Castle Defense The basic principal of castle defense was to maximize the danger and exposure of any attackers

while minimizing the same for defenders. A well-designed castle could be defended effectively by a small force and hold out for a long period. A stout de fense allowed well-supplied defenders to hold out until the besiegers could be driven away by a relief force or until the attacker was forced to fall back by lack of supplies, disease, or losses. Keep The keep was a small castle often found within a large castle complex. This was a fortified building that often served as the castle lord's residence. If the outer walls fe ll, the defenders could withdraw into the keep for a final defense. In the case of many castles, the complex began with the keep, which was the original fortification on the sit e. Over time, the complex might have been expanded to include an outer wall and towers a s a first line of defense for the keep. Walls Stone walls were fireproof and protection against arrows and other missiles. An enemy could not climb sheer walls without equipment such as ladders or siege towers. Defende rs on top of the walls could shoot down or throw objects down against attackers. Attackers wholly exposed in the open and shooting up were at a great disadvantage against defende rs largely protected and shooting down. The strength and protection value of castle walls w as increased where possible by building on cliffs or other elevations. Gates and do ors in castle walls were minimized and given heavy protection. Towers At the corners of and perhaps at intervals along a long wall, towers were placed as strong points. Towers extended out beyond the vertical plane of the wall face, allowing defenders in a tower to shoot along the face. From a corner tower, defenders could shoot a long two different wall faces. A gate might be protected by towers on each side. Some cas tles began as simple towers and evolved into a greater complex of walls, an inner keep, and additional towers. Battlements

Walls and towers were often improved to provide greater protection for defenders . A platform behind the top of the wall allowed defenders to stand and fight. Gaps w ere built into the upper wall so defenders could shoot out or fight while partially covere d. These gaps might have wooden shutters for additional protection. Thin firing slits mig ht be placed in the upper walls from which archers could shoot while almost completely protected. During an assault, covered wooden platforms (called hourds) were extended out fr om the top of the walls or from towers. These allowed defenders to shoot directly down on e nemies below the walls, or drop stones or boiling liquids on them, while being protecte d. Hides on top of the hourds were kept wet to prevent fire. Stone versions of hourds, ca lled machicolations, might be built over gates or other key points. Ditches, Moats, and Drawbridges To accentuate the height advantage of the walls, a ditch might be dug at their b ase, completely around the castle. Where possible, this ditch was filled with water t o form a moat. Both ditches and moats made direct assaults against walls more difficult. Armored men risked drowning if they fell into even relatively shallow water. Moats made undermining a castle's walls difficult because of the risk of the mine collapsing during con struction and drowning the miners. In some cases, attackers had to first drain the moat be fore moving forward with an assault. Then the ditch had to be filled in places to allow sieg e towers or ladders to go up against the wall. Drawbridges across a moat or ditch allowed the castle occupants to come and go w hen necessary. In time of danger, the drawbridge was raised, reestablishing the ditc h and sealing the walls. Bridges were raised by a mechanism within the castle that was protected from the attackers. Portcullis A portcullis was a strong grating that slid down the walls of the castle gate pa ssageway to block the entrance. The gate of a castle was inside a gatehouse, which was a str ong point in the castle defense. The passageway of the gate might be through a tunnel in t he gatehouse. The tunnel was blocked by one or more portcullises, in the middle or at the ends. The winding mechanism that raised the portcullis was in the top of the gat ehouse and heavily guarded. The portcullis itself was usually a grating of heavy timbers or iron.

Defenders and attackers could both shoot or stab through the grating. Barbican A strong castle had both an outer gate and inner gate. Between the two was an op en area called the barbican. This was surrounded by walls and designed to be a trap for any attackers who got through the outside gate. Once inside the barbican, attackers could only go back out the outer gate or fight their way through the inner gate. In the mea ntime they would be targets for arrows and other missiles in the open. Defenders A relatively small number of men could guard a castle in peacetime. At night any drawbridge was raised and the portcullis was lowered, effectively locking the door. Under t hreat of an assault, a much larger force was needed to defend a castle. Competent archers and crossbowmen were needed to shoot from the walls and towers at attackers making an assault or just preparing for one by attempting to drain the moat or fill the ditch. Each attacking casualty lowered the morale and fighting power of the attackers. Heavy losses from missile fire could cause the attackers to break off . If the attackers managed to actually close for hand-to-hand fighting, a strong f ighting force of swordsmen was needed to hold them off. Men were needed to throw down ro cks or pour hot liquids from the hourds. Men were needed to make repairs to damaged wall sec tions or put out fires started by flaming missiles. An aggressive defense looked for oppo rtunities to sortie out from the castle and raid the besieging army. A quick raid that bur ned a siege tower or trebuchet under construction delayed an assault and lowered the m orale of the attackers. In times of emergency, local peasants were enlisted to help with the defense. Al though untrained as soldiers and not skilled usually with the bow or sword, they could help with many of the other tasks.