ABSTRACT
In the attack and defence of fortified places, the weapon used was the crossbow rather than the longbow. The crossbow was mounted horizontally upon a stock, and fired from the shoulder by a trigger, like a modern gun. The bow-slits in the towers of an ancient castle open behind into quite large wall-chambers, with space enough for two men, or at least for a man and a boy. In the famous siege of Kenilworth Castle by Henry III in 1265, no less than eleven great catapults were plied against the walls. The garrison was reduced to eating its horses, and when at length the besiegers entered the castle there was a fearful stench of dead men and animals. In the more important castles, the gateway was often further defended by a barbican. In the thirteenth century, such a barbican, particularly if in advance of the main entry of the castle, was often a very formidable structure.
