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Attack!
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Siege weapons like the trebuchet, could be dismantled and the various parts brought to the battleground on carts pulled by oxen.
Skilled longbowmen of the 1300s and 1400s could fire up to 12 arrows a minute and could hit a target 90m away. The bow could be up to 1.8m long.
Cannons for battering down the walls of castles were first introduced in the early 1300s, but they were so poorly made that they often exploded in the gunners’ faces.
During a siege, attackers sometimes hurled dead animals and severed heads over the castle walls in an attempt to spread disease amongst the defenders.
Battering rams, used to smash down the castle gate, were covered in a frame of wet animal skins. These frames were called ‘sows’ or ‘cats’.
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Previous:
Back
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Book:
Horrible but True
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Section:
History
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Chapter:
Castle Secrets
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