ILLUSTRATES Sattu and Luiz Iria
Exchange a numerous and disciplined army for a band of ill-armed and poorly organized peasants. Welcome to War in the Middle Ages! During the approximately one thousand years that the period lasted, between the 5th and 15th centuries, life in Europe changed a lot in relation to Antiquity. Gone are the great empires that managed not only to organize powerful armies – from the Macedonian phalanxes to the Roman legions – but also to maintain a climate of greater security and tranquility in their extensive territories.
Without the empires – mainly the Roman one –, Europe was divided into small pieces of land controlled by nobles, the so-called fiefdoms. Isolated in their lands, many of these kings, princes and dukes started to play in the boom. Concerned with defending themselves, they built castles and fortresses capable of withstanding as much as possible an attempted invasion. It changed the way of combat quite a bit. Although pitched battles continued to exist, the defining military tactic of the Middle Ages became the siege: an invading army stationed around a castle and fighting for up to several months to invade it.
In command of both sides – invaders and besieged – were always medieval knights. Nobles with time to hone their sword and spear skills – as well as the money to pay for expensive armor – they were the elite force of the period.
For an unprepared and ill-armed peasant soldier, there was no worse nightmare than facing 200 of these armored horsemen coming at you at full speed!
THE SIEGE OF A FORTRESS
Catapults and even primitive cannons were used to attack the besieged army.
1. Catapults
When attacking castles, various types of catapult came into play, but the trebuchet stood out the most. With a counterweight system, it threw rocks weighing up to 150 kilos. Another tactic was to throw bugs infected with diseases to contaminate enemies.
2. Cannon
At the end of the Middle Ages, cannons began to appear. The first record of their use in European sieges is from the year 1325. At first, they were slow to load and fired only two or three projectiles a day, in addition to making a lot of smoke!
3. Assault Tower
Ordinary stairs and sophisticated assault towers helped to invade the castle from above. The tower, which had wheels, was pushed up to the wall. Through internal stairs, soldiers climbed several floors to reach the top of the wall – connected to the tower by a portcullis.
4. Ram
The battering ram was used to break down gates or open breaches in fragile sections of the wall. Up to ten men on each side propelled a heavy log, which might have a bronze tip. A cover protected the soldiers from attacks coming from the walls.
5. Stones and hot oil
The main defensive weapon for a besieged army was the fortress itself, of course. But there were also some effective tactics, such as throwing stones and boiling oil – usually made from animal fat – to reach the invaders below the wall.
6. Arrowhead for archers
The fortress archers had loopholes to protect them. Outside the wall, the loophole was a narrow opening, no more than six inches wide. But inside it opened, allowing the archer to wield the bow with space and well protected.
UNDERGROUND BATTLE
Barrels of water warned against enemy digging
attack tunnel
During a long siege, invaders might try to build a tunnel to break into the castle. Specialists in this task were called sappers. They dug down to the base of the walls and filled the tunnel with gunpowder to blow up part of the fortress.
tunnel alarm
To detect the tunnels, the besieged spread barrels of water around the wall. It’s just that the water trembled if excavations were being made near the walls. Then it was time to dig a contra-tunnel and face the sappers exchanging swords underground!
DEFENSIVE ARCHITECTURE
Even the shape of the stairs helped to contain invaders
I. Three Walls
Large castles could have three lines of defense. If the outer wall was taken, everyone fled into an inner wall. If that one also fell, there was still a citadel, a last fortification that could be, for example, a tower
II. ditch
A considerable obstacle to attack, the pit was usually at least 10 m deep by 10 m wide. It might just be a ditch, but some defenders diverted a river to fill the ditch with water.
III. spiral staircase
The ladder of a tower was made so that the ascent was clockwise. Thus, invaders would find it difficult to use the sword, as the right hand would be blocked by the wall – which in turn would protect the trunk of the defenders at the top of the tower.
COUNTERATTACK
The siege army could also be surprised
horse charge
A siege could last for months, and invaders would set up camps around the castle. Sometimes besieged knights left the fortress, attacked rivals by surprise, and quickly returned. That could be enough to break a siege.
Camping
The camp looked like a wild campsite, with the soldiers sleeping on top of hay – only the commanders’ tent had a table and mattress to sleep on. The most protected areas were the horse stables and the place where towers and trebuchets were located.
READ MORE
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What did a medieval knight’s armor look like?
What were the blows like in a battle of medieval knights?