The usual wartime garrison of a large French, Norman, or English castle like Harlech or Dover was 300–800 men; the Krak de Chevalier in the Holy Land needed a garrison of 2,000.
How many people could live in a castle?
Not many people lived there for much of the time.
The moving household could be anywhere from 30 to 150 people; it would have included the lord and lady as well as their children (which could go into double figures – for example Queen of England Eleanor of Aquitaine had 10 children).
How many knights would a castle have?
In peace time, there might be only 10 or 12 knights and their horses staying in the castle, but when war threatened there would be many more. The knights and their servants and their mounts all had to eat, as did the lord, his family, and his servants and officials, and their families.
How many soldiers would a medieval city have?
Depends on the size and economic stability of that city. If we take Rome at its height, it could easily have garrisoned around 5000–6000 troops, including the plebs, or citizen soldiers. When we take a city like Alessia, it couldn’t have garrisoned more than 2000 at max.
How many guards does a castle have?
Guard duty generally wasn’t a full-time (or desirable) job. Castles could have garrisons of anywhere from a couple thousand to less than two dozen men.
Did castles have toilets?
In the medieval period luxury castles were built with indoor toilets known as ‘garderobes’, and the waste dropped into a pit below.
What is the biggest room in a castle?
The Great Hall was the main room of a castle, and the largest room – great halls could also be found throughout the medieval period in palaces and manor houses.
How many knights did the largest army have?
3 Knight cards
The Largest Army is a special card included in Catan and is worth 2 Victory points to the holder. The first player to play 3 Knight cards may claim the Largest Army. If another player plays more Knight cards they may claim the Largest Army card from the original player and likewise are awarded 2 Victory points.
Who was the biggest knight in history?
William Marshal
William Marshal has been dubbed “England’s greatest knight” – and probably the most loyal. He served five English kings from Henry II through to his grandson Henry III, and was 70 years old at the time of the 1217 Battle of Lincoln.
What is higher than a knight?
The title of Commander occurred in the medieval military orders, such as the Knights Hospitaller, for a member senior to a Knight. Variations include Knight Commander, notably in English, sometimes used to denote an even higher rank than Commander.
How big was the largest medieval army?
For the battle, the Ming dynasty raised a enormous army of 300,000 troops, majority Ming Han Chinese and Chinese Muslims. This dwarfed any other army in existence, being triple the size of militarily powerful France and even larger than the army they were fighting, which only had several tens of thousands.
Why were medieval armies so small?
Why were medieval armies so small? Because medieval central governments were small. Power was distributed over kings, lords, communes and local barons. No one of them could tax or conscript large forces, and putting together a coalition took a lot of time and negotiation.
What was the strongest medieval army?
As there were many armies and many wars during the medieval era, there are many possible answers to this question, however, the winner may be the Chinese army. Believe it or not, in the ancient period, armies were more professional and organized. Because of this, their armies were bigger and stronger.
How many servants would a castle have?
An English medieval castle, if a large one, could have a household staff of at least 50 people, which included all manner of specialised and skilled workers such as cooks, grooms, carpenters, masons, falconers, and musicians, as well as a compliment of knights, bowmen, and crossbow operators.
How many soldiers would a count have?
In the Eastern Roman Empire, from about the seventh century, “count” was a specific rank indicating the commander of two centuriae (i.e., 200 men).
What is the strongest part of a castle?
The castle gatehouse was one of the most defensive parts of any medieval fortress. It was a strong, fortified building positioned to defend the entrance to a castle. Gatehouses usually contained multiple traps and obstacles to foil any intruder.
Were castles clean or dirty?
Castles were very difficult to keep clean. There was no running water, so even simple washing tasks meant carrying a lot of bucketfuls of water from a well or stream. Few people had the luxury of being able to bathe regularly; the community was generally more tolerant of smells and dirt.
How often did medieval people bathe?
Typically speaking, people bathed once a week during the Middle Ages. Private baths were extremely rare – basically nobody had them – but public bathhouses were actually quite common. People who didn’t have that or who couldn’t afford to use one, still lived near a river.
How did royalty go to the bathroom?
The royals don’t use a ‘bathroom’ or ‘toilet’
Members of Britain’s most famous family don’t use the word “toilet.” Where they relieve themselves is called a “loo.” House Beautiful noted that they don’t say the word “bathroom” either unless there is an actual bathtub inside.
What are the 4 types of castles?
The three main types of castles are the motte and bailey castle, the stone keep castle, and the concentric castle.
Where did guards sleep in castles?
Castles did have large numbers of servants working in them. Many of those simply slept where they worked. Guards or soldiers would have barracks, kitchen workers might sleep on a simple straw mattress on the kitchen floor.