Medieval Castles Flashcards
How were Motte and Bailey castles built?
Built from wood
What are ramparts?
They ran along top of walls, wide enough for soldiers to walk on.
What is a bailey
The court yard of medieval Castle
What is a moat
A deep ditch dug around the walls of a castle
What is a keep
A large square tower
What is a portcullis
An iron gate which could be lowered over the entrance of the Castle during an attack
What is a turret
A small tower built on a castle wall
What is a barbican
A defensive gatehouse at the entrance of a castle
What were the methods used to attack the castle?
Belfry tower, catapults, ballista, battering ram and mantels. Also, poison the water supply, starvation, ladders.
Other than defence, what was a castle used for?
As the home for the lord, his family, servants, and soldiers.
What is a ditch surrounding the castle filled with water or stakes?
Moat
What is a gate that could be raised or lowered?
Drawbridge
What is a stone tower - the strongest part of the castle?
The Keep
What are murder holes?
Holes in the walls used to drop boiling water on the enemy?
What are machicolations?
Holes to drop things onto the enemy.
What is an indentation in the castle walls used to fire arrows from called?
Crenel
Name some castle defences? (Things used to defend a castle.)
Building up high. Building a castle up high made it difficult for enemies to get to the castle. …
Tall towers. Strong towers were added to curtain walls to watch out for enemies. …
Battlements. Battlements were walls on the roof of a castle. …
Arrow slits. …
Moat. …
Drawbridge. …
Portcullis. …
Where were castles built?
Castles were often built at the top of hills or where they could use some natural features of the land to help with their defense.
Why were castles built on a hill?
Because they have a good vantage points to see if the enemy was approaching.
What is a concentric castle?
A concentric castle is a castle with two or more concentric curtain walls, where the outer wall is lower than the inner and can be defended from it.
Why were motte and bailey castles easy to take over?
Because they were made out of wood so they could be set on fire
Why did they not put square keep castles in a motte?
Because they were to heavy
Where was the safest place in a square keep castle?
The stone keep
How thick were the walls in a square keep castle?
5 meters thick
What was the best way of capturing a stone keep castle?
It was to starve them out
How big were were the windows near the ground?
They were just small slits.
How could you get into a stone keep castle?
Undermining
