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Chapter XI: The Siege and Defence of a Medieval Castle

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A work upon castellation would undoubtedly be incomplete if it omitted to deal with the interesting subject of the means by which the medieval knight defended his castle, and of the methods he employed for attacking his neighbour's, or an enemy's town, whether in a private feud or legitimate warfare.

Through the almost universal habit of perusing medieval romances the general public has formed a mental picture of the hero and his followers riding round a castle and summoning it to surrender, or challenging the garrison to emerge from their retreat and essay mortal combat in the open. As the engineer and captain of the sappers and miners, the director of the artillery, the designer of movable towers, and the general head of the various artifices calculated to bring the besieged to their senses, the hero is less well known.

The _coup de main_ method of attack has probably been the same in most ages, and undoubtedly was the chief means resorted to by primitive man. His missile weapons during the Stone, Bronze, and Early Iron Ages were of no use against earth ramparts crowned by thick palisading; sling, stones, arrows, and spears were only efficacious against the bodies of his enemies, and hand-to-hand combat was therefore a necessity. Hence we may imagine a concentration against a presumably weak point, a sudden rush, the plunge into the dry ditch and a rapid scramble up the scarp towards the palisades under a shower of arrows, stones, and other missiles; the mad escalade of the defences surmounting the earthwork and the fierce resistance of the defenders, followed by a successful entry or a disastrous repulse and retreat.

Precisely the same course was pursued in the medieval period when a rapid bridging of the moat by planks and beams would be attempted, scaling ladders would be reared, and, protected by their shields from the rain of missiles, the assailants, covered by their archers' fire of arrows and bolts upon the ramparts, would mount their ladders and attempt to effect a lodgment upon the walls. And, although weapons and conditions have changed, the assault to-day is made upon the self-same methods.

If, instead of the _coup de main_, a sustained siege is decided upon the knight will order his "gyns" to be brought up to the front, and large and heavy ones to be built upon the spot. From the time when Uzziah "made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal,"[1] down to the invention of cannon, the ingenuity of man has been exercised in devising machines for hurling missiles to a distance.

The Greeks, Romans, and other nations of antiquity brought them to perfection, and marvellous results were obtained in ancient sieges; the vivid account by Plutarch of the great engines used at the attack upon Syracuse, B.C. 214-212, reads almost like romance. Caesar frequently mentions this artillery, and especially the portable balistae for throwing arrows and casting stones; they were fitted with axles and wheels and manoeuvred like batteries of cannon at the present day. Larger engines were constructed as required like those of the medieval period.

[Footnote 1: 2 Chron. xxvi. 15.]

The ancient engines were distinct from those of a later age in depending for their efficacy upon the forces of tension and torsion as compared with that of counterpoise in the middle ages. The art of preparing the sinews of animals so as to preserve their elastic powers was known to the ancients, and great bundles so treated were utilised in different ways in the various engines. Experiments on sinews, ropes of hair, and other materials at the present day have proved that loss of elasticity soon occurs, whereas we learn that such was not the fact in classical times with their special method of preparation. By fixing an endless skein in a suitable frame, stretching it tightly and then twisting the skein in the centre by means of a beam of wood, the necessary torsion was obtained; if a missile were placed upon the beam when drawn back and the beam released, the projectile would be hurled to a distance proportionate to the velocity of the arm and the weight of the missile.

The principle may readily be gleaned from the accompanying diagram which exemplifies the two vertical skeins used in a portable balista for throwing arrows; by being fixed in a suitable frame an action like that of the bow could be obtained. By using immense coils of twisted sinew the nations of antiquity, and especially the Greeks, threw stones weighing 50 lbs. or more to a distance of from 400 to 500 yards, and as a general rule with marvellous accuracy, while lighter missiles are stated to have been hurled to between 700 and 800 yards. These engines received the general name of "catapults," although the Greeks generally referred to them under the term "tormentum," in reference to the twisted sinews, thongs, and hair, of which the skeins were made. Broadly speaking, catapults shot darts, arrows, and the falarica,--a long iron-headed pole; balistas projected stones or similar missiles, though the names are often interchanged by the chroniclers. Some time after the fall of the Roman empire the secret of preparing the sinews was lost.

