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Author Topic:   Drawbridges
johond
Member
posted 02-26-2003 10:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for johond   Click Here to Email johond     Edit/Delete Message
Where can I find the history of drawbridges. The who, where and when it was invented. My son has a grade 4 project for school and I found stuff on how to build it, but he need to know the above question too.

Thanks

Peter
Moderator
posted 02-26-2003 04:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Peter   Click Here to Email Peter     Edit/Delete Message
I don't think you will find anything as such on the subject. Though you will tend to find articles looking at the subject scattered through various journals. A good book on castles from the library should have something on them.
As to who invented them !
They crop up in many countries within a certain period. And certainly the Normans had them incorperated into their Motte & Bailey system.

johond
Member
posted 02-28-2003 11:12 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for johond   Click Here to Email johond     Edit/Delete Message
Thanks for getting back to me.

You are correct, finding out who invented it was very difficult and never found it. I read books from the library which even talked about it during the Roman empire using it in assault towers they used. Most mentioned the Norman period, which fits in with the project being during the mideival period.

Thanks for gettng back to me about it.

duncan
Senior Member
posted 02-28-2003 12:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for duncan   Click Here to Email duncan     Edit/Delete Message
The idea goes far back before the Romans and even predates the Greeks who used assault towers equipped with them also.

------------------
Megan and Ralph
Castle Duncan

Better to say, 'Here it is.' than 'Here it was.'
Scottish proverb

Peter
Moderator
posted 02-28-2003 03:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Peter   Click Here to Email Peter     Edit/Delete Message
My apologies for the lack of information in books on this subject. I had a look through a selection of mine, and the info really wasn't there.
The basic 'drawbridge' that has been mentioned did exist, which was just that .. a 'withdrawing bridge'.
But, as these things happen, in my latest 'Castellum' from Italy there is an article dedicated to .. I Ponti Levatoi', which is just Italian for the same thing.
And the researcher does state .. " There is no evidence that drawbridges were used by the ancients, or Byzantine or Arab epochs, but rather they began to appear at the beginning of the XII century, especially in the French Romanesque Donjons" ... end of quote.
This is no doubt based on information to do with castles only, and not with other items such as siege engines, or, even Saxon defences in England which used a 'DrawBridge'.
Many examples are quoted in the article, which makes for interesting reading, be it in Italian, with English summary I hasten to add !

CastleChick
Member
posted 03-06-2003 01:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for CastleChick     Edit/Delete Message
Hi, you must be very nice to help your son, but all you need to do is go to google, probably the most needed information on those topics will come from there!!!

All times are PT (US)

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