20. Castles Dominated the Medieval Landscape
Castles dominated settled landscapes throughout much of medieval Eurasia until gunpowder made them obsolete. Although they are best known as defensive structures that sheltered those within from more powerful foes without, castles also served offensive purposes: they provided a base from which raids could be launched. They were not completely impervious, however. If attackers were numerous enough, determined, and willing to pay the butcher’s bill, they might storm castle walls, batter their gates, or breach their fortifications. More often, if a castle was particularly formidable, enemies preferred to besiege them.
It took time, but if the besiegers had time, a castle cut off from resupply would eventually get starved into surrender. Sieges were often coupled with attempts to tunnel beneath and undermine a castle’s walls from below. At its core, a castle’s strength depended on location – often on high ground – high walls, strong gates, and a surrounding moat filled with water when possible. To further maximize their defensive capacity, castle builders often incorporated ingenious innovations into their designs, to make storming them as dangerous and unpleasant as possible. One of the nastier design features was murder holes.