Siege Mantlet

Timeline

1. 1171–1173Crusader castle siege lines in the Levant · LevantWhen approaching walls, besiegers used large wooden shields or wheeled mantlets to shield crossbowmen and archers, allowing them to fire and suppress defenders under battlement fire; such equipment was relatively light and mainly used for fire cover during trench-filling and ladder-erecting stages.
2. c. 1175–1177Fortresses on the Syria–Palestine frontier · SyriaAgainst defenders' fire attacks and rolling stones, attackers shaped thick wooden roofs into a testudo/penthouse form, covered with wet hides or non-combustible material; engineers operated battering rams or dug at wall foundations under the cover, forming a semi-enclosed work that could slowly advance.
3. 1178–1180Upper Jordan River (Fortress of Jacob's Ford) · LevantWhen Baldwin IV besieged Saladin's newly built fortress of Jacob's Ford in 1179, both sides made extensive use of trebuchets and protective works; siege tower advances required mantlets and trench-filling to open lanes, with protective works, engines, and ladders forming multi-layered coordination, reflecting the highly organized attack-defense systems of late 12th-century siege warfare.