Have you ever wondered why most staircases in medieval castles were built to be extremely narrow and spiral clockwise?

Since medieval castles were built mainly as fortifications, the stairs were designed to make it extremely difficult for enemy fighters to make their way up the stairs. As most Soldiers were right-handed, they would have to surround every curve of the inner wall before attempting to attack, inevitably exposing themselves in the process. The clockwise snail ladder also allowed defenders to use the inner wall as a partial shield and allowed them to easily swing their weapon without being hindered by the curvature of the outer wall.

The stairs were also intentionally poorly lit and unevenly built, making it even harder for attackers to gain some sort of balance or momentum during their struggle to capture the castle.

Source:: Historical Videos

The great northern giveaway!! Englands northern frontier on the move

The northern frontier of England was well established by the first three Norman kings. It was thrown into reverse by the anarchy of King Stephen and the disputed succession. King David had pledged his oath to support the daughter of Henry I, the Empress Matilda. He also used anarchy to take lands and roll back the frontier. King David invaded England in 1136 and twice in 1138. He took Carlisle, the western anchor of the frontier which he then used as a base to exert control over Cumberland and Westmorland. King Stephen was forced to revive the earldom of Northumbria and grant it to Henry of Scotland, the son of King David.

Kind David now had control over the eastern and western reaches of the frontier pushing the border back to Newcastle.

David entertained the young Henry FitzEmpress in 1149 and extracted an oath from the future King of England granting thet when he became king Henry would hand over Newcastle and all the land from tjr river Tweed to the Tyne. It was the great north giveaway!!

Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumberland were all to be given away. The frontier rolled back south.

When Henry became king of England in 1154 he was faced with a choice to break his oath to the king of Scotland or abandon a vast portion of the North. Henry chose to break his oath. At Chester in 1157 the new King of England put it to the new King of Scotland that “the king of England ought not to be defrauded of so large a part of his kingdom, nor would he suffer to be deprived of it”.

Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumberland were restored to the English crown. Henry restore his Sheriffs back in the said shires and restored the frontiers to his grandfather’s day.

Medieval arrowheads – from armour piercing, to pinning a Knight to his horse. The English Longbow of Legend. It took years of practice to become a truly effective archer. The training being actively encouraged from the age of 8 years old. Master bowmen were highly prized and to this end King Edward III made practicing archery compulsory on Sundays after church and on Feast days.

Every village was required to have its own archery range where the villagers could practice. These villages located around the English borders produced a good supply of experienced archers used to dealing with the frequent skirmishes with the Scottish and Welsh.

Such training from a young age took a physical toll on the archer. As an archer myself, pulling a far lighter draw-weight bow than supposedly would have been used in a medieval battle, it is possible to see differences between the muscle development on my right and left side.

The same, more extreme deformities were found on the skeletons recovered from the Mary Rose shipwreck. With these archers showing signs of significant over development on one side of their bodies, twisted spines, and bones in the wrist.

That is not to say these men were all hobbling around but rather had adapted gradually after years of practice. It is also often suggested that bow draw weights were between 80 to 130lb.

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