When Castles Were Besieged, Did Medieval Armies Attack Peasants Too ?

When we think of a medieval siege, we picture knights and siege engines trying to bring a castle to its knees. But what about the people who weren’t directly involved in the fighting—the peasants living on the castle’s lands? Were they attacked too, or were they left alone? In this video, we’ll explore the fates of farmers, merchants, and day laborers to see what happened to them when their lord’s castle came under siege. Get Any FREE audible book here: https://amzn.to/4i6HcMk Get Bernard Cornwell Grail Quest Series for FREE on Audible here: https://amzn.to/4oAsiQH Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/sandrhomanhistory Paypal (thank you: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/SandRhomanhistory Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sandrhoman Bibliography Primary sources Bolkenhain, Martin von, Chronik, in: Franz Wachter (ed.), Geschichtsschreiber Schlesiens des XV. Jahrhunderts (Scriptores Rerum Silesiacarum, vol. 12), Breslau 1883, pp. 1-20. Eyb, Ludwig von (d.J.), Geschichten und Taten Wilwolts von Schaumberg, 1507, in: Helgard Ulmschneider (ed.), Geschichten und Taten Wilwolts von Schaumberg. Kritische Edition (Studien und Texte zum Mittelalter und zur Frühen Neuzeit, vol. 21), Münster/New York 2018, pp. 69-324. Suchenwirt, Peter, Von herzog Albrechts ritterschaft, in: Theodor Hirsch/Max Töppen/Ernst Strehlke (eds.), Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum. Die Geschichtsquellen der preußischen Vorzeit bis zum Untergang der Ordensherrschaft (vol. 2), Leipzig 1863, pp. 161-169. Secondary sources Grünhagen, Colmar, "Bolkenhain, Martin von" in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 3 (1876), p. 105 [online version]; URL: https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd100953565.html#adbcontent [last accessed on 14.07.25]. Keen, Maurice, Nobles, Knights and Men-at-Arms in the Middle Ages. London/Rio Grande 1996. Morillo, Stephen, A General Typology of Transcultural Wars. The Early Middle Ages and Beyond, in: Kortüm, Hans-Henning (ed.), Transcultural Wars. From the Middle Ages to the 21st Century, Berlin 2006, pp. 29-42. Paravicini, Werner, Die Preußenreisen des Europäischen Adels. Part 1 (Supplements to Francia, vol. 17/1), Sigmaringen 1989. Prietzel, Malte, Warfare in the Middle Ages. Handlungen, Erinnerungen, Bedeutungen (War in History, vol. 32), Paderborn 2006. Strickland, Matthew, Rules of War or War without Rules? Some Reflections on Conduct and the Treatment of Non-Combatants in Medieval Transcultural Wars, in: Kortüm, Hans-Henning (ed.), Transcultural Wars from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century. Berlin2006, pp. 107-140.