During the Middle Ages, a water-filled moat gave castle dwellers a powerful defense against invading enemy armies. But first, let me share a little history.
Primitive 10th Century Castles
Kings and nobles built the earliest medieval castles very quickly. Workers heaped up a very large mound of earth—the “motte”—and built a wooden building on the top called “the keep.” The noble and his family lived up there. Because of the mound’s steepness, it was easily defended from enemy attack. Below, on a flattened piece of land next to the mound, the builders constructed “the bailey.” This area contained several buildings; kitchens, workshops, halls, stables, storehouses, a chapel and even the soldier’s barracks. The workmen also surrounded the lord’s keep with a very tall wooden fence, called a palisade. A bridge or stairs cut into the mound linked the two areas. A second tall palisade enclosed everything, the motte, the keep and the bailey. Often a ditch, filled with water created a primitive moat and completed the castle’s defenses.
Good as these primitive “motte and bailey” castles were, they did have one major drawback.
Yes, you guessed it; enemy armies could use fire to burn down the defenses.
So in the 12th century, the nobility started building castles of stone.
Stone Castles
Two main type of stone castles were built in the Middle Ages. The first served as the nobleman’s seat of power and his residence. Strong stone walls, towers and sometimes a moat were features, but these castle dwellers also enjoyed luxury; good food, rich tapestries, beautiful furnishings, well-lit rooms and high ceilings.
The second type was a military structure called a concentric castle which housed soldiers. Traditionally, this type of castle had an outer wall, with a much higher inner wall, and a heavily fortified gate. If the outer wall was breached, the defenders would simply retreat behind the inner wall. Both walls had archers who could fire from the towers and battlements. Think of the battle of Helm’s Deep in the Lord of the Rings movie, “The Two Towers.”
Attacking a castle was always challenging.
Methods of Attack
Enemy armies in the Middle Ages had 3 ways to actively overcome a castle’s defenses. If they had far superior numbers, the soldiers often set up ladders and tried to scale the castle walls. Secondly, they could use battering rams to break down the main gate. Finally, they could tunnel underneath and plant incendiary devices to collapse a portion of the wall. Any breach would give the enemy soldiers a chance to charge in and overwhelm the defenders.
But against these attacks, there was one feature that could protect the castle successfully.
The Perfect Defense
Here’s the truth; if the castle was surrounded by a deep water-filled moat, none of the 3 attacks would work. Attackers couldn’t set ladders to climb up, because the moat could be 20-30 feet deep. Tunnel under the wall? Impossible. No one could breathe underwater. Batter down the gate? Nope. The water protected from that too.
The moat is a passive defense, but it’s a great one. Once in place, it provides a tough extra barrier for any enemy army to overcome.
Spiritual Insight
Why am I talking about castle moats? Because just like the castle dwellers, we can build “spiritual moats” to frustrate many of Satan’s attacks against us. Like a water-filled moat, these act as passive defenses. But each protects us automatically from one of Devil’s sneaky attacks.
We don’t even have to think about it.
Here’s a handful of Christian disciplines which spiritually block attacks in these areas.
- Tithing – Giving the 1st 10% of every paycheck protects the believer’s heart from greed. Because emotionally all income starts to be treated as a divine gift.
- Praying for your Enemies – This protects against the soul-stains of bitterness, jealousy, rage and hatred, which can cripple us as Christians. It’s impossible to consistently pray for an enemy to be blessed without our heart softening.toward them.
- Sincerely Apologizing when Wrong – This consistent practice guards us against an arrogant heart attitude. It also heals damaged relationships. Plus, as the virtue of humility grows in our hearts, we are less easily offended and our happiness increases.
- Practicing Thankfulness – A grateful heart protects us from the misery of self-pity and a complaining, negative spirit. Turn Psalm 27:13 into a prayer and watch the Holy Spirit open your eyes to God’s goodness during tough times.
I downloaded these images from Pixabay.com.
Resources:
I had trouble imaging the early “motte and Bailey” European castle design. So here are some clear drawings of this type of structure and how it functions.
