ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Medieval fortification

Okay, kiddo, so imagine you live in a castle a long, long time ago. You want to make sure your castle is safe and no one can just come in and take over. Well, that's where medieval fortifications come in!

Fortifications are basically ways people built walls and other defenses around their castle or city to protect themselves. People who lived during medieval times were always worried about attacks from enemies and invaders, so they built really strong walls around their houses and cities.

Medieval fortifications had lots of parts to them. They had walls made of stone or other tough materials that were pretty tall and wide. The walls were usually really thick too, so that it would be very hard to break through them. The walls also had towers sticking up from them here and there.

These towers had two big jobs. First, people could watch out from them and see if anyone was coming to attack. If someone was coming, they could warn everyone and then prepare to fight or hide. The other job of towers was to help defend the walls. If enemies were trying to climb over the wall, people in the towers could shoot arrows or throw rocks down at them to stop them from getting in.

Another part of medieval fortifications were called gates. These were the ways to get in and out of the castle or city. But, you might be thinking, if the gates were ways in, wouldn't they be weak spots in the wall? Actually, medieval people were pretty smart about this. They built really strong gates with lots of bars and locks to keep enemies out. Sometimes they even built two or three sets of gates, so that it would be even harder for attackers to get in.

As you can see, lots of thought and effort went into building medieval fortifications. The people who built them wanted to make sure they were safe and protected, even if an enemy army was trying to attack them. Pretty cool, huh?