_The Trebuchet._--Another force was called into play for medieval artillery. This was the counterpoise, or gravitation, and the principle upon which all large engines or "gyns" were constructed during the middle ages. A long wooden arm was pivoted in a framework so that a short and a long portion projected upon either side; to the shorter part a great weight in a swinging cradle was fixed which necessarily raised the longer arm to the vertical position. If the latter were drawn backwards and downwards the great weight was accordingly raised, and upon release the long arm would sweep upwards in a curve and project any missile attached to it. By fixing a sling of suitable length to the arm the efficiency was immensely increased (_see_ Title-page). Such was the principle of the "trebuchet," the enormous engines which carried devastation and destruction to medieval castles. The French are said to have introduced these in the twelfth century, and by the end of the thirteenth they were the most formidable siege engines of the time.

The transition period in England between the classical weapons and the trebuchet was the twelfth century and the early part of the thirteenth. The veterans from the crusades undoubtedly introduced the torsion and tension engines, but found that the home-made article could not compete in efficiency with the Oriental examples and therefore the advent of the trebuchet was welcomed. Roughly speaking, the original balista or catapults depending upon torsion, and throwing shafts rather than balls, were not so frequently in use as those engines which depended upon tension and threw heavy stones. In the early part of the thirteenth century the balista catapult came into vogue once more; it was of the cross-bow type, and at the end of the century was called the espringale and mounted on wheels.

The counterpoises used in large trebuchets weighed sometimes between 8 and 9 tons; the throwing arm was often 50 feet in length, and the engine could hurl a projectile weighing between 2 cwt. and 3 cwt. to a distance of about 300 yards. Dead horses were at times sent whirling over the battlements into a besieged town, while casks of matter of an offensive character and likely to breed pestilences were common missiles. But the chief use and purpose of the trebuchet was the smashing-up of bretasches; the pounding of the battlements and upper works to facilitate escalades; the filling up of the moat in selected places by throwing large quantities of earth, stones, etc., into it and against the walls, and, occasionally, to hurl some unfortunate envoy back again into a town or fortress when the messages he carried were distasteful to the besiegers. In a medieval MS. full directions are given for trussing a man intended for use as a projectile.

Camden states that at the siege of Bedford Castle by King John one of the mangonels, _i.e._ trebuchets, threw millstones into the castle. He mentions seven great machines being at work at one time. Again, when Henry III. besieged Kenilworth, in 1266, stones of extraordinary size were used as missiles; some are still preserved at the Castle and two are at the Rotunda, Woolwich, the diameters being 18-1/2 inches and 16-1/4 inches; the weight 256 lbs. and 165 lbs. respectively. At Pevensey Castle catapult stone shot of 144, 156, and 241 lbs. respectively have been discovered. The great trebuchet constructed by Edward I. for the siege of Stirling Castle cast balls weighing between two and three hundredweight. The several parts of this great machine were sent by sea, but the Castle surrendered before its efficacy could be tried. The King was annoyed that this, his pet device, the "War-Wolf," as it was termed, had not had an opportunity, and therefore ordered the garrison to remain within while he took a few "pot-shots" at their defences.

Such projectiles would almost demolish a house, and were nearly as formidable as modern shells; their great weight would batter every portion of a medieval castle except the very thickest of walls. The platforms of earth thrown up by besiegers to sustain their great engines remain in many places intact to-day; thus round Berkhampstead Castle are eight, upon which the trebuchets of the Dauphin were erected in 1216, when he battered the castle into submission in about a fortnight. The terms mangonel, petrary, balista, onager, scorpion, perrier, catapult, etc., when used by historians of the middle ages, generally apply to the trebuchet and its varieties, large and small.

