Tactics
To besiege a castle in the middle ages, you needed weapons and a blacksmith and other people to make the weapons. Weapons in medieval times were: Trebuchets, catapults, battering rams, crossbows, swords, mangonels, ballistas and axes. But besieging a castle could take months or years so as well as weapons they could use spies to get inside then destroy enemy defences and food stock, they could also fire over dead bodies so that diseases could spread within the castle or they could mine tunnels under the walls so that the walls and the ground were weaker.
Trebuchets
The trebuchet was an excellent long-distance weapon. The rock fired from a trebuchet could weigh up to 140kg and therefore made big damage to the enemy buildings. it was easier to build than the catapult and hurl larger objects further distances. It was so easy to build that an army could travel to the castle they were going to siege then build them there. The word 'Trebuchet' is derived from the Old French word 'Trebucher' meaning to throw over. The Trebuchet is also referred to as the Trebucket.
mangonels
A mangonel was another type of catapult but it could fire further than a trebuchet. However, what it had in range it lacked in accuracy. The word Mangonel is derived from the Latin word manganon which means “an engine of war”.The Mangonel required expert building and design skills. Mangonels were capable of firing projectiles up to 1,300 feet. Missiles were launched from a bowl-shaped bucket at the end of the arm. The rope attached to the arm was the spring of the Mangonel, They are made of twisted strands of human hair or animal sinew. The rope at the bottom end of the throwing arm was twisted, providing the force to propel the arm.. Wheels were added to the base of the Mangonel ensuring that it could move.
Ballista
One of the siege weapons used during the Middle Ages include the Ballista. The Ballista design was similar to a giant crossbow. The Ballista was designed to aim huge wooden, iron covered darts or arrows which were powered by twisted rope, once again made of hair or sinew. The force of the missiles launched from the Ballista was designed to have great penetration and were capable of killing several of the enemy at one time.The word 'Ballista' is derived from the Greek word 'Ballistes' meaning to throw. Ballista history dates back to antiquity. The Ballista is believed to be an ancient war engine which was invented by the Greeks (the Scorpion) and modified by the Romans in 400BC. An interesting story related to ballista history refers to Greek and Roman Women who grew long hair as a patriotic gesture in case new ballistae were required. The Ballista reached Europe during Medieval time and was used a lot by the French.
undermining
It was possible to destroy castle walls from above the ground using trebuchets and mangonels but it was also possible to bring castle walls down from beneath the ground. The besiegers used skilled miners who mine tunnels starting from their camps and ending beneath the castle walls. Under a section of wall the miners would remove the foundation stones replacing them with wooden props. Once enough of the wall had been removed a fire was lit beneath the wooden props and the miners left the mine. When the props burnt through there was nothing holding the castle wall up and it would collapse. The corners of square castles were the weakest part of the construction and this is where the miners would aim to tunnel beneath.