get out of there. In the heat of battle these explosives would go off and the wall will be destroyed, killing many people and providing a way in for the attackers.
If they were so easy to capture then why were they built?
Well a castle was usually built to defend a certain part of captured territory which would then protect the people in that area. These castles would have been built on hilltops for the attacking army to be worn out before battle, which meant the defending army would have an easier job in defending. One castle in Sussex called Bodiam castle was even strengthened as it would be a crucial part in defending the country in the 1300s, when the French were trying to attack the country.
These were the siege weapons of Medieval England and why the castle was built, well I hoped you enjoyed reading up on this as much as I did.
i guess