Did You Know? Medieval Castles

Subject: History | Year: 7

Name: _________________________ Class/Set: ____________ Date: ____________

• Right-Handed Defence: Many spiral staircases in medieval castles wind clockwise as they go up, and a popular theory holds that this gave defenders an advantage — their sword arm would be free while an attacker's right arm was cramped against the central pillar. However, historians have found many counter-clockwise examples too, and no medieval source actually confirms this was a deliberate design choice. It may be more myth than military masterstroke.

• The Great White Castle: We usually imagine castles as dull, grey stone buildings, but in the Middle Ages, many were actually brilliant white! Builders often covered the exterior walls in 'limewash' to protect the stone and make the castle look majestic. From miles away, a castle would have shimmered in the sunlight like a beacon of power.

• Dangerous Toilets: Medieval toilets, called 'garderobes', were often just a hole in a small wooden or stone seat that emptied directly into the castle moat or a vertical chute. Incredibly, during the siege of Château Gaillard in 1204, French soldiers managed to break into the castle by climbing up through the latrine chutes—a very brave, but very smelly, way to win a battle.

• The Myth of Boiling Oil: While films often show defenders pouring boiling oil from 'murder holes' onto their enemies, this almost never happened. Oil was far too expensive and valuable for cooking to be wasted on soldiers. Instead, defenders were much more likely to use boiling water, hot sand (which would get inside an enemy's armour and burn them), or even heated animal fat.

• Pigs of War: When sieging a castle, attackers would sometimes 'mine' under the walls to make them collapse. To finish the job, they would fill the tunnel with dry wood and several dead pigs. The high fat content in the pigs created a fire so incredibly hot that it would burn through the wooden supports and cause the heavy stone walls above to come crashing down.

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⚠ TEACHER’S GUIDANCE

• 🏰 Pedagogical Opportunity: Use these facts to transition from a 'romanticised' view of the Middle Ages to a more analytical 'historical reality' perspective.

• 💡 Discussion Prompt: Ask: "Why would a King choose to spend money on limewash rather than hiring more soldiers?" This encourages students to consider 'status' and 'deterrence' as key functions of a castle, alongside physical defence.

• 🔍 Vocabulary Focus: Explain: Tier 3 terms such as 'latrine', 'limewash', and 'deterrence'. Ensure students understand that 'mining' in a siege context refers to 'sapping' (undermining the foundations).

• ⚠️ Safeguarding & Nuance Check: When discussing the 'Pigs of War' or 'Garderobes', maintain a professional tone to prevent the lesson from descending into silliness, while still utilising the 'gross-out' factor to cement the chronological memory of siege warfare.