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Medieval fortification is the military aspect of Medieval technology that covers the development of fortification construction and use in Europe roughly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance. During this millennium, fortifications changed warfare, and in turn were modified to suit new tactics, weapons and siege techniques. The medieval history of Armenia covers the history of Armenia during the Middle Ages. ...
The Byzantines restored control over Bosnia at the end of 10th century, but not for long as it was soon taken by the Czar of Bulgarians Samuil. ...
Medieval Britain is a term used to suggest that there is a unity to the history of Great Britain from the 5th century withdrawal of Roman forces from the province of Britannia and the Germanic invasions, until the 16th century Reformations in the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of...
“Byzantine†redirects here. ...
The Croatian people trace their origins to Slavic peoples which moved into the territory of the former Roman provinces Pannonia and Dalmatia between the 7th and 8th centuries, and formed dukedoms. ...
The Crusader states, c. ...
This article describes the history of the Czech lands in the Middle Ages. ...
This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
This article is about the medieval empire. ...
The Early Medieval era in Ireland, from 800 to 1166 is characterised by Viking raids, then settlement, in what had become a stable and wealthy country. ...
This is the history of Italy during the Middle Ages. ...
Trydent of Yaroslav I Map of the Kievan Rus′, 11th century Capital Kiev Religion Orthodox Christianity Government Monarchy Historical era Middle Ages - Established 9th century - Disestablished 12th century Currency Hryvnia Kievan Rus′ was the early, predominantly East Slavic[1] medieval state of Rurikid dynasty dominated by the city of Kiev...
In the first centuries of its existence, the Polish nation was led by a series of strong rulers who converted the Poles to Christendom, created a strong Central European state, and integrated Poland into European culture. ...
// Main article: Romania in the Dark Ages The Dark Ages in what is now Romania ended around the 11th century, following the period in which the Romanian lands had been part of the First Bulgarian Empire (802-1018). ...
Dunnottar Castle in the Mearns occupies one of the best defensive locations in Great Britain. ...
The Serbs entered their present territory early in the 7th century AD, settling in six distinct tribal delimitations: Rascia/Raška (present-day Western Serbia and Northern Montenegro), Bosnia [1] (indistinct from Rascia until the 12th century), Zachumlie/Zahumlje (western Herzegovina), Trebounia/Travunija (eastern Herzegovina), Pagania/Paganija (middle Dalmatia) and...
After the disorders of the passage of the Vandals and Alans down the Mediterranean coast of Hispania from 409, the history of Medieval Spain begins with the Iberian kingdom of the Arian Visigoths (507 – 711), who were converted to Catholicism with their king Reccared in 587. ...
Byzantine monumental Church mosaics are a crowning glory of Medieval Art. ...
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (encompassing the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. ...
Because most of what we have was written down by clerics, much of extant medieval poetry is religious, helping to preserve it. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Church of the Intercession on the Nerl(1165) - an archetypal example of early Russian architecture. ...
Philosophy seated between the seven liberal arts – Picture from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad von Landsberg (12th century) Medieval philosophy is the philosophy of Europe and the Middle East in the era now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Roman...
The first European medieval institutions generally considered to be universities were established in Italy, France, and England in the late 11th and the 12th centuries for the study of arts, law, medicine, and theology. ...
The history of science in the Middle Ages refers to the discoveries in the field of natural philosophy throughout the Middle Ages - the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history. ...
Medieval treadwheel crane Reading Saint Peter with eyeglasses (1466) During the 12th and 13th centuries, medieval Europe saw a radical change in the rate of new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth. ...
Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. ...
The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...
Medieval treadwheel crane Reading Saint Peter with eyeglasses (1466) During the 12th and 13th centuries, medieval Europe saw a radical change in the rate of new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth. ...
Table of Fortification, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ...
The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ...
Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. ...
Military tactics (Greek: Taktikē, the art of organizing an army) are the collective name for methods for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition, often accompanied by an assault. ...
Fortification Types
Towers - See also: Watchtower
Towers of Medieval castles were usually made of stone or sometimes (but rarely) wood. Often toward the later part of the century they included battlements and arrow loops. Arrow loops were vertical slits in the wall where archers from the inside shot arrows through at the attackers, but they made it extremely difficult for attackers to get many arrows through back at the defenders. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 553 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1200 × 1301 pixel, file size: 920 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Medieval fortification T...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 553 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1200 × 1301 pixel, file size: 920 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Medieval fortification T...
