Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Torun Castle

  • Torun – Torun Castle (Battering Ram)

    Torun – Torun Castle (Battering Ram)

    This is one of several recreated medieval weapons on display at Torun Castle, with this being a not unsubtle battering ram. Various types of battering ram have been in use from antiquity through to around the sixteenth century, although the police in the UK now use an enforcer, or their own mini battering ram, to get through doors.

    The battering ram had to be pointed and covered in metal to have the most devastating effect on gates and walls. Before rolling it into position, the attackers would place wet hides along its structure to ensure that the defenders couldn’t try and set it on fire. A burnt battering ram wouldn’t have quite the same effect….

  • Torun – Torun Castle (Model of Castle)

    Torun – Torun Castle (Model of Castle)

    More on the history of this castle in another post, but above is a model of what the castle looked like until the locals tore it down in the 1450s in an argument with the Teutonic Knights.

    This is what is depicted on the left-hand side of the model, the bit under the roofed areas.

    This is what is depicted on the right-hand side of the model, the sweeping circular curtain wall.

    I think it’s fair to say that there isn’t a great deal left of the original castle….

  • Torun – Torun Castle (Masks of Shame)

    Torun – Torun Castle (Masks of Shame)

    These are modern copies in Torun Castle, but they’re intriguing nonetheless, they’re masks of shame (known as Schandmaske in German and Maski Wstydu in Polish) which were used during the medieval period. They were worn by those being punished for various misdemeanours, from gossiping to married couples arguing. The masks were designed to humiliate and encourage others not to behave in the same manner, with the victim sometimes also being placed in stocks at the same time. The practice went on until the eighteenth century in a few places, with some masks also being designed to cause significant discomfort and pain.

    And some more….