How did castle's stay protected during the middle ages?

Answer 1

They were defended by an army of soldiers and many other things, such as a moat surrounding it. The moat would be good, as the attackers would need to row a boat through it or swim. They would be easy targets for the archers on the top of the castle.

Another thing that helps defend a stone castle is a curtain wall to prevent fires alighting and as a strong shield. These type of castles had high walls to make sure climbing intruders would need a longer time to get on top.

They had battlements like a crenel and merlon so that defenders can fire missiles through them.

Machiolations are boxes that have holes in them so that boiling oil or stones could be dropped onto attackers.

Hope this helped. (:

Answer 2

The castle within itself was a form of protection because it was built of stone. usually the Lord of the keep woul have armed guards for protection from invasion. Some castles had moats (large circular body of water surronding land) while other castles were built on hills. For more extensive researh go to msn Encarta,com.

Answer 3

Castles were the most expensive buildings in Medieval England and no owner - be they a king or a noble - could afford to lose one. Therefore, great ingenuity was put into castle defences. As castles were static, an enemy could usually get close to the actual buildings. Therefore outer walls - curtain walls - were built as a first line of defence. If these were broken into, then the castle itself had many defensive features. Another obvious way to stop an advance on your castle, was to build a moat around it.

Known as a barbican, this part of the castle would have a drawbridge, a portcullis, arrow slits, machicolations any devise that was thought to be useful at stopping the enemy.Many castles were very well defended and for some attacking armies, the only way to defeat them was to surround them and starve them out. This was potentially a very long process with no guarantee of success. It was the development of mortars and cannons that brought an end to castle building as they were no longer financially viable to build as they could be easily destroyed.

Answer 4

In time of peace practically nobody protected a Medievalcastle. There might be a porter (doorkeeper), a caretaker and a few peasant freeman providing their obligatory 40 days of military service (and hating every boring minute), with just a single knight temporarily in charge.

In time of war troops would be rushed to hold all the castles being threatened and each would have a castellan or constable in charge, with many knights and hundreds of archers, crossbowmen and spearmen.

Answer 5

because of its clever design e.g. the moat gave protection.

Answer 6

most of the time medieval castles were protected because they were on hills or surrounded by moats so that it was harder for the enemy to attack!

Answer 7

With moats,bridges, big walls, and many guards