Under siege In the Middle Ages the lords and kings of Europe fought for dominion. They built castles as a symbol of military power and protection of the castle ruler. Invading armies or lords could not rule or conquer the area without the castle. Because castles were designed to keep even the most determined enemy away, attackers had to develop new weapons to get inside. The battle between the castle's defenders and the attackers became known as a siege. A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering it by attrition or assault. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized by one side maintaining a strong, static defensive position. Medieval campaigns were generally designed around a succession of sieges. Sieges involve encircling the objective and blocking reinforcements or the escape of troops or the supply of supplies, typically combined with attempts to reduce fortifications. To attack they used siege weapons such as bows, artillery and cannons. How bows and arrows, artillery and cannons were used to attack enemy castles. Bows and arrows were used for ranged attacks. In the Middle Ages, new styles of bows were invented that could shoot farther and with greater force than previous bows. The archers of Wales and England were famous for using longbows, which were as tall as the archers who threw them (Findon). Longbows are made from a variety of wood, to one end of which a strong string is permanently attached. The other end of the rope is formed into a loop, and to use the bow the stave is bent into a curve and to use the bow the stave is bent into a curve and the looped end of the rope is slipped onto the other end in a loop. notch prepared. The slats were made of pretty much all... half the paper... I shoot into the castle to burn the wooden structures. For maximum damage inside the castle they would use stone throwing machines such as the trebuchet and catapults. Not only would they fire hundred-pound rocks to crush the structures; they threw human and horse carcasses to spread disease and lower the morale of the defenders, as well as pots full of burning oil to burn the defenders and castles within. They would try not to damage the walls too badly, so they could take control of the castle and use the walls to defend themselves from future attacks. However, with the return of soldiers bringing gunpowder back from the Middle East it would be the beginning of the end for castles as a symbol of military strength. Since siege guns were capable of obliterating castle walls, the size and quantity of guns owned by a lord or king became a dominant factor in military strength.