_The Arblast, Espringale, and Spurgardon_ were engines based upon the cross-bow or tension principle; some were of considerable size and threw huge bolts tipped with iron. Another and a common use was to convey ignited incendiary matter into the enemy's quarters by their means. They were mounted upon towers, curtain walls, and in the baileys, while in the open when placed upon wheels they served the purpose of field-pieces.

_The Ram_, based upon the weapon used by the ancients, was in frequent use. The working parts and the men manipulating it were protected by a pent-house called the "Snail," or "Whelk," having a roof of considerable thickness. In this house it was suspended by chains and pulled backwards and forwards by hand or mechanical appliances; when released, it smashed the stones in the wall to powder, so that they could be subsequently removed from the defences. To mitigate the effects the besieged let down mattresses, bags of wool, and coiled rope mats by chains from the ramparts.

_The Terebra._--A machine based upon the classical _terebra_ was also in use. It consisted of a heavy beam which could be rotated; the iron head being furnished with a spike of square section was inserted in a joint into which it bored its way, breaking up the surrounding stones and facilitating their removal.

_The Cat, or Sow_, was in constant use for mining and underpinning walls. It was a covered house upon wheels, with an enormously strong roof calculated to withstand the heavy stones, beams of wood, hot water, molten lead, and spiked poles which were invariably launched from the battlements for its destruction. Under its cover the besiegers tunnelled beneath the walls, which they supported with woodwork until their task was completed; by starting a conflagration in the chamber thus excavated the supports were consumed and the wall was breached. At other times the stones, previously shattered or loosened by the ram or the terebra, were removed until the wall above was incapable of bearing its own weight. Mining, like other operations, had to be carried out with discretion and was undoubtedly a precarious operation. Thus in the siege of Dryslwyn Castle, Carmarthenshire, in the time of Edward I., Lord Stafford and other leaders lost their lives by a sudden collapse of the walls they were undermining. The mine was often met by a counter-mine of the garrison as in modern warfare.

_The Beffroi, Belfry, or Movable Tower_ was a machine for facilitating the capture of fortified positions. It could be built upon the spot or carried from place to place in pieces. When mounted upon wheels it was pushed forward towards the walls, the object being to give the assailants the same advantage of height which was shared by the besieged. From the upper platform the archers could command the battlements and approaches; those in lower stages sent their missiles into loopholes and other openings; in the lowest stage a ram was often mounted. One feature of its construction was a hinged platform which fell outwards upon the battlements and over which the assailants endeavoured to enter the fortress. The besieged hindered the approach of this terror by digging pitfalls for the wheels, shooting incendiary missiles, making sallies for its destruction by fire, or concentrating such a body of men upon the walls that none could live under the hail of missiles poured into it.

The methods of assailing a castle thus enumerated were, as a rule, put into operation at the same time and supported one another. Thus in the siege of Bedford Castle, defended by the followers of Faukes de Breauté, in 1224, the siege was carried out by King Henry III. in person. Two wooden Beffrois were made and advanced towards the walls,--these were occupied by longbow-men and arbalestiers; sappers approached the walls and undermined by means of a Cat; seven trebuchets cast their ponderous projectiles against, or into, the castle without intermission night and day, while lesser artillery hurled lead-covered stones, darts, bolts, and other missiles among the defenders upon the walls, or through the oillets and louvre-covered windows. The barbican was taken and then the outer bailey; a breach in the defending wall gave admission to the inner bailey, and when, by judicious sapping, one portion of the great Shell Keep sank and produced a wide breach, the castle was surrendered.

In medieval manuscripts we meet with many illustrations of petardiers hurling vessels containing Greek fire upon the various engines attacking a castle or town, and perhaps this terrifying missile deserves more notice than has hitherto been paid to it. Introduced from the East during the time of the Crusades it was used with other incendiary bodies, but as no great objects were specially achieved by its use in our islands, or rather, as chroniclers do not make special mention of such results, we are probably justified in thinking that the effects were more of a terrifying character than of actual effectiveness in besieging or defending a castle.

