Siege of Nottingham--Day Two

Siege of Nottingham, Day Two. After taking control of the outer bailey and barbican, Richard faced the real challenge—the stone walls encircling the middle and inner baileys of the castle. So he set carpenters to building mangonels; we even know the name of the chief carpenter, a Master Roger. He also had them build a gallows and hanged several of John’s sergeants taken prisoner the day before, a graphic reminder to the rebel defenders what happened to a garrison if a castle refused to surrender and was taken by storm. He then gave them the night to mull that over.
A very interesting footnote to this siege is that according to the Pipe Rolls, Richard had Greek fire with him. This eastern incendiary weapon was legendary in the west, with stories brought back by crusaders of its mythical properties. It was said it could be extinguished only by sand or urine, that it burned on water, that its use was accompanied by thunder and black smoke. The Byzantines were famous for its use, and the ingredients were a state secret. But the Saracens used a variation and this is likely where Richard got the recipe, which we think included pine resin, naptha (crude oil) and sulphur. There is no evidence that Richard used it at the siege, which makes sense since Nottingham was a royal castle and repairs would have had to come out of his coffers. But I was fascinated by this little nugget of information. Interestingly enough, it was reported that Richard’s grandfather, Geoffrey of Anjou, used Greek fire during the siege of Montreuil-Bellay.