A watchtower is a type of fortification. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
City Walls -
The exact nature of the walls of a medieval town or city would depend on the resources available for building them, the nature of the terrain and the perceived threat. In northern Europe, early in the period they are likely to have been constructed of wood and proofed against small forces. Especially where stone was readily available for building, the wood will have been replaced by stone to a higher or lower standard of security. This would have been the pattern of events in the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw in England. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Separation barrier. ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
The Five Burghs or more usually The Five Boroughs or The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw were the five main towns of Danish Mercia. ...
Green: Danelaw The Danelaw (from the Old English Dena lagu, Danish: Danelagen ) is an 11th century name for an area of northern and eastern England under the administrative control of the Vikings (or Danes, or Norsemen) from the late 9th century. ...
For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...
In any case, the wall will have had an internal and an external pomoerium. This was a strip of clear ground immediately inside or outside the wall. The word is a medieval and later one, derived from the classical Latin post murum, behind the wall. The pomerium (or pomoerium) was the sacred boundary of the city of Rome. ...
The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...
For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...
An external pomoerium, stripped of bushes and building, gave defenders a clear view of what was happening outside and an unobstructed field of shot. An internal pomoeriun gave ready access to the rear of the curtain wall to facilitate movement of the garrison to a point of need. By the end of the sixteenth century, the word had developed further in common use, into pomery. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1002x613, 21 KB) Sources Romanian Wikipedia. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1002x613, 21 KB) Sources Romanian Wikipedia. ...
Glass curtain wall of the Bauhaus Dessau. ...
For people named Garrison, see Garrison (disambiguation) Garrison House, built by William Damm in 1675 at Dover, New Hampshire Garrison (from the French garnison, itself from the verb garnir, to equip) is the collective term for the body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but...
(15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...
By that time too, the medieval walls were no longer secure against a serious threat from an army as they were not designed for resisting cannon shot. They might have been rebuilt as at Berwick on Tweed or retained for use against thieves and other threats of a lower order. Very elaborate and complex schemes for town defences were developed in the Netherlands and France but these belong mainly to the post-medieval periods. By 1600, the medieval wall is likely to have been seen more as a platform for displaying hangings and the pomery as a gathering ground for the spectators or as a source of building stone and a site for its use. However, a few such as those of Carcassonne, survived fairly well and have been restored to an impressively complete state. Berwick-upon-Tweed from across the river Berwick-upon-Tweed, (pronounced Berrick) situated in the county of Northumberland, is the northernmost town in England. ...
1600 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...
Carcassonne (Carcassona in Occitan) is a fortified French town, in the Aude département of which it is the préfecture, in the former province of Languedoc. ...
Harbours Harbours or some sort of water access was often essential to the construction of medieval fortification. Having direct access to a body of water provided a route for resupply in times of war, an additional method of transportation in times of peace, and potential drinking water for a besieged castle or fortification. The concept of rivers or harbours coming directly up to the walls of fortifications was especially used by the English as they constructed castles throughout Wales. Oradea in a 1617 print by Braun & Hogenberg. ...
Oradea in a 1617 print by Braun & Hogenberg. ...
County Bihor County Status County capital Mayor Petru Filip, Democratic Party, since 2000 Area 111. ...
A harbor (or harbour) or haven is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. ...
A siege is a prolonged military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ...
This article is about the country. ...
Churches and Monasteries Religion was a central part of the lives of medieval soldiers, and churches, chapels, monasteries, and other buildings of religious function were often included within the walls of any fortification, be it temporary or permanent. A place to conduct religious services was usually essential to the morale of the soldiers. For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ...
A chapel is a private church, usually small and often attached to a larger institution such as a college, a hospital, a palace, or a prison. ...
Monastery of St. ...
Mottes, Baileys -
Motte-and-bailey was the prevalent form of castle during 11th and 12th centuries. A courtyard (called bailey) was protected by a ditch and a palisade (strong timber fence). Often there was an entrance, protected by a lifting bridge, a drawbridge or a timber gate tower. Inside the bailey were stables, workshops, a well and a chapel. A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle. ...
Drawbridge at the fort of Ponta da Bandeira; Lagos, Portugal A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle, but the term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges. ...
Motte was the final refuge in this type of castle. It was a raised earth mound. Its height varied between 5m (15 ft) to 10m (30 ft). There was a tower on top of the motte. In most cases, the tower was made of timber, though some were also made of stones. Stone towers were found in natural mounds, as artificial ones were not strong enough to support stone towers. Larger mottes had towers with many rooms, including the great hall. Smaller ones had only a watch tower.
Construction Construction could often stretch on for decades. The string of Welsh castles Edward I of England had built were an exception in that he focused much of the resources of his kingdom on their speedy construction. In addition to paid workers, forced levies of labourers put thousands of men on each site and shortened construction to a few years. Edward I (17 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), popularly known as Longshanks[1], also as Edward the Lawgiver because of his legal reforms, and as Hammer of the Scots,[2] achieved fame as the monarch who conquered Wales and who tried to do the same to Scotland. ...