INDEX

Adulterine Castles, 90, 91

Ages--Stone, Bronze, Iron, dates of, 7

l'Aigle, Matilda de, 94

Albini, Nigel de, Cainhoe Castle, 56

Alnwick Castle, description of, 68

Alselin, Geoffrey, Laxton Castle, 56

Alur, 117, 168

Ambresbury Banks, Essex, 29

Anderida, 45

Angus, Earl of, 187

Arbalesteria, 78, 117

Arblast, 196

Archer, the English, 150

Aros Castle, 179

Arundel Castle, 54, 65, 151, 158
description of, 71
Shell Keep, 72
siege of, 72

Arundel Cathedral, 73

Aspiks, 152

Avalon, Isle of, 11

Badbury, Berks, 31

Badbury Rings, Wimborne, 22, 23, 32

Badlesmere, Bartholomew, 148

Bailey, buildings in, 53

Bailey or Base Court, 53

Bakewell, 42

Baliol, Robert, 184

Balista, 192, 194, 196
stones, 192

Bamborough Castle, 41
description of, 93
Keep of, 94, 96
siege of, 93
wards of, 96

Banks, Sir John, and Lady, 139

Barbican, or ravelin, 67

Barnard Castle, the Keep, 106

Bartizans, 178, 180

Base Court or Bailey, 53

Basilisks, 152

Battlemented parapets, 41

Bayeux tapestry, 55

Beauchamp Tower, Tower of London, 135

Beaufort, Duke of, 142, 164

Beaumaris Castle, 122

_Bebban burh_ or Bamborough, 41

Bedford Castle, Shell Keep of, 200
siege of, 195

Beffroi, 81, 94, 198, 199

Bek, Anthony, Bishop of Durham, 69

Belesme, Robert de, 71, 87

Belfry, 198

Belvoir Castle, position of, 59
Todenei, Robert, 57

Berkeley Castle, 65

Berkhampstead Castle, 196
Mortaign, Robert, Count of, 56

Berm, Cadbury Castle, 24
Verulamium, 37

Berwick Castle, 183

Bigot family, 142
Bodiam Castle, 165, 179
description of, 157

Boleyn, Anne, 161
Sir Geoffrey, 160
Sir Thomas, 161

Bolingbroke, 121

Bombards, 148, 152

Bothwell Castle, description of, 181

Bowyer Tower, Tower of London, 135

Bradbury, 14

Bretasche, 167, 194
description of, 103
Motte and Bailey Castle, 50

Breauté, Faukes de, 199

Brick Castles, 155

Brick-making, art of, 165

British Isles, earthworks of, 2, 173

Broch, 174
at Cockburn Law, 175
of Mousa, 174

Bronllys Castle, 133

Bronze Age, 7, 189

Broughton Castle, 172

Bruce, Robert, 183

Buckingham, Duke of, 162

Builth Castle, 133

Bures Mount, Essex, 50

Burgh, Hubert de, 81

Burh, bury, borough, and burgh, 39, 40

Burhs, Nottingham, 42
Saxon, 38, 39
Stafford, Tarn worth and Warwick, 42
Witham and Maldon, 42

Busli, Roger de, Tickhill Castle, 57

Cadbury, Tiverton, 22
Castle, 23
Berm of, 24

Caerlaverock Castle, 186

Caerphilly Castle, 131
description of, 126

Caesar, artillery of, 190

Cainhoe Castle, Albini, Nigel de 56

Campbell Castle, 179

Canmore, Malcolm, 183

Cannon, early, 147
gargoyles, 181
shot, weight of, 154

Canterbury Castle, Keep of 89

Carew Castle, 132

Carisbrooke Castle, 65
description of, 73

Carnarvon Castle, 118
description of, 123
town walls of, 124

Castellated Mansion, 147, 155

Castellation, the first, 2
transition period, 156

Castle-building Stephen's reign, 92

Castles, centre of boroughs, 57
centre of feudal baronies, 56
definition of, 1
in Gascony, 156
Herefordshire, 55
Hertfordshire, 56
Leicestershire, 56
Nottinghamshire, 56
of Scotland, 173
sites of, 57

