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A French tapestry madę around 1460 illustrates The Life of St Peter. Heavily armoured infantrymen sleep in what may be a symbolic reference to the end of the Hundred Years War between France and England. (Musee de Cluny, Paris)

24 arbaletes d croc, 20 bows, two or three espńngals,

37,200 assorted crossbow bolts, arrows, etc., 72 spears, two bricoles (which may have been a form of trebuchet) and two couillars (perhaps another stone-throwing machinę); 12 cannons perńers, 200 Stones ready cut for these guns, 400 lampom with materials to make morę again for the cannon, 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of gunpowder, and 3,000 pounds of lead for bullets.

She also listed what was needed to besiege such a place: 600 carpenters, 600 assistant carpenters, 2,000 pioneers, 330 assorted crossbows, 300 bows, 262,000 assorted arrows and crossbow bolts, etc, 400 war axes, four engins yolants (perhaps stone-throwing engines or devices to help scalę the walls), four couillars,

1.000    Stones, 128 cannons, 1,170 Stones for these cannons, 5,000 pounds of lead for bullets and

30.000    pounds of gunpowder. Preparations on this scalę represented a massive expense in gold and time - less likely to be available to mobile attacking armies than to static resident garrisons.

When the much smaller castle of Montaillou was put into a State of readiness in July 1415, local men were expected to help the garrison of 32 soldiers. They were also expected to possess weaponry specified by the senechal. Most had cervellieres or ‘Genoese bascinets’ but no body armour, though they did have smali shields; all except one possessed swords. Some used crossbows while others were armed with genelaires, light javelins. Twenty or so other, perhaps morę powerful crossbows were kept in the castle with their ammunition. The castle itself had a donjon or keep, where the chatelain lived, plus a lower courtyard and a barbican with lower walls. The dry moat had to be cleared and a redoubt was built outside the door of the donjon. The lower courtyard had a wooden wali and was defended by three towers, some roofed with stone slates called lozes, and each having a smali cannon. The biggest tower also formed the entrance gate. The senechal now ordered that a wooden parapet or hoarding be added to the wali, while the entrance to the lower courtyard would be defended by additional walls forming a chicane to stop an enemy pushing a burning waggon against the wooden gate. Within the courtyard were gubiłeś, raised wooden platforms to allow the garrison to survey the surrounding countryside and proyide flanking fire. There were also several other buildings where the local inhabitants could live during a siege, and where people were expected to keep stocks of emergency food.

The same degree of care was put into offensive siege warfare. During prolonged sieges the French built fortified bastide ‘new towns’ facing the English-held positions. Sometimes these were of wood, sometimes of stone, in which case they might later be incorporated into a town’s defences. Major sieges could certainly involve substantial forces, as in