HST 164    Medieval Warfare

I. Introduction
    A. broad topic; so many medieval weapons
	- for example
	        1. sword
		2. dagger
		3. spear
		4. axe
		5. war hammer
		6. mace
		7. longbow
		8. crossbow
		9. catapult
		10. trebuchet
		11. siege tower
		12. battering ram
		13. Greek Fire
		14. various gun powder weapons
    B. we will look at just a few of these as case studies

II. Bows and Crossbows
    A. background
        1. the bow has been around since ancient times
	2. not many people in Europe relied on it at this early point
		a. Ostrogoths
		b. Franks
		c. Angles
		d. Saxons 
		e. Vikings
    B. Charlemagne and the Carolingians
        1. the Franks had previously only used longbows
	2. contact with Slavs and Avars in eastern Europe
	3. the Franks start using the recurve bow
    C. use of the bow then spreads throughout Europe
    D. England
        1. after 1066, the English really take to the bow
	2. very successful with the longbow
		a. influenced by the Welsh?
		b. they had probably always used the longbow
		c. English longbowmen at the Battle of Crecy
	3. change in tactics allowed them to dominate
		a. the English used archers as a dominant part of their army
		b. they used archers on the front lines and on the flanks
		c. arrow fire caused mayhem amongst the enemy and 
			forced them into a disordered charge into English
			pikemen and knights
		d. Battle of Agincourt scene from Henry V
	4. use of the longbow dwindles by the 15th century, 
		as gunpowder weapons became dominant
	5. crossbows
		a. smaller than longbow, but thicker and heavier
		b. usually attached to a stock
		c. the string is pulled back to the nut, 
			which is attached to the trigger [diagram]
		d. some crossbows had a stirrup on the front of the stock
			to allow the archer to pull the string back by hand
		e. others used a mechanism like a winch [examples: 1, 2]
		f. we don't see the crossbow in Europe until 
			the High Middle Ages
		g. it was favored by many archers because of its power
		h. but it took much longer to load than a longbow
			- an archer could fire 10 arrows with a longbow 
				in the time it took a crossbowman to fire one
		i. for this reason, the English mainly stuck with the longbow
		j. technological advances
			1. composite crossbow
				a. composite of materials, such as sinew, horn and wood
				b. three times as expensive as a wooden crossbow
				c. had become dominant by the 14th century
			2. steel crossbow [example]
				a. introduced in the 15th century
				b. greater ranger than any other bow
				c. seven times as expensive as a wooden crossbow
				d. often so large that they were mounted on stands
				e. replaced by cannon in the late 15th and early 16th c.
		k. video: reconstructed 14th c. crossbow in action

III. Trebuchets
    A. background
	1. for some reason, they are popular for launching pumpkins
		- here is one of MANY online videos of this
        2. the trebuchet is a type of catapult 
		- typical catapult, reconstructed view
	3. they've been around since ancient times
	4. don't play a large role in medieval warfare until the 
		High and Later Middle Ages
	5. necessary to deal with stone castles
	6. trebuchets developed in China in the 5th-3rd c. BCE
		a. diagram of a traction trebuchet
		b. reconstruction of a traction trebuchet
	7. spread to the Middle East by 7th c. CE
	8. then spread to western Europe shortly after that,
		or during the Crusades in 11th and 12th c.
	9. trebuchets don't play a significant role in European 
		warfare until the 12th c.
	10. no trebuchets in England until late 12th or early 13th c.		

    B. England
        1. counterweight trebuchets dominated in England
		a. not traction trebuchets; one at the Tower of London
		b. developed in the Middle East in the 12th c.
		c. usually had a large box filled with stones attached
			to one end of the beam 
		d. more consistent and accurate than traction trebuchets
		e. picture of one in Dover Castle
		f. video of a reconstructed counterweight trebuchet in action
	2. Edward I used them quite a bit [model of one of them]
		a. in 1296, he used 3 trebuchets at Holyrood Abbey
		b. in 1304, he used 13 trebuchets at Stirling castle
	3. often used to intimidate and demoralize the enemy
		a. flaming projectiles
		b. diseased or putrefying animal carcasses
		c. bodies of dead enemies
		d. plague-infected corpses
	4. replaced by cannon in the 15th-16th c.

IV. Siege Towers
    A. massive, expensive machines [drawing]
        1. sometimes called a belfry
        2. often a last resort in siege warfare
	3. massive undertaking to build 
    B. typical design [plan]
        1. massive wooden tower with wheels
		a. usually three stories high, or more
		b. some were over 90 feet high
	2. usually had a drawbridge on top
	3. sometimes even had trebuchets on top
    C. difficulties
        1. constantly under fire from castle garrison
		a. arrow fire
		b. projectiles from trebuchets
		c. flaming projectiles
		d. siege towers often covered in animal hides
			or iron plates
	2. getting the tower into position
		a. dealing with the moat
		b. team of men and/or oxen to move it
		c. usually rigged up some sort of wooden protection
    D. large numbers of people required
        1. dozens of carpenters
	2. dozens of laborers to fill the moat and pull the tower
	3. dozens, sometimes hundreds, of soldiers
		a. operating the battering ram
		b. miners
		c. archers
		d. operating the trebuchets
		e. operating the drawbridge
		f. armored knights
    E. Edward I used them quite a bit
        1. he kept several engineers on retainer for this purpose
        2. they accompanied him on campaign
	3. e.g., Bertram
		a. variously referred to as the Engynnur, the machinator 
			and the ingeniator
		b. built siege towers and trebuchets for Edward
		c. even helped build some of his castles
    F. use of siege towers dwindled by the 15th-16th c. as cannon
		began to dominate