Knights,

Castles and
Weapons of
the Late
Middle Ages
Brainstorm

• What do we already know about

knights
• What do they wear?
• What weapons do they
have?
• What is their job?
• Where do they fit into
the social hierarchy?
• Are they well
respected? Why?
• What is chivalry?
 The Code of Chivalry
Knights were fighters, but they were expected
to act in a courteous way toward to others
including their enemies:
1. To fear God and maintain His Church Does the story of
2. To serve the liege lord in valor (bravery) and faith Sir Gawain reflect
these qualities?
3. To protect the weak and defenseless
Doesn’t 4. To give assistance to widows and orphans Do you think most
apply to knights acted this
peasants 5. To refrain from the wanton (random) giving of offence (lawlessness)
way?
 6.
7.
To live by honour and for glory
To despise pecuniary (money) reward Why would these
8. To obey those placed in authority values be
important to
9. At all times to speak the truth medieval society?
10. To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun
11. To respect the honour of women
Becoming a Knight
STAGE AGE SKILLS LEARNED RESPONSIBILITES
PAGE 7-8 RIDING, FIGHTING, MANNERS SERVE HOUSEHOLD/
LEARN DUTIES
SQUIRE 14-15 WEAPONS, JOUSTING, ASSIST KNIGHT
WARFARE, CARE OF HORSES/
EQUIPMENT
KNIGHT 20-21 PROTECT KINGDOM,
OVERSEE LAND AS
VASSAL

Young boys of nobles were sent away to another nobleman’s household to train
Successful squires became knights during dubbing ceremony: tapped by sword – was
also a religious occasion – why was this important to the church?
Knights in action
• Sword in the Stone: Kay’s Training
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NyfyENRLGo
Kingdom of Heaven: Dubbing ceremony
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p1EuLz9Fes
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The Black Knight
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmInkxbvlCs

• Medieval Lives: The Knight

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7YZr1U6jU
 Knights and Symbols
• Knights and other noble families had their own coat of arms
(family crests)
• Knights often displayed these coats of arms on their shields: it’s
how they were recognized in battle
Coat of Arms • Symbols were used to show family, traits, accomplishments, etc.
Explained: • The study of the system of making coats of arms is called Heraldry
https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v
=osbMXZstL4o
Castles in the Middle Ages
 Why Castles?
When William invaded England he quickly set about
building castles.

The reason:
He had nowhere near enough men to run England.

So William built castles at

important places – hills, rivers,
Especially as the English
towns – so that if the English did not have many castles
tried to control the country before the Normans
they’d be forced to attack a came along!

castle – a bad move!

 The Motte and Bailey Castle

The castles had to

be built in a hurry, so
they were originally
built of timber on an
earth mound
(motte).

The bailey was the

living area for the
soldiers.
Advantages: Motte – Keep – the safest Bridge – Disadvantages:
• Quick, cheap, defensive place in the castle from the • Made of
and easy to mound of motte to wood: can
earth the bailey
build burn or rot
easily (not
• Can see very strong)
Drawbridge –
potential
to the
attackers from entrance to
• Palisade easily
top of tower the bailey broken by
battering ram
• Thick walls Moat – this
made it harder
Palisade – these Bailey – large walled
• Drawbridge to reach the
were made of area where the
walls
closes for wood and formed soldiers and animals
additional a fence lived
protection
The Traditional Square Keep Castle
Advantages:
• Tall, thick stone walls made it difficult to climb
over or break through.
• Narrow windows for shooting arrows out of.
• The entrance had a large outer gate that could
be pulled up.
• There was an inner gate made out of metal
called a portcullis.
• Large, and lots of room for soldiers, who lived
in the top stories.

• Spiral staircase made difficult to storm upper

floors
Disadvantages:
• Attackers can get right
up close to the walls.
Once up close,
attackers were very
hard to shoot.

• The corners were

difficult to protect.
Knocking out one
corner could take
down two walls.
 Concentric Castles
Advantages: Disadvantages:
• The corners had a • Difficult to defend
round turret for with limited
protection. soldiers

• They built a second, • Walls could not

lower wall that stand up to cannon
archers could fire fire
over

• If outer wall failed,

attackers were
trapped inside
“death hole”
 Castles & War

Castle • War in medieval

fortifications:
times was about the
https://www.yo
utube.com/wat control of land.
ch?v=q6rmtMx
_xX4 • To conquer a territory,
an attacking army
would have to strike
and take these central
strongholds.
• To do so, they would
launch a siege.
 Over,
Under, Through!

Trebuchet

Siege ladders and

towers Tunnels
under the Battering
wall ram
Siege Weapons

• Trebuchet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR26RMI9T8c
• Siege Tower https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXsYJD3BJlQ
• Crossbow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziq5zm4uO-Y
• Longbow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGcm-J1ggfw
• Battering Ram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz60knnHNaU

How to lay siege to a castle…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj6DNfzw8-g
How could a war
last 100 years?
The 100 Years
War

• WHEN & WHERE

• France vs. England 1337 to 1453
• WHAT
• Started fighting over who should be King
of France
• The French wanted a cousin of
the deceased King
• The English King, King Edward III,
(who was the nephew of the
deceased French King), thought
he had a stronger claim to the
thrown
• So… England invaded France
• Eventually it becomes a war over
territory
 Technology and Tactics
• The English have one powerful
weapon: skilled longbow archers.
• The longbow:
• Can pierce armour!
• Is very quick to reload!
• Shoots from long distances!
• These men were just ordinary
villagers, so the French Knights
believed it would be dishonorable to
attack non-knights - chivalry

The Road to Agincourt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBSH3IoFZsc
Joan of Arc Rallies the
French

• The French were losing

• A young woman named Joan
of Arc claimed she heard
angelic voices that told her to
drive the English out of France.
• At first people didn’t believe
her, but she helped defeat
English forces at the city of
Orleans
Joan of Arc’s Death
• Later, Joan was captured
and sold to the English
• She was put on trial in a
religious court for heresy
and witchcraft
• Evidence against her was that she
dressed in men’s clothing (armour)
• She was burned at the stake in 1431
at 19
• She was made a saint and became a
heroine of France

Joan of Arc Bio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q3u
Au1EuRc
Outcomes of the Hundred Years’ War

• Finally, the French gained better

weapons.
• They had cannons on mobile
carriages which was better
for sieges
• This was helped by
improvements in
manufacturing of gunpowder
• The French were victorious and
the wars finally ended in 1453