Name: __________________________
Mr. Legagneur
Due Date: _______________________
World History
Medieval Battle Challenge
During the Medieval era of history, life was lived by a very different set of political,
economic and social rules. The only form of government was a monarchy, where the king or
queen ruled by “divine right”. Divine Right simply meant that God appointed the king or
queen to rule with absolute power. The main economic system was feudalism, in which the
king appointed a baron or knight to oversee a portion of his lands in return for loyalty and
protection from invasion.
It’s the year 1076 AD and the kingdom of Legalopolis is under attack from the
barbarians of Studentopolis. Your task is simple, as a defender of the country you are
ordered to build King Legagneur a fantastic castle to defend the kingdom. The castle must
be able to hold up against the attacks of the catapult wielding barbarians and their evil
leaders. The castle must be given a name and have a Coat of Arms flying over the castle.
The coat should reflect a virtue, moral, value or family sign for each group member.
The Castle must not only be beautiful but the strongest ever built. You will be
required to research many different castle designs and technology in order to accomplish
this task. You must design this castle to reflect a castle from the Middle Ages.
The Process: (EACH STEP MUST BE TYPED WHEN TURNED IN
BY THE GROUP)
Step 1: To begin your project you must research what daily life was like in
a Medieval Castle. Use the following questions to help guide your team:
Due Date______________________
1. What was a “torre aldabarranas”? What advantage did it have during the
Middle Ages?
2. Give the techniques defenders used to take a Castle doorway and walls.
3. How did castles use archers to defend themselves? What advantages did an
archer have with a longbow over a crossbow?
4. What ways were castle sieges ended during the Middle Ages?
5. What roles did each of the following church leaders have: Bishops, Parish
Priests and Village Priests?
6. Was there water available on all floors? Explain.
7. List four things that you learned about Knights?
8. Your Group must send a castle postcard to Mr. Legagneur:
flegagneur@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Step 2 Glossary Terms are required
Due Date __________________
1. Arch
2. Allure
3. Wicket
4. *Turret
5. *Rampart
6. *Chapel
7. *Postern Gate
8. Bailey
9. Parapet
10. Barbican
11. Parados
12. *Battlement
13. *Outer ward
14. Buttery
15. Outer Curtain
16. Buttress
17. *Murder Holes
18. Cross Wall
19. *Moat
20. *Keep
21. *Great Hall
22. Great Chamber
23. *Drawbridge
24. *Gate House
25. *Dungeon
26. Gallery
27. Catapult
28. *Coat of Arms
 Definitions required in the final build of the castle
have an asterisk *
Step 3: Castle Research
After you have identified all the key terms needed for your design and building of
a castle. You will begin the research for your castle. You will be provided with web sites
for castle designs and build for the project.
Step 4: Castle Blueprint
Due Date________________________
After you have completed the first two steps, during step 3 begin drawing a
blueprint for the design of the castle. Make sure it has the required definitions in the
blueprint and reflects the desire of the group as a whole. All definitions need to be clearly
labeled on the final blueprint for the castle. Castles must be designed to a 10 to 1 scale.
Step 5 Castle Build
Due Date _______________________________
You are required to build a working model of a castle. It must be built according
to your blueprint design specifications exactly, remember to build the castle to scale.
(Any castles that are purchased or built by professionals will be declared invalid and
receive no credit) Remember to have a working drawbridge for the caste and the other
definitions within the build of the castle; it must also have a coat of arms flying over
showing off your colors. All definitions need to be clearly labeled on the final build of
the caste.
Evaluation Questions
Due Date __________________________________
Your grade will be based on castle design, class presentation and your evaluation paper.
Your evaluation paper will be a short paper (no more than two typed, no less than one
typed) answering all of the following questions.
1. Would you have liked to live during the Middle Ages? Why or why
not? Give a detailed explanation.
2. Do you think that a castle would be effective in today’s society? Why
or why not?
3. Would feudalism be an effective government in today’s changing
world? Explain your answer.
4. How important is the Church in the lives of Europeans during the
Middle Ages?
5. What was the importance of the images chosen on your Coat of Arms
and why did each member chose this image to represent them?
Rubric for Medieval Battle Challenge
A
Well built castle with a coat of arms flying, and has no raw materials
showing. Castle has all 14 definitions built and labeled within the final castle
build correctly. Castle shows time and effort has been taken in construction
and the castle name is present on the castle walls. Castle has a working
drawbridge over a defined moat area. All structures are easily defined and
well built.
B
Well built castle with a coat of arms flying overhead. Some building material
is showing and only 11-13 definitions are built and labeled within the final
castle build correctly. Name is present but seems awkward and misplaced
within the castle. Castle has a drawbridge but is not a fully working model.
Structures are hard to determine and misplaced but are well built.
C
Well built castle without a coat of arms flying overhead. Numerous locations
within the castle display building materials. Only 9-10 definitions are present
and correctly labeled within the final building phase of the castle. Castle has
no true working drawbridge and there are several missing structures within
the castle walls.
D
Poorly built castle without a coat of arms, only 6-8 definitions are present
and correctly labeled within the final build phase of the castle. No
drawbridge seems present and there are very few correctly labeled buildings
within the castle walls.
F
Shoddy workmanship and construction evident in the construction of the
castle. Castle has fewer than 6 definitions correctly labeled and placed within
the castle. No effort made to hide building materials and looks thrown
together overnight.
World History
Mr. Legagneur
Battle Challenge Builder Websites
The web sites listed below will help you with your research on Medieval
Catapults/Castles and construction. Feel free to look on other related web sites for further
information on your project.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet
www.xenophongroup.com/montjoie/treb_etc.htm
http://www.montaguemillennium.com/medieval/Medieval_Siege_Weapons.htm
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle36.htm
http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/seige_engines.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/siege-engine
http://www.castlewales.com/siege.html
http://www.shoshone.k12.id.us/medieval/siege.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/7967/web2.htm
http://www.castlesontheweb.com/glossary.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/race.html
http://www.castlewales.com/life.html
http://www.britannia.com/history/david1.html
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/feudal.html
http://www.medieval-castles.net/
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle33.htm
http://www.newyorkcarver.com/castles/castles.htm
http://kotn.ntu.ac.uk/castle/view.html
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle6.htm
http://www.medieval-castles.org/
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/C/castle/
Step 1
Max Total
100
Step 2
Max Total
50
Castle
Post Card
Max Total
50
Coat of
Arms
Max Total
75
Project
Blueprint
Max Total
50
Project
Evaluation
Max Total
75
Final
Project
Build
Max Total
200
Middle Ages Battle Challenge Project Grade Max Total 600 Points= A+
Each step has a maximum total that can be scored by a group. For
every section missing or done improperly points were deducted from the
overall grade. If you have any concerns over the grade that your group
received please make it known to Mr. Legagneur. Four random
teachers will be chosen from the building to grade your projects and
their grades will be averaged to achieve your overall final project grade.
Missing labels, coat of arms, poor effort, craftsmanship, organization of
items, etc.; will result in either higher or lower grades for the final
project. Battering Ram grades were determined by design,
craftsmanship and its ability to dent a castle drawbridge. Catapult
grades were determined by firing distance in regards to water balloons
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