What Are Arrow Slits In Medieval Buildings?
Arrow slits are also known as arrow loops. Medieval castles used to be defended by the longbow and the crossbow. The ideal position for an archer was well protected by the thick stone walls of the castle but with an exit point for his arrow and enough field of view to take a reasonable aim. The answer that castle architects of the time came up with was an opening on the inside of the wall that narrowed to a small vertical slit in the outside of the wall. The wider opening on the inside of the wall were the arrow loops – the space provided for the archer to manipulate the bow, and the slits were the external openings. Because of its weight, a crossbow was more effective when held in the kneeling position and arrow loops were often modified by adding a small circular opening at the base of a slit to make it easier for the ‘new’ bows to be used effectively.
