Back to return "Thursday of our artilleryman" at the castle !
This Thursday, July 13, the great lower room of the dungeon was invaded by a good number of weapons. Swords, polearms, cannons, arrows, bows, mail, armour, ... were invited to the delight of young and old alike.
Our king's artilleryman was our master-at-arms. He had helmets tried on, under-weighed swords, explained the evolution of weaponry in medieval times. Back to this animation!
How to defend yourself in the Middle Ages?
In our arms room, visitors were able to discover the full extent of medieval armament.
In the costume of a gunner from the Hundred Years War, Sire Minois embarks us on the fabulous history of the evolution of armament, cannon and its practices during the 14th and 15th centuries. Bombards, gunpowder, vulgar, a few pieces of artillery were present. The artilleryman's camp also presented the reconstruction of weapon racks and a great bulwark.
The most seasoned have tried their hand at weapons and have been recruited, for a while, into the army of our master-at-arms.
The crossbow
Of Phoenician or Chinese origin, according to some sources, the crossbow was perfected in the Middle Ages and became an extremely effective throwing weapon. Charles VII, during the Hundred Years War, had an army of around 6,000 crossbowmen.
The pros and cons :
The crossbow, superior to the bow as a siege weapon, was inferior to it as a field weapon. While an archer threw ten or twelve arrows, the crossbowman could hardly shoot more than three.
meet on Thursday July 27 or Thursday August 17 for the next arrivals of our king's artilleryman. It is included in the entrance ticket from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thanks to Monsignor Minois for his military cooperation!