Throughout medieval Europe and the Middle East, the castle functioned as a private fortress that, among its other roles, physically and symbolically proclaimed the status and strength of its lord to all visitors, friends or enemies. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, castles became powerful fortresses capable of challenging intensive attacks. At the same time, to combat the fortified defenses of the castle, the siege was developed. In the late Middle Ages, few important campaigns took place without at least one siege of the castle. In fact, while battles like Crcy (1346) have reaped all the glory, it was not until the siege of Calais in the following year that the English made significant progress in their fight against France. The successful siege of the castle skillfully combined sophisticated science with specific standards of behavior known, but not always practiced by the participants. Finally, the siege dominated the medieval war for at least the time that the castle dominated the social and political order of the time. For this reason they also became desirable targets for other kings.
12 дек 2019
