Editing Castle (section)

===Curtain wall===
{{Main|Curtain wall (fortification)}}
[[File:Beaumaris aerial.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Beaumaris Castle]] in [[Anglesey]], [[North Wales]], with curtain walls between the lower outer towers, and higher inner curtain walls between the higher inner towers.]]
Curtain walls were defensive walls enclosing a bailey. They had to be high enough to make scaling the walls with ladders difficult and thick enough to withstand bombardment from siege engines which, from the 15th&nbsp;century onwards, included gunpowder [[artillery]]. A typical wall could be {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} thick and {{convert|12|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, although sizes varied greatly between castles. To protect them from [[Mining (military)|undermining]], curtain walls were sometimes given a stone skirt around their bases. Walkways along the tops of the curtain walls allowed defenders to rain projectiles on enemies below, and [[battlement]]s gave them further protection. Curtain walls were studded with towers to allow [[enfilade|enfilading]] fire along the wall.<ref>{{harvnb|Friar|2003|p=86}}</ref> Arrowslits in the walls did not become common in Europe until the 13th&nbsp;century, for fear that they might compromise the wall's strength.<ref name="Cathcart King 84">{{harvnb|Cathcart King|1988|p=84}}</ref>