Medieval Arms Race
War in medieval times was about the control of land. Garrisons
of knights and other soldiers who lived in castles controlled
the land around their stone fortresses. To conquer a
territory, an attacking army would have to strike and take
these central strongholds.
To do so, they would launch a siege. Over the centuries,
medieval armies developed military strategies to fight a
siege. Weapons of war also evolved, often in response to the
technological advances of the enemy. By the mid-12th century,
siege warfare had developed into a science, practiced by an
engineer corps called ingeniatores.
Here we describe some of the major weapons and strategies used
in what became a medieval arms race. Let the siege begin.
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