The Siege of Kenilworth
The siege of Kenilworth began on June 25, 1266. Kenilworth had been a royal castle, fortified by King John, the father of King Henry III. Once his father died and Henry himself ascended the throne, he gave it as a gift to Simon de Montfort, his brother-in-law, potentially in an attempt to insure his loyalty. That decision came back to haunt him as the castle was one of the strongest fortifications in England, and included a lake or ‘mere’. After Simon’s defeat and subsequent death at Evesham, the last holdouts in the war retreated to Kenilworth, and when Henry attempted to negotiate with the defenders, they sent back his messenger without his hand. By the time the royal forces assembled at Kenilworth Castle, the garrison – who probably numbered about 1,200, including wives, children and servants – had built up Read more…
Kenilworth Castle
It is thought that a castle has stood at Kenilworth in Warwickshire, since Saxon times. It is likely that the original structure was destroyed in the early 11th century during the wars between the Saxon King of England, Edmund, and Canute, King of the Danes. 100 years later, in 1129, the Norman King Henry I gave the land upon which Kenilworth now stands to his Chamberlain, a Norman noble named Geoffrey de Clinton, who at the time was both Treasurer and Chief Justice of England. Shortly afterwards, Geoffrey founded an Augustinian priory and built the current castle. This new original structure probably started out as a modest motte-and-bailey timber castle and even today the large earth mound that formed the base of the motte can clearly be seen. The castle itself is built of red sandstone and represents five centuries Read more…
A Medieval Siege
A medieval siege was a far more common form of warfare than a fight on an open battlefield. Sieges had the element of surprise and required fewer men than battle too, such that a ruler could beseige a castle with his enemy inside, while freeing other forces to wage war elsewhere. The goal in beseiging a castle was not to destroy it, but to take it, since castles were pawns in the great game of controlling land. They were usually heavily fortified and defended, so a beseiger had several options when he was on the outside looking in: 1) to starve/wait them out 2) harassment and trickery 3) a straight assault Often, attackers employed all three tactics at various times. The defenders, on the other hand, hoped and prayed for relief. As Saladin says in Kingdom of Heaven “One cannot Read more…
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