Before the fourteenth-century invention of gunpowder and the resulting cannon ports, a castle would have numerous holes and slits from which the defenders could fight back against attackers. These openings were small, virtually impossible to target from the outside. A gatehouse would typically have holes in the ceiling, through which any enemy who broke down the gate and got into the gatehouse could be shot--or have stones dropped on him. But arrow slits were the principal defense openings.
An arrow slit, as can be seen in this picture (Brancion castle in Burgundy), was very narrow on the outside, but wide on the inside, so that the archer could stand to the left or right, wherever he got the best shot at the attackers. Even if an excellent archer among the attackers (who, remember, would be shooting upward) was able to hit the arrow slit, he might miss the defender unless the latter was standing right in the middle.
An arrow slit does not let in very much light, yet they would be the only openings in the lower storeys of a castle. There wouldn't even be a door at ground level for the big central tower (donjon). Rather, there would be a wooden staircase on the outside of the tower that could be fired or cut if attackers got through the outer wall.
As a result, castles were dark for the most part. However, the people who lived there liked having light as much as anybody. Thus, upper stories had window seats, where one could sit by a large window, reading, sewing, talking, or just enjoying getting some rays. The windows did not have glass until the late Middle Ages; before then they would either be closed by shutters or be covered with greased parchment.
Above are some very elegant window seats which would have had fancy late medieval glass windows (also from Brancion castle).
© C. Dale Brittain 2018
For more on medieval castles, see my ebook, Positively Medieval: Life and Society in the Middle Ages, available from Amazon and other e-tailers.
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