Why do castle walls have holes?
Why do castle walls have holes? Arrow slits, also known as loopholes, were narrow openings in castle walls that allowed archers to shoot arrows at attackers while remaining protected behind the walls. These openings were designed to be very narrow, which made it difficult for attackers to shoot back, and also provided protection for the archers.
What are the 3 types of castles?
The three main types of castles are the motte and bailey castle, the stone keep castle, and the concentric castle.
What is the most attacked castle in the world?
Speaking of canons, it is important to note that Edinburgh Castle is one of the most attacked places in the world. In other words, battles were waged, walls were destroyed, and the castle changed hands repeatedly throughout the course of 26 documented sieges over 1,100 years.
Why were castles built on water?
Forde-Johnston describes such a site as a castle in which water plays a prominent part in the defences. Apart from hindering attackers, an abundant supply of water was also an advantage during a siege. Topographically, such structures are a type of low-lying castle.
Did old castles have toilets?
In the medieval period luxury castles were built with indoor toilets known as 'garderobes', and the waste dropped into a pit below.
How tall was the average castle?
Some later medieval castles had walls that were only about 15 to 20 feet (4.6 m to 6 m) high, but the walls of the stronger castles typically measured about 30 feet (9 m) in height and sometimes more.
What are the dips in castle walls called?
Meurtriere: arrow loop, slit in battlement or wall to permit firing of arrows or for observation. Moat: a deep trench usually filled with water that surrounded a castle.
What did castle toilets empty into in medieval times?
The toilets of a castle were usually built into the walls so that they projected out on corbels and any waste fell below and into the castle moat. Even better, waste went directly into a river as is the case of the latrines of one of the large stone halls at Chepstow Castle in Wales, built from the 11th century CE.
What is the biggest room in a castle?
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great chamber for eating and relaxing.
Did medieval castles have basements?
In the early Middle Ages, when few castles had large permanent garrisons, not only servants but military and administrative personnel slept in towers or in basements, or in the hall, or in lean-to structures; knights performing castle guard slept near their assigned posts.
What is the most vulnerable part of a castle?
As the gate is always a vulnerable point of a castle, towers may be built near it to strengthen the defences at this point. In crusader castles, there is often a gate tower, with the gate passage leading through the base of the tower itself.
Why did castles have thick walls?
To counter siege tactics used during the time period when they were built. Catapults exists, but the thicker the wall, the longer and more difficult it was to break a hole in the wall the enemy forces could enter the city or castle through.
What are the square holes in medieval walls?
Putlog holes or putlock holes are small holes made in the walls of structures to receive the ends of poles (small round logs) or beams, called putlogs or putlocks, to support a scaffolding. Putlog holes may extend through a wall to provide staging on both sides of the wall.
What was the worst job in a castle?
When it comes to horrible jobs in a castle, gong farmer has to win the prize. Gong farmers, also known as nightmen, were responsible for cleaning out human excrement from the cesspits within the castle walls.
Do any medieval castles still exist?
And indeed, the White Heron Castle, as it is sometimes called for its wing-like roofs and white walls, still stands today with its medieval foundations still wholly intact. It has survived the strife of the Muromachi period, the bombing of Himeji during World War II, and even catastrophic earthquakes.
What are the holes in castle walls called?
An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts.
Why did a castle have strong high walls?
Attackers had to climb over them to get closer to the castle. The walls of the castles were very high making it hard for attackers to climb over.
What is the safest room in a castle?
At the time of Chr tien de Troyes, the rooms where the lord of a castle, his family and his knights lived and ate and slept were in the Keep (called the Donjon), the rectangular tower inside the walls of a castle. This was meant to be the strongest and safest place.