Tea at Trianon: The History of Medieval Moats

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, June 7, 2024

The History of Medieval Moats

From Rural Historia:

Medieval moats were strategically dug around castles and other fortifications as a crucial part of their defensive systems, often situated just outside the walls. In locations where it was feasible, these moats could be filled with water, adding an extra layer of defense.

The primary function of a moat was to hinder the effectiveness of siege weaponry, such as siege towers and battering rams, which required close proximity to the walls to be effective. Additionally, a moat filled with water significantly impeded the tactic of mining, which involved digging tunnels under a castle to collapse its defenses.

There were variations in moat designs, including segmented moats, which comprised both dry and water-filled sections. Dry moats were particularly effective when cut across a narrow part of a spur or peninsula, known as neck ditches. In some castle designs, moats were used to separate different parts of the structure, such as the inner and outer wards, and these were referred to as cross ditches. (Read more.)