74.—The Siege of a Castle details

“A hand-to-hand fight on a scaling ladder thrown against the battlements; the garrison hurl stones from a catapult. Note primitive cannon.
Reconstructional drawing from various sources by George Kruger Gray.”

“Attackers could head straight for gates or vulnerable points under movable covers, or erect scaffoldings (p. 74) to bring them above the level of the castle walls—another reason for clearing the castle district of available timber. But though castles could thus be taken by force or strategy, this century [14th] saw the inset of siege warfare which finally reached such extraordinary lengths.” (p. 79)