Medieval Armies' Disgusting Attacks

As attackers moved toward castle or town walls, defenders needed to slow them down. They had to rally at the enemy's strongest attack points. One way to slow an assault was tothrow huge amounts of live beehivesalong the attacker’s path.

Soldiers pressed their attack and stomped on the beehives. This released swarms of angry insects seeking a target to sting. The pain often made soldiers unable to use their hands.

The only other choice was walking carefully to avoid upsetting the angry bees. This was not the fastest or best way to attack a defended fort.

Castle design improved over centuries. Castle builders faced siege danger and needed new ways to stop enemy attacks. Moats and strong walls helped, but they needed a way to defend the main door everyone used.

To achieve this, later castles featured "Murder holes let defenders throw objects directly onto enemies' heads.” let defenders drop things directly onto attackers’ heads. Shooters could not easily hit them from the ground, but defenders could easily drop rocks or burning liquid through the hole.

Some soldiers had access to Greek Fire.Byzantines first invented and used Greek Fire in the Middle East. Though the exact recipe is gone, Byzantines found a way to shoot fire through a hose, like a medieval flamethrower.

Greek Fire started for naval fights, but scholars think it eventually appeared in some land sieges. Richard I is thought to have obtained theSome soldiers had access to the Greek Fire formula.after the Third Crusade and used it in his own land battles for several years.

During European chivalry battles, non-combatants usually fled the scene unharmed. In the Middle East, Europeans changed these rules; anyone could become a target.

If a city wanted to hold out during a siege instead of surrendering, they often sent messengers to signal a long wait. If the attackers were very angry, they wouldThey cut off the messengers' heads.and throw them over the wall using a catapult.

Sometimes they just threw the whole body over.

Severed messenger heads were usually the first innocents thrown over the wall. However, they were not the only ones. Any prisoners the defenders captured risked beingThey catapulted prisoners at the defenders..

Prisoners were often tied to siege equipment sides and used asThey used human shields.. Attackers used this so they would not shoot arrows at civilians, or civilians would absorb fiery arrows, protecting the equipment.

Unfortunately, many of these citizens were children.

Catapults often fired rocks at opposing forces on both sides. What shocks people is how huge these rocks were.

Depending on the catapult or trebuchet, some forces could launch rocks weighingover 500 pounds.These boulders inflicted serious damage on stone walls defending castles and cities.

City walls and castles used flammable stone, but many other buildings and people caught fire. Attackers learned this and created old-style molotov cocktails to start fires.

These fiery missiles were containers of a breakable substance filled with flammable liquid, lit before firing. After hitting the wall, these containers broke, spreading the dangerous liquid.

The fuel could be anything that burns, from tar tohuman fat taken from prisoners.Ancient “Molotov Cocktails” were popular in Medieval Armies Disgusting Attacks.

Kites are usually a fun activity for kids on windy days. In medieval times, people used kites as a way to drop firebombs on enemies.

Attacking armies would set up anexplosive on a large kite.They flew it over the enemy wall, then cut the string or shot the kite down. Defenders struggled to stop these kites; even setting one on fire sent firebombs onto their own people.

This tactic did not seem common, but evidence shows it happened a few times.

Pope Alexander VI is remembered as one of the most.controversial popes ever.A scandal involving Alexander VI includes his use of chemical warfare during a 15th-century siege.

Some suggestAlexander used sulphur gas.to drive out defenders during the siege of Ostie. Sulphur is very harmful, but soldiers at the time likely did not grasp the danger until their comrades began to collapse.

Medieval doctors lacked knowledge of disease spread, yet they knew excrement was foul. Even worse was the waste of people who died from the Bubonic plague.

Attackers sometimes scooped out poop from dead soldiers or captives, put it in a container, and shot thePoop spread disease effectively. over the wall. Sometimes corpses were launched, and sometimes both items were used.

Archery improved during the Middle Ages. While individual archers still fired arrows, castle defenders needed a way to hurt enemies more. Ballistas filled that need.

Ballistas functioned as giant crossbows, firing60-pound javelins over 500 yards.Attackers rarely used ballistas because they failed against stone walls. Defenders, however, used these weapons to cause havoc against advancing forces; they were easy to protect and use inside walls.

Attackers often hurledDead animals over the walls.This happened at the defenders during a siege. An animal corpse could spread disease, especially if infected with the Bubonic Plague.

Larger animals caused real damage if aimed right. Attackers intended animal corpses, human corpses, excrement, and other filth toThis lowers morale.of a city’s citizens, pushing them toward surrender.

Some historical films show defenders pouring hot oil or water on attackers. Many viewers miss how effective pouring hot sand is.

Alexander the Great found defenders would do this when he besieged the city of Tyre.He heated sand to extreme temperaturesand dumped it on his men's heads. The sand caught the wind, blowing toward Alexander’s ships and setting them alight.

War elephants were not common in European sieges but appeared in the Middle East. These massive beasts inflicted huge damage. To counter them, armies began usingFiery pigs serve as a counter to war elephants..

Pigs were covered in tar, set on fire, and unleashed on the battlefield. Elephants feared the screaming fireballs, turning and running against their masters’ orders.

This seems hypothetical, but historians recently found pictures showing the use ofFire-cats occurred during a siege.The plan involved kidnapping a cat from the town under attack and placing a burning sack on its back.

The cat would likely panic and flee to its origin. In fear, the cat should try to hide in hay or something, starting a fire in a city barn.

Historians admit this is unlikely to have occurred. Also, a cat would probably burn the attackers’ camp instead of running home first. The illustration is real, so the possibility should not be ignored.

Learning more about the medieval eramakes things clearerthat this was not a primitive "Dark Age." It was a time of major change, religious andMilitary conflicts show this.and surprisingly complex social relationships. Those exploring this history should check out the staff picks for what to read, watch, and buy next.

Medieval Warrior: Weapons, Technology, And Fighting Techniques.This guide shows the battles, warriors, wins, and losses that formed Europe from 1000 to 1500 AD. It has 300 color illustrations and deep looks at medieval fighting. This work breaks the myth of messy, disorganized "Dark Age" fighting. It also covers soldiers who fought, from English longbowmen to Norman knights, Hussite handgunners, and Mongol horse archers.

The director's cut of Ridley Scott'sKingdom of HeavenThis film shows great moral and cultural fights around the Crusades. It depicts these conflicts well.The 13th WarriorThe 13th Warrior uses some freedom with its Viking characters. Some of this is based on the real 10th-century account of Ahmed ibn Fadlan, an Arabic traveler who met Norsemen.

Many video games aim for historical accuracy. These includeKingdom Come: DeliveranceandAge of Empires 2.

Merchants sell period-accurate items for collectors, like medieval-era replicas.helmets, gauntlets, and evenutensils.

It also offers a growing collection of lists exploring different parts of medieval life:

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