Fourteenth Century AD

Worksheet 4

‘A Life for a Life’

King John’s Castle, Limerick

Fact File

The buildings we see nowadays at King John’s Castle have lasted so many years because they are made from stone. There would have been other buildings, also, but these were made from wood and so, have not lasted.

The bailey, or courtyard, within the shelter of the walls and the towers would have been lined with thatched wooden buildings housing all trades and facilities to keep life in the castle running smoothly.

As well as holding knights, squires and pages, a castle like this would have housed tradesmen of all kinds. It would have been like a small town.

Read &Write:

1. Chapter 14 Where is the Armourer’s room?

2. Chapter 14 What is the man who makes arrows called?

3. Chapter 14 Make a list of the wooden buildings within the bailey.

4. Chapter 14 Where was the chapel and the Great Hall?

5. Chapter 14 Name two games played by the squires and pages?

6. Chapter 14 What was a trebuchet used for?

Draw…!

Find a picture of a trebuchet in a history book or in an encyclopaedia and draw a careful picture of it.

Explore…!

Ask your teacher or parent to arrange a class visit to King John’s Castle in Limerick city when you have finished reading ‘A Life for a Life’. Perhaps you could make a list of the differences between the castle now in the 21st century and the castle that I describe in the fourteenth century.

Imagine…!

That you are a page in this great castle. You wait at table, you look after the knight and you practise sword fighting and horse riding. Write in your diary about one day in your life.

That you are a beautiful young girl living in the castle; write your diary.