Cat, 197, 200

Catapult, 192, 194, 196

Chapel-en-le-Frith, 11

Chaworth, Payn de, 130

Chepstow Castle, 131
description of, 141

Château Gaillard, description of, 110
the Keep, 111

Chaucer, Geoffrey, 62

Cilgerran Castle, 132

Cissbury, 14, 24

Civil War, efficiency of Castles, 153

Clare, Earl of, 46
Gilbert de, 127
family, 142
Classification of earthworks, 5

Clavering Castle, Essex, 49

Clawll y Milwyr, 8

Cleves, Anne of, 161

Clickamin Broch, 175

Cliff Castles, 7-9

Clifford's Castle, Northants, 50, 52

Clifton Camps, 9

Clinton, William de, 162

Clun Castle, Keep of, 88, 92

Cobham, Lord, 160

Colchester Castle, 134
Chapel of, 85

Colepeper family, 144

Comb Moss, 11

Compton, Sir William, 162

Concentric Castle, 110
essential principles of, 113

Conisborough Castle, description of, 106

Constantinople, fortifications of, 112

Contour forts, 14

Conway, town wall of, 120
Castle, 118
description of, 120

Corbelling, mania for, 180

Corfe Castle, 131
Buttavant Tower, 140
description of, 137
Keep of, 139
"slighting" of, 140

Coucy Castle, 102, 104, 105, 181

Counterpoise engines, 193

Counterpoises of trebuchets, 194

_Coup-de-main_ attack, 189

Craigmillar Castle, 179

Crenellated walls, 41

Crévecoeur family, 143

Criccieth Castle, description of, 118

Cromlechs, 8

Cromwell, Ralph, Lord, 168

Crowstep gables, 181

Curtain walls, 67

Cutts, Lord, 75

Cylindrical Keep, 101

Dalyngrugge, Sir Edward, 157

Danish burhs, 43

Dauphin, 98

Definition of a castle, 1

"Devil of Belesme," 87

Differentiation of earthworks, 3

Dilke family, 162

Dinas, 9

Dirleton Castle, 176

Dog-tooth ornament, 92

Dolebury, 14

Donjon, 102, 181

Dorchester, Oxon, 10

Douglas family, 181

Doune Castle, 186

Dover Castle, 49
description of, 80, 92
the Keep, 82

Dragons, 152

Drum Castle, 178, 182

Dryslwyn Castle, 198

Dudley Castle, Fitz-Ansculf, William, 56

Dumbarton Castle, 176

Dunnottar Castle, description of, 185
Keep of, 185

Dunster Castle, Mohun, William de, 56

Durability of earthworks, 4

Durham Castle, 65

Dyke Hills, 10

Eagle Tower, Carnarvon Castle, 126

Earls Barton Castle, Northants, 52

Earthworks, auxiliary aids to, 18
British Isles, 2
classification of, 5
destruction of, 14
differentiation of, 3
durability of, 4
English, 3
with stockades, 18

