Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess

The feudal system of 13th-century Europe is explained as a rigid social hierarchy based on land ownership and birth. At the top was the king or queen, followed by powerful noble lords like barons and dukes. These lords controlled vast estates and, in return, swore loyalty and provided soldiers and taxes to the monarch. Below them were knights, professional warriors who were granted land by a lord in exchange for military service. These nobles had total control over the peasants who worked their land. Peasants fell into two categories, villeins and freemen. Villeins were legally bound to the estate they were born on, while freemen had more rights but were still required to serve in their lord’s army. High-ranking Church officials, such as bishops and abbots, also held land. By 1285, this system of feudal duties had begun to be replaced by monetary payments.

In the 13th century, a nobleman’s title and lands were typically inherited by his eldest son. Younger sons might receive a smaller estate, and someone like Toby’s father might train as a knight but not be able to afford the expensive warhorse and armor required. The primary options of younger noble sons were to join the Church or to live as farmers on their manor. The choices for noblewomen were even more limited: They could marry, find service in a wealthier noble household, or become a nun.

The sons of noblemen typically began their training for knighthood at age seven or eight by being sent to serve as pages in the household of a more powerful lord. As pages, they were taught to hunt, use weapons, play strategic games like chess, and learn the etiquette of noble society. At the age of 15 or 16, a page advanced to become a squire, acting as a personal servant to a knight and accompanying him into battle. After approximately five years of service, a squire could be knighted by his master or the king.

For centuries, castles were central to European warfare, serving as fortified homes, defensive strongholds, and secure bases for launching attacks. They were strategically built to control important locations like roads or rivers. Over time, castle designs evolved. The earliest castles, from the 11th century, were often motte-and-bailey structures, consisting of a wooden tower on an earthen mound (the motte) and a lower, fenced-in area (the bailey) for protecting livestock and local people.

To provide better protection, especially against fire, wooden motte-and-bailey castles were gradually replaced by stone fortifications. Stone towers called keeps became the main living quarters, and a strong “curtain” wall was built around the bailey. Defenses were continuously improved. Gateways were fortified into gatehouses with drawbridges and a portcullis (a wooden grille). Towers that projected from the curtain wall allowed archers to fire down on attackers at the base of the wall. Battlements provided cover for defenders on the wall-walk. By 1285, castles had become so strong that the most effective way to capture one was to lay siege and starve the inhabitants into surrender.

During a siege, an attacking army would surround a castle to cut off its food supply. While waiting for the castle’s inhabitants to surrender, attackers used enormous siege engines to breach the defenses. These weapons included catapults like the mangonel and trebuchet, which hurled rocks and other projectiles; battering rams to smash gates; and giant crossbows called springalds. Attackers used large wooden shields (pavises), scaling ladders, and massive, protected siege towers to get over the walls. Defenders rationed supplies and reinforced their battlements with jutting wooden structures called hoardings, which allowed them to drop rocks on enemies below.

Because sieges were long and expensive, open-field battles were a swifter way to wage war. As feudal knights were only obligated to fight for a few weeks a year, lords began hiring full-time, paid soldiers. Battles typically began with armies lining up opposite each other, followed by a charge of mounted knights who tried to unhorse their opponents. Once a knight was on the ground, the weight of his armor made him vulnerable to the foot soldiers who followed the charge.

While knights used swords and lances, foot soldiers employed a variety of weapons. These included swords, daggers, and pole arms (long poles with blades or spikes on one end). Pikes were long spears used in formation to stop cavalry charges, while the halberd combined a spike and an axe blade, allowing a soldier to stab, chop, or trip an enemy from a safe distance. Archers also became essential. Longbowmen were highly skilled and could fire many arrows per minute, while crossbowmen required little training but had a much slower rate of fire.

Soldiers wore armor for protection, with chain mail being the most common type in Toby’s time. A hauberk or coat of mail alone might contain 30,000 rings, each joined by hand, and a full suit could weigh up to 66 pounds. Dressing was a complex process requiring a squire’s help and involved multiple layers: Over padded undergarments, they wore a mail hauberk (coat) and coif (head covering), and then pieces of hardened leather and metal plate for the shins, knees, and shoulders. A linen surcoat, decorated with the knight’s coat of arms, was worn over everything. This armor was extremely expensive, and poorer knights or foot soldiers wore far less protection, often just a helmet and a short mail coat.

In the first half of the 12th century, knights began displaying colorful patterns, or arms, on their shields and flags. This practice, known as heraldry, was a practical way to identify individuals on the battlefield when their faces were covered by helmets. Each noble family had a unique design, which grew more complex over generations as families married and combined their arms on a single shield. Heralds were officials who kept track of these designs, organized tournaments, and served as messengers during battle.

During the novel’s historical period, cannons were spreading across Europe, and by the 15th century they had become so effective that they could break through any castles’ defenses. In the 14th century, the Black Death plague caused a severe labor shortage, making the construction of new castles prohibitively expensive. At the same time, the feudal system was weakening as kings and queens consolidated their power, discouraging lords from building private fortresses and maintaining private armies. By the 16th century, the age of the great castle had ended.