[J Anstey]

Hi there

I am ready this book and really enjoying it. I am not learned enough in western martial arts to pick up on his shortcomings regarding weapon accuracy. But I have a couple of questions - please excuse my ignorance.

I the first siege they mention a "sow" frequently - what is this? A ditch? trench?

The also mention a "windlass" is this a type of shielding structure?

Many thanks and please no spoilers

Jason

[Dan Dickinson]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe a sow is a type of movable shed to protect men advancing towards the wall. It typically had an angled roof to deflect missiles and was covered in wet hides to protect against fire arrows etc.
A windlass is a name for a winch, most often referring to a small version used to draw the string back on a crossbow (though not knowing the exact reference you're referring to I can't say for sure).
I hope this helps,
Dan


Edit: this guy is using a windlass:

[Randall Moffett]

Due to medieval siege terms often blurring hard to say without reading the book. Sows usually refer to something like Dan said, a shed you can move about. I gather named so for the amount of leather covering it looking something like a sow.

Windlass is any type of winch. Crossbows of the period often have them as they cannot be spanned easily if very powerful as many were.

RPM