Edinburgh Castle, 176, 183
Argyle Tower, 183

Edinburgh Castle, St. Margaret's Chapel, 184
Wellhouse Tower, 184

Edin's Hold, 175

"Edwardian" Castle, 118

Edward the Martyr, 138

Eleanor, wife of Humphrey of Gloucester, 144

Elfreton, Henry de, 121

Ely, 43

Engines, ancient, 191

English earthworks, 3

Escalade, 189

Espringale, 194, 196

Ethelfleda of the Mercians, 41, 42

Exburgh Manor-House, 168

Eye Castle, Malet, Robert de, 56

Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 164

Falarica, 86, 192

Fane, Ralph, 169

Fergeant, Alan, 99

Ferrers, Henry de, Tutbury Castle, 57

Feudal baronies, castles centre of, 56

Fiennes, Sir Roger, 165
Thomas, execution of, 166

First castellation, 2

Fishguard, 9

Fitz-Ansculf, William, Dudley Castle, 56

Fitz-John, Eustace, 68, 94

Fitz-Osborne, William, Earl of Hereford, 73
William, 142

Fitz-Scrob, Richard, 48

Flanking Towers, 67

Flint Castle, 122

Flying bridge, Motte and Bailey Castle, 50

Fonmon Castle, Glamorganshire, 93

Forebuildings, 78
Rochester Castle, 98

Fortified Hill-Tops, classification of, 13
strengthened, 5, 13

Gam, Sir David, 163

Gannock's Castle, near Tempsford, 44, 45

Gaveston, Piers, 74

Glendower, Owen, 119

Gloucester Castle, Keep of, 89
Humphrey, Duke of, 169

Golden Valley, Castle at, 48

Gravitation engines, 193

Greek fire, 200

Grey, Sir Ralph, 95, 152

Guildford Castle, Chapel of, 85
Keep of, 88

Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, 134

Gunpowder, introduction of, 147

"Gyns," 190, 193

Ham Hill, Somerset, 15

Hampton Court, Herefordshire, 172

Harlech Castle, 118, 152

Harquebuses, openings for, 158

Hastings Castle, 55

Hatton, Sir Christopher, 139

Haut, Ivo de, 170

Haverfordwest Castle, 133

Hedingham Keep, Essex, 83

Hembury Fort, Honiton, 14

Herefordshire, Castles in, 55

Hereford, Motte and Bailey Castle, 48, 49

Herstmonceaux Castle, 167, 168
description of, 164

Hertfordshire, Castles in, 56

Hever Castle, 160
Sir William de, 160

Hill forts, 173

Hilton Castle, 172

Home Castle, 176
Earls of, 181

Homestead moats, 6
developed, 6

Humfreys, Sir William, 161

Hunsbury, Northants, 30

Ifan, Davydd ap, 152

Ightham Mote, 170

Iron Age, 7, 189

Isabella, Queen of Edward II., 144

Isle of Avalon, 11

Juliets, 102

Keep, Scottish, plan of, 176

Kemyss, Sir Nicholas, 143

Kenilworth Castle, 151
siege of, 195

Kidwelly Castle, Carmarthenshire, 118, 129

Kildrummie Castle, 176

Lacy, Ilbert de, Pontefract Castle, 57

Lambert, General, 186

Lamphey Castle, 133

"Land of Castles," 131

Launceston Castle, the Keep, 105

Laxton Castle, Alselin, Geoffrey, 56

Leconfield, Lord, 160

Leeds Castle, Kent, 105, 148
Baileys of, 145
Barbicans of, 146
description of, 143
Keep of, 145

Leicestershire, Castles in, 56

Lewes Castle, 65

Lewkenor, Sir Thomas, 158

Licences to crenellate, 90

Lincoln Castle, 65

Lisle, Warine de, 159

Llandilo, Castle near, 130

Llawhaddon Castle, 133

Loch Doon Castle, 176

Loch Leven Castle, 179

Logan Stone, 8

Ludlow, family of, 172

Machicolation, 104, 116, 158, 165, 167, 181
earliest example of, 111

Maiden Castle, 14, 16, 22, 32
entrances of, 17

Malet, Robert de, Eye Castle, 56

_Malvoisin_, 94

Mam Tor, Derbyshire, 27
the shivering mountain, 27

Mangonel, 104, 196

Manorbier Castle, 9, 133

"March of the Men of Harlech," 120

Marmion, Robert le, Tamworth Castle, 56

Maxstoke Castle, 162

Medieval walls, construction of, 78

Melandra, near Glossop, 34

Menhirs, 8

Merlons, 117, 124, 165, 168

Meurtriers, 78, 116, 142

Mining, method of, 198

Missile engines of the ancients, 190

Mohun, William de, Dunster Castle, 56

Monk, General, 187

Montfort, Simon de, 46, 98

Montgomery, family of, 71

Morgan, Colonel, 142

Mortaign, Robert, Count of, Berkhampstead Castle, 56
Earl of, 46

Motte and Bailey Castle, 48
advantages of, 60
bretasche of, 50
construction of, 49
flying bridge of, 50
positions of, 58, 59
positions of mound of, 54
rapid erection of, 60
Scottish, 175

