Yes, these 2021 Books are well prepared and they sure love those millions of sieges coming from so many naïve, and dumb ladder climbers.
All, after the King's gold, and power.
[IMG]The siege of a 15th-century castle, showing soldiers using scaling ladders, longbows, a crossbow and early cannons. © Bibliothèque nationale de France. The siege of a 15th-century castle, showing soldiers using scaling ladders, longbows, a crossbow and early cannons. © Bibliothèque nationale de France.© Bibliothèque nationale de France THE SOLDIERS Castles were no use without soldiers to defend them. In peacetime, a small castle might have a garrison of only a dozen soldiers or even fewer. This was just enough to open the gate, operate the portcullis and drawbridge and patrol the walls against stray robbers who tried to break in. They'd be commanded by the constable or castellan, who stood in for the owner and lived in his own rooms (there's a Constable's Gate at Dover Castle). The soldiers slept in a dormitory. But when attack threatened, you'd pack as many soldiers as you could into the castle. At the great siege of Dover Castle in 1216, 140 knights and perhaps a thousand sergeants (the medieval name for any fully-equipped soldier) defended the fortress against the French. For hand-to-hand fighting (there was plenty of that at Dover) they'd use swords, spears and axes, with longbows and arrows to keep the enemy at a distance. Many castles had tall cross-shaped loops in their walls for longbow men to shoot from, with smaller loops for deadly crossbows. During long sieges (as at Kenilworth Castle in 1266) starvation was the enemy's best weapon. The defenders ate horses, dogs, cats, rats and even their leather belts before finally surrendering. Slaughtering surrendered soldiers was considered unsporting-but it did happen.[/IMG]
* The slaughtering continues today, and do see any remorse coming from our modern day Books.
All, after the King's gold, and power.
[IMG]The siege of a 15th-century castle, showing soldiers using scaling ladders, longbows, a crossbow and early cannons. © Bibliothèque nationale de France. The siege of a 15th-century castle, showing soldiers using scaling ladders, longbows, a crossbow and early cannons. © Bibliothèque nationale de France.© Bibliothèque nationale de France THE SOLDIERS Castles were no use without soldiers to defend them. In peacetime, a small castle might have a garrison of only a dozen soldiers or even fewer. This was just enough to open the gate, operate the portcullis and drawbridge and patrol the walls against stray robbers who tried to break in. They'd be commanded by the constable or castellan, who stood in for the owner and lived in his own rooms (there's a Constable's Gate at Dover Castle). The soldiers slept in a dormitory. But when attack threatened, you'd pack as many soldiers as you could into the castle. At the great siege of Dover Castle in 1216, 140 knights and perhaps a thousand sergeants (the medieval name for any fully-equipped soldier) defended the fortress against the French. For hand-to-hand fighting (there was plenty of that at Dover) they'd use swords, spears and axes, with longbows and arrows to keep the enemy at a distance. Many castles had tall cross-shaped loops in their walls for longbow men to shoot from, with smaller loops for deadly crossbows. During long sieges (as at Kenilworth Castle in 1266) starvation was the enemy's best weapon. The defenders ate horses, dogs, cats, rats and even their leather belts before finally surrendering. Slaughtering surrendered soldiers was considered unsporting-but it did happen.[/IMG]
* The slaughtering continues today, and do see any remorse coming from our modern day Books.
