Norman Castle Siege

When Norman castles were under siege, the attackers would first cut off any access of supplies or people to and from the location. Next they would send in attackers using wooden screens to shield themselves from projectiles, who would disburse and attack from many points. Some soldiers would work on filling in a section of the moat, so that wooden siege towers, called belfreys, could be rolled up to the walls. If successful, the belfrey could be used to send men over the wall and to shoot down into the bailey.

Other attackers would set up wooden bridges across the moat, still trying to stay under the cover of wooden screens. If successful, they could set up ladders against the wall and attempt to scale it. Meanwhile, if the attackers had catapults, they would rain missiles over the walls in the form of stones, spears or flame.

However, a well built castle was built to withstand a variety of attacks, and often boasted a number of defensive features. Narrow slits built into the tower walls called loopholes allowed defenders to shoot arrows from high and protected vantages. A narrow walkway near the top of the wall was called the allure, where more men-at-arms could defend against the breaching tactics of the siege force. Evenly-spaced gaps along the top of the wall were known as crenels, providing additional cover. Before a siege began, defenders would would hang hoardings, or specially-built wooden galleries, over the walls, where they could stand protected out over the wall and drop rocks and boiling liquids on their enemies.

Though later times would bring standing armies and more powerful monarchs with standing armies that could wait out defenders' food stores, in earlier times the siege would need to breach the castle or go home defeated. Men-at-arms in the early feudal system were often only required to serve for 40 days, so if the castle didn't surrender in that time, most of the men would disburse.