How Were Medieval Castles Captured? Starvation, Mines and Betrayal

On 25 November 1215 King John, besieging Rochester Castle, sent a writ to Dover asking for forty fat pigs, 'of those least worth eating', to fetch fire beneath the keep. This video uses the records of real sieges to show how medieval castles actually fell: Antioch in 1098, Rochester in 1215, Dover in 1216 and 1217, Kenilworth in 1266, Caerlaverock in 1300 and Carlisle in 1315. Some fell to mines, some to hunger and some to terms agreed at the gate. At Antioch an officer on the wall let the crusaders in. Chapters: 0:00 Forty pigs nobody wanted to eat 2:11 Why not just storm it? 5:18 Mines, cats and trebuchets 8:39 Rochester: the keep with a wall inside 10:46 Dover: a tower falls, the castle holds 13:47 Antioch: the man on the wall 16:15 Kenilworth: nine engines and a lake 19:48 Aftermath: the round corner 21:15 What we know and what is debated 23:06 The verdict Sources: Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum i, 238b (writ of 25 Nov 1215), printed and translated by the Magna Carta Project: magnacartaresearch.org/read/itinerary/John_and_the_siege_of_Rochester__week_seven Gesta Francorum, Latin text and notes ed. W. Turpin, Dickinson College Commentaries: dcc.dickinson.edu/node/31266 and dcc.dickinson.edu/node/31268 The Siege of Caerlaverock, trans. C. W. Scott-Giles, The Coat of Arms 6-10 (1951-52), Heraldry Society: theheraldrysociety.com/articles/the-siege-of-caerlaverock/ P. E. Chevedden, 'The Invention of the Counterweight Trebuchet', Dumbarton Oaks Papers 54 (2000) 71-116: digitalcommons.cwu.edu/cahfac_history/29 English Heritage, Siege warfare: english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/medieval/siege-warfare/ English Heritage, History of Rochester Castle: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rochester-castle/history/ English Heritage, The great siege of Dover Castle, 1216: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/blog/blog-posts/the-great-siege-of-dover-castle-1216 English Heritage, The siege of Kenilworth Castle: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenilworth-castle/history-and-stories/siege-kenilworth-castle/ English Heritage, 5 sieges from England's past (Prudhoe, Carlisle and others): english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/blog/blog-posts/5-sieges-from-englands-past/ Kenilworth History and Archaeology Society, The Great Siege of Kenilworth: a timeline: khas.co.uk/great-siege-kenilworth-time-line Image & footage credits (Wikimedia Commons): Rochester Castle Keep and Bailey: Clem Rutter, CC BY 3.0 Inside the keep of Rochester Castle (geograph 3666929): Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0 Prudhoe Castle, Gatehouse and Barbican (2024): Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0 Half-moon battery, Carlisle Castle (geograph 6311799): Bill Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0 The Outer Ward, Carlisle Castle (geograph 6409690): David Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 Inner bailey gatehouse, Dover Castle; Constable's Tower, Dover Castle 1: Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 4.0 Dover Castle, Henry II's Great Tower; Dover Castle from the north: DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0 Dover castle aerial panorama 2017: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0 Dover Castle, Kent (3778159546): ijclark, CC BY 2.0 Effigy of King John (geograph 7342157): Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0 Kenilworth Castle keep from the south-west 2016; Kenilworth Castle 2016: DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0 Kenilworth Castle mere flooded (geograph 676237): derek billings, CC BY-SA 2.0 Kenilworth Castle gatehouse landscape: unknown author, CC BY 1.0 Caerlaverock Castle from the air: Simon Ledingham, CC BY-SA 2.0 Caerlaverock Castle, October 2024 (01, 04): Richard Nevell, CC BY-SA 4.0 Battle outside Antioch (Histoire d'Outremer, Yates Thompson 12, f. 29): unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0 Archival material courtesy of the Morgan Library & Museum (Maciejowski Bible, MS M.638), the British Library, the Vatican Library (Reg. Lat. 572), the Bibliotheque municipale de Lyon and the Library of Congress (Matson collection), via Wikimedia Commons. Music: Brahms symphonies, Musopen Symphony recordings (public domain). Illustrations marked as such are AI-generated in an illustrative style. Narration is synthesized.