Mount and Fosse, 5

Mount (or Motte) and Bailey, 5

Mount, The, Caerleon, 50

Movable Tower, 198

Mowbray, de, 94

Narberth Castle, 133

Natural fortresses strengthened, 5-6

Neidpath Castle, 178
description of, 182

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Castle,
Chapel of, 85
Forebuilding of, 79
Keep of, 89

Newquay, 7

Newton Castle, Montgomeryshire, 53

Nineveh marbles, 41

Norham Castle, 105

Norwich Castle, 134

Nottingham Castle, 87
Keep of, 88

Nottinghamshire, Castles in, 56

Odin's Hold, Berwickshire, 175

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, 46, 97, 143

Oillets, 78, 124, 166, 200

Old Castle Head, 9

Onager, 86, 196

Ongar Castle, Essex, 52, 53

_Oppidum_ of Cassivelaunus, 33

Orford Castle, Suffolk, 109

Oubliettes, 78

Oxford Castle, Keep of, 89

Parapet, location of, 4

Peel Towers, 180

Pelham, Lady Jane, 46
Sir John, 46

Pembroke Castle, 132, 153
Keep of, 106

Penhow Castle, Monmouthshire, 93

Penshurst Place, description of, 169

Percy, Earl, 70
Sir Henry de, 69
Sir Thomas, 159

Perrier, 196

Petardier, 200

Petrary, 81, 86, 196

Pevensey Castle, 45, 131
inner Castle of, 47

Pharos at Dover, 80

Pickering Castle, Keep of, 88

"Pit," or Prison, 178

Pitt Rivers, General, 25, 29

Plantagenet, Hamelin, 109

Plateau forts, 6, 11, 13

Pleshey Castle, Essex, 52

Pontefract Castle, 109, 154
Lacy, Ilbert de, 57

Porchester Castle, 37

Portland, 9

Primitive weapons, 1

Projectiles, men as, 195
millstones as, 195

Promontory forts, 6

Protected village sites, 6

Pulteneye, Sir John de, 169

Quatford Castle, 87

Quia Emptores, Statute of, 149

Raglan Castle, 141
description of, 163
Keep of, 164

Ram, 81, 197

Ravelin, or barbican, 67

Ravensburgh Castle, Hexton, 25

Rectangular Keep, 76
Chapel of, 85
Forebuilding of, 78
construction of, 77
Crypt of, 85
impregnability of, 87
internal arrangements of, 83
introduction of, 76
Ramparts of, 84

Reculvers, Isle of Thanet, 36

Redvers, Baldwin de, 139
Richard de, 74

Regalia Scottish, 186

Richard's Castle, Herefordshire, 48, 59

Richborough Castle, Sandwich, 36
Richmond Castle, Barbican of, 100
Chapel of, 99
Crypt of, 99
description of, 99
Keep of, 99

Ring Hill, Essex, 31

Roche Castle, 133

Rochester Castle, 134
description of, 96
Keep of, 89, 97, 98
siege of, 87, 97

Roman fortification, 37

Romano-British Period, 33

Roman wall, Tower of London, 134

Roxburgh Castle, 183

Royal Castles in Kent, 96

St. Burian, 8

St. David's Head, 8

St. John's Chapel, Tower of London, 136

St. Leger, Sir Anthony, 144

Sakers, 152

Saxon burh, 38, 39
MSS., 41
Period, 38

Say, de, family of, 172

_Segontium_ (Carnarvon), 36

Serpentines, 152

Seymour, Charles, Duke of Somerset, 70
family of, 159

Scales, Lord, 74

Scarborough Castle, siege of, 154

Scorpion, 196

Scottish Castles, Periods of, 176-181
Second Period, 177
Third Period, 179
Fourth Period, 180

