Medieval Siege Weapon In Action

Medieval siege weapons are a fascinating subject! The trebuchet was used extensively in medieval warfare to bombard castles into submission, damaging and often destroying castle walls and keeps. We wrote previously about the wonderful replicas of a medieval trebuchet which were demonstrated at Tiffauges Castle in France.

Now we can go one step better .... we can share a video clip of one of these medieval siege weapons actually being fired. It was not easy to follow the trajectory of the missile after the trebuchet was fired as it travelled much further faster than anyone expected!

Read more about medieval siege engines

Haunted Medieval Castles - A Must Read For Halloween

Halloween is approaching and for anyone interested in medieval castles, it's a great time to take advantage of a variety of 'spooky' castle tours on offer.

A good example is that of Carlisle Castle in Cumbria where there are spooky tours and ghost stories on offer all this week - an ideal opportunity for families to enjoy a little fun combined with medieval history. Carlisle Castle is a truly medieval castle and is reported to be very haunted so it's a great attractions for visitors at this time of year. Read more about haunted Carlisle Castle.

Carlisle Castle is not far from Hadrian's Wall in fact so visitors to the castle often go on to see the Wall and, moving on from medieval history, they can indulge in a little Roman history.

Read more about haunted castles courtesy of this StumbleUpon page.

Medieval Weapons - Trebuchet At Tiffauges

Medieval weapons are fascinating to read about but we are lucky ... we've seen one in action! We were treated to a demonstration of a trebuchet replica when visiting the castle of Gilles de Rais at Tiffauges in France.
It took a number of men several minutes to prepare it and and everyone watched with fascination. When the rope was freed to release the main mechanism there was instant applause at the impressive distance achieved with its shot.

Seeing something like this first hand gives you a better understanding of what it must have been like for those cowering behind medieval castle walls in the face of an enemy armed with large siege weapons such as the trebuchet.