Medieval Castles

Question 1

How were Motte and Bailey castles built?

Answer 1

Built from wood

Question 2

What are ramparts?

Answer 2

They ran along top of walls, wide enough for soldiers to walk on.

Question 3

What is a bailey

Answer 3

The court yard of medieval Castle

Question 4

What is a moat

Answer 4

A deep ditch dug around the walls of a castle

Question 5

What is a keep

Answer 5

A large square tower

Question 6

What is a portcullis

Answer 6

An iron gate which could be lowered over the entrance of the Castle during an attack

Question 7

What is a turret

Answer 7

A small tower built on a castle wall

Question 8

What is a barbican

Answer 8

A defensive gatehouse at the entrance of a castle

Question 9

What were the methods used to attack the castle?

Answer 9

Belfry tower, catapults, ballista, battering ram and mantels. Also, poison the water supply, starvation, ladders.

Question 10

Other than defence, what was a castle used for?

Answer 10

As the home for the lord, his family, servants, and soldiers.

Question 11

What is a ditch surrounding the castle filled with water or stakes?

Answer 11

Moat

Question 12

What is a gate that could be raised or lowered?

Answer 12

Drawbridge

Question 13

What is a stone tower - the strongest part of the castle?

Answer 13

The Keep

Question 14

What are murder holes?

Answer 14

Holes in the walls used to drop boiling water on the enemy?

Question 15

What are machicolations?

Answer 15

Holes to drop things onto the enemy.

Question 16

What is an indentation in the castle walls used to fire arrows from called?

Answer 16

Crenel

Question 17

Name some castle defences? (Things used to defend a castle.)

Answer 17

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. …

Question 18

Where were castles built?

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Why were castles built on a hill?

Answer 19

Because they have a good vantage points to see if the enemy was approaching.

Question 20

What is a concentric castle?

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Why were motte and bailey castles easy to take over?

Answer 21

Because they were made out of wood so they could be set on fire

Question 22

Why did they not put square keep castles in a motte?

Answer 22

Because they were to heavy

Question 23

Where was the safest place in a square keep castle?

Answer 23

The stone keep

Question 24

How thick were the walls in a square keep castle?

Answer 24

5 meters thick

Question 25

What was the best way of capturing a stone keep castle?

Answer 25

It was to starve them out

Question 26

How big were were the windows near the ground?

Answer 26

They were just small slits.

Question 27

How could you get into a stone keep castle?

Answer 27

Undermining