Life in a castle under siege
In 1304, Stirling Castle was put under siege by King Edward I of England.
Watch the film below to learn how just 30 Scottish defenders were able to hold the castle for months, even against Edward's mighty army.
What is a siege?
A siege is when an enemy surrounds a town, castle or other building so no one can escape and no food can get in.
It was very important for the people inside the castle to be prepared. They needed supplies of food and water to live on.
Getting fresh food was difficult so they needed to find ways to preserve food by drying, salting and storing it. For a safe water supply, castles needed their own well.
Look at the photos below to find out a bit more about how defenders prepared for a castle siege.
Preparing for a siege
Siege weapons
Attackers surrounding a castle in a siege could use different kinds of siege engines to attack the castle and make it weaker.
Some Medieval siege weapons included:
- trebuchets
- mangonels
- cannons
- battering rams
- siege towers
What were the Scottish Wars of Independence?
The Wars of Independence were a series of battles fought between Scotland and England from 1296 to 1328.
England wanted to take control of Scotland's castles to show off how powerful they were.
Scotland had to defend their castles from the English army.
There were many castle sieges during the Scottish Wars of Independence.