Materials Materials that were used in the building of castles consisted of different things for different times. Wood was used for most castles until 1066. They were cheap and were quick to construct. The reason wood fell into disuse as a material is that it is quite flammable. Soon stone became more popular.
Stone castles took years to construct depending on the overall size of the castle. Stone was stronger and of course much more expensive than wood. Most stone had to be quarried miles away, and then brought to the building site. But with the invention of the cannon and gunpowder, castles soon lost their power.
Costs Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
Manpower Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
Walls - Height: Varied from castle to castle
- Width: usually 2.5-6 m (8-20 ft) thick
Defensive walls were usually topped with crenellation or parapets that offered protection to those defending from the top of the wall. Crenellation (or crenelation) is the name for the distinctive pattern that framed the tops of the walls of many medieval castles, often called battlements. ...
A parapet consists of a dwarf wall along the edge of a roof, or round a lead flat, terrace walk, etc. ...
- Machicolation: Machicolations (from the French word machicoulis, implying a meaning of something like "neck-crusher") consisted of openings between a wall and a parapet, formed by corbelling out the latter, so that the defenders might throw down stones, boiling water, and so forth, upon assailants below.
- Inner walls and gates: the inner walls acted as a fall-back fortification should the attackers breach the outer walls.
Parapets at Newark Castle, Inverclyde, Scotland, supported on decorative machicolation. ...
Elaborately decorated classical-style stone corbels support balconies on a building in Indianapolis. ...
Gates - See also: City gate
An entranceway creates problems in warfare, as it is the weakest point on any wall. Entranceways must be able to be open enough to allow supplies to be brought in, yet be able to provide a solid wall to an enemy. Ditches and moats must be passable in peace, yet able to be uncovered during a siege, and walls must be broken enough to allow easy passage, yet not compromise the security of the compound. Multiple wall and ditch systems compounds the problem, leading to the nessessity of a controlled entranceway. Gates came in many forms, from the simple stone buttress and timber blocks described by Avery in his work "'Stoning and Fire' at hill fort entrances of southern Britain” (Avery, Micheal, World Archeology, Vol. 18, No. 2, Oct., 1986, pp. 216-230.) , to the massive and imposing stone archways and thick wooden doors most associated with medieval citadels. Another type of gateway fortification was a barbican, a heavily fortified entraceway. The Brama MÅ‚yÅ„ska in Stargard SzczeciÅ„ski one of two water gates in Europe. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (768 × 1024 pixel, file size: 305 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (768 × 1024 pixel, file size: 305 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...
District or region Santarém Mayor - Party António Paiva PSD Area 351. ...
Barbican in Kraków Barbican (from mediæval Latin barbecana) - a fortified outpost or gateway, such as an outer defence to a city or castle and any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defence purposes. ...
Killing fields A Killing field was an area between the main wall and a secondary wall, so when the first wall was breached the attackers would run into the killing field to be confronted by another wall from which soldiers bombarded them. Soldiers would be positioned atop the second wall and armed with any variety of weapons, ranging from bows to crossbows to simple rocks. In military science, a killing field is a field of fire, usually covered by machine guns in modern warfare. ...
Moats -
A moat was a common addition to medieval fortifications, and the principal purpose (just as in antiquity) to make the walls harder to assail and increasing their effective height. In many instances, natural water paths were used as moats, and often extended through ditches to surround as much of the fortification as possible. Provided this was not so unnaturally contrived as to allow an attacker to drain the system, it served two defensive purposes. It made approaching the curtain wall of the castle more difficult and the undermining of the wall virtually impossible. To position a castle on a small island was very favourable from a defensive point of view, although it made deliveries of supplies and building materials more cumbersome and expensive. The moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire, England Moats (also known as a Fosse) were deep and wide water-filled trenches, excavated to provide a barrier against attack upon castle ramparts or other fortifications. ...
To facilitate transportation but still maintaining the advantage of the construction, a drawbridge was often constructed as a part of the bridge spanning the moat. Drawbridge at the fort of Ponta da Bandeira; Lagos, Portugal A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle, but the term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges. ...
Keeps -
A keep is a strong central tower which normally forms the heart of a castle. Often the keep is the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main habitation area for a noble or lord, or contain important stores such as the armoury or the main well. The keep of Scarborough Castle Rochester Castle featuring a massive turreted keep Early 13th century keep (Rouen, France) The 14th century residential keep at Largoët A keep is a strong central tower which normally forms the heart of a castle. ...
