Medieval Castles

This image is for sale on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261809045614?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Medieval castles were not the pretty, fairy tale castles we see at amusement parks. These incredible structures were strong, functional and a very practical way of surviving the middle ages. Outside the crenelated walls was dangers of all sorts. Only the peasant farmers ventured out every day. The rest of the people stayed inside the bolted gates laboring over supplies and ammunition.

Many of these castles were so large and heavily populated, they evolved into the first European cities. These early medieval castles were very crowded. When the plague hit, it usually killed everyone behind the walls so sometimes these castles fell from the inside out.

The Mongolians were the first (that we know of) to use germ warfare. The double walls at the city of  Constantinople were impenetrable due to the towers that were strategically located every fifteen feet. If you managed to dodge the arrows while scaling the first wall, you had another thick stone wall to conquer. There was no way out from in between these two layered walls that wrapped around the city. Even the ferocious Mongolian warriors could not get past such as set up so they decided to catapult the dead victims from a plague over the walls. After doing this, all they had to do was sit back and wait.