Shell Keep, 64
configuration of, 66
position of, 65

Shirburn Castle, description of, 158

Shoulsbury, Exmoor, 22

Siege and defence of a medieval castle, 188

Sigismund, Emperor, 144

Silchester, 34, 37

Simple artificial enclosures, 5, 33

Smith, Sir Richard, 144

"Snail," 197

Solar, 180

Somerset, family of, 164
Sir Charles, 142

South Cadbury, Sherborne, 15

Sow, 81, 197

Spurgardon, 196

Spurious castles, 90

Stafford, Edward, 162
family of, 169
Humphrey, Earl of, 162
Lord, 198

Stockades, 18, 19
construction of, 19, 20, 21
Gallic, 19
on earthworks, 18

Stone Age, 7, 189
circles, 8

Stokesay Castle, description of, 171

Stirling Castle, 176, 183
description of, 184
Palace of, 185
Parliament Hall, 184
siege of, 195

Strongbow, Richard, 142

Sudley Castle, 172

Swegen the Sheriff, 49

Sydney, Sir Philip, 169
William, 169

Syracuse, attack on, 190

Syrens, 152

Tamworth Castle, Marmion, Robert le, 57

Tantallon Castle, 179
description of, 186
Keep of, 186
sieges of, 187

Tattershall Castle, crypt of, 167
description of, 167
Taunton burh, 41

Terebra, 197

Thetford Castle, Norfolk, 52

Thomas, Sir William ap, 163

Thurnham Castle, Kent, 53

Tickhill Castle, 148
Busli, Roger de, 57

Todenei, Robert, Belvoir Castle, 57

_Tormentum_, 192

Torsion and tension engines, 193

Torwoodlee Broch, 175

Totnes Castle, 65

Towcester, 42

Tower of London, St. John's Chapel, 85, 136
description of, 133
Keep of, 136

Traitors' Gate, 135

Trebuchets, 81, 86, 97, 152, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 200
projectiles of, 194, 195, 196

Treryn Castle, 8

Tretower Castle, 133

Trevalgue Head, 7

Tutbury Castle, 148
Ferrers, Henry de, 57

Tyler, Wat, 98

Uzziah, 190

Valence, Aymer de, 181

Vaulting Ribs, 92

Verdun, family of, 172

Vere, de, family of, 84

Verulamium, St. Albans, 34

Vescy, Ivo de, 68

Vitrified forts, 173, 174

Waldegrave, Sir Edward, 161

Waldo, Sir T., 161

Wales, Rhys of, 131

Wallace, Sir William, 186

Waller, Sir William, 71, 158

Wallingford, 39
Castle, 109

Walls, medieval, construction of, 78

Warkworth Castle, 109

Warwick Castle, 66, 148, 151

"War-Wolf," 196

Watling Street, 35

West Malling, 134

West Saxons, Harold, Earl of, 49

"Whelk," 197

Whelpley Hill, Bucks, 32

Whitton Castle, Durham, 172

Winchester, Statute of, 149

Windsor Castle, 53, 65
Barbican of, 61
description of, 60
Motte of, 61
St. George's Chapel, 62
Shell Keep of, 62

Wingfield Manor-House, 168, 172

Wollaston Castle, Northants, 52

Wren, Sir Christopher, 136

Wressle Castle, 159

Wyatt, the architect, 166

Wyndham, Sir William, 70

Yarnbury, Wilts, 32

Yester, Hays of, 182

York Castle, 65, 109
Keep of, 88

Zigzag moulding, 83, 84

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British CastlesChapter XI: The Siege and Defence of a Medieval Castle

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