Stairs At this time, internal stairways in fortified buildings were generally constructed so as to wind up a cylindrical well, and designed to give an advantage to a defender. The principle usually adopted was that the defender was likely to be positioned higher than an assailant who was presumed to have entered on the ground floor. As most people are right handed, and the defender higher up, the stair was constructed as a left-handed helix, forcing the assailant to fight with his sword hand close to the central pillar, the newel of the stair, thereby limiting his capacity for sword play, while the defender could more comfortably reach around with his sword arm nearer the outer wall of the well. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...
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Spiral (double helix) stairway in the Vatican Museum Stairs, staircase, stairway, stairwell, and flight of stairs are all names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps. ...
A helix (pl: helices), from the Greek word Îλικας/Îλιξ, is a twisted shape like a spring, screw or a spiral (correctly termed helical) staircase. ...
Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
A newel is the upright post about which the steps of a circular staircase wind; hence, in stairs having straight flights, the principal post at the foot of a staircase, or the secondary ones at the landings. ...
(it would appear from the photos the above mentioned advantage would be that of the assailant; that is the right-handed defender, above the assailant, would have his sword/right hand closest to the newel)
Conversely, spiral stairs in churches are usually but not invariably, in the form of a right-hand helix.
Stairs were also constructed to contain trick or stumble steps. These were steps that had different rise height or thread depth from the rest and would cause anyone running up the stairs to stumble or fall, so slowing down the attackers' progress.
Doors Doors were made out of two layers of oak planks. The grain of the wood would run vertically on the front layer and horizontally on the back, like a simplistic form of plywood. The two layers would be held together by iron studs. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 610 KB) Summary Cristian Chirita Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Medieval fortification Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 610 KB) Summary Cristian Chirita Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Medieval fortification Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ...
This article is about the architectural feature. ...
Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus (from Latin oak tree), and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ...
Toy constructed from plywood. ...
The studs themselves were pointed on the front so that attackers would damage their weapons (swords, axes, etc.) while trying to break through. Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Axe For other uses, see Axe (disambiguation). ...
Dismantling fortifications As the power of cannons grew during the 16th and 17th century, medieval walls became obsolete as they were too thin to offer any realistic protection against prolonged bombardment. As a consequence of this, many walls from medieval times were torn down and the stone (still valuable as construction material) reused in more modern bulwarks and bastions. The resulting space is often seen in old city centers of Europe even to this day, as broader streets often outline where the old wall once stood (evident for example in Prague and Florence, Italy). For other uses, see Bomb (disambiguation). ...
Look up Bulwark in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
The point of a bastion on a reconstructed French fort in Illinois. ...
Nickname: Motto: Praga Caput Rei publicae Location within the Czech Republic Coordinates: , Country Czech Republic Region Capital City of Prague Founded 9th century Government - Mayor Pavel Bém Area - City 496 km² (191. ...
Florence (Italian, Firenze) is a city in the center of Tuscany, in central Italy, on the Arno River, with a population of around 400,000, plus a suburban population in excess of 200,000. ...
Defensive obstacles Just as modern military engineers enhance field fortifications with obstacles such as barbed wire, Medieval engineers had a number of obstacle types at their disposal, including: A US army combat engineer setting up a communications cable. ...
In the military science of fortification, wire obstacles are defensive obstacles made from barbed wire, barbed tape or concertina wire. ...
 The siege of Constantinople. This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. ...
Caltrop used by the Office of Strategic Services. ...
Cheval de frise at the Confederate defenses at the Siege of Petersburg The cheval de frise (plural: chevaux de frise) was a Mediaeval defensive obstacle consisting of a portable frame (sometimes just a simple log) covered with many long iron or wooden spikes or even actual spears. ...
Trous de loup In mediaeval fortification, a trou de loup (plural trous de loup) was a type of booby trap or defensive obstacle. ...
Image File history File links Siege_constantinople_bnf_fr2691. ...
Image File history File links Siege_constantinople_bnf_fr2691. ...
Siegecraft For the typeface, see Trebuchet MS. Trebuchet at Château des Baux, France. ...
For other uses, see Cannon (disambiguation). ...
A mangonel was a type of catapult or siege machine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castles walls. ...
The ballista (Latin, from Greek ballistēs, from ballein to throw, plural ballistae) was a powerful ancient crossbow, although employing several loops of twisted skeins to power it, it used torsion (instead of a prod). ...
Replica catapult at Château des Baux, France For the handheld Y-shaped weapon, see slingshot. ...
See also - Medieval warfare
- Siege engine
- Guédelon Castle From 1996 to 2020 they will build a 13th-century castle exclusively using methods of that time. A lot of informations regarding castrametation and castellology had already surfaced thanks to this project.
- Bastion fortress replaced medieval fortifications
- Encastellation
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