Medieval fortifications, moats, keeps, siege engines, and stronghold warfare.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Why did medieval builders cut vertical grooves in the walls beside a portcullis?
The grooves also kept attackers from pushing the grille sideways out of the entrance.
How did a medieval castle portcullis move when guards opened the entrance?
Guards used a winding mechanism with ropes or chains to lift the heavy grille into the gatehouse above.
What did a counterweight do in a medieval drawbridge mechanism?
As the counterweight fell, the bridge rose, so guards did not have to lift the deck's full weight.
What is the heavy barred gate that guarded many medieval castle entrances called?
A portcullis could be made from timber reinforced with iron, rather than solid metal.
Medieval castle drawbridge decks were commonly made from which material?
Iron fittings reinforced wooden drawbridges, giving them strong joints without the weight of a solid stone deck.
When guards raised a medieval drawbridge over a dry ditch, what happened to the route across the ditch?
Dry ditches also exposed attackers to defenders firing down from the castle walls.
What is the bridge that guards could raise across a medieval castle's ditch called?
A raised drawbridge could shield the gateway as well as remove the crossing.
Henry VII adopted a chained portcullis as a badge for which English royal dynasty?
Henry VII inherited the portcullis badge through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, whose family had used it.
Which counterweight-powered siege engine lobbed stones over castle walls?
A trebuchet's falling counterweight swung a long arm that flung stones far heavier than a catapult's tension arms.
Castle defenses often included a water-filled trench called a:
Moats could be dry or water-filled, and a water-filled moat also made tunneling beneath the walls far harder.