14th century Europe was a bloody place. War and violence were embedded in this medieval world. But our most enduring images of this time are of shining valour, chivalry, pageantry and awe-inspiring castles towering above the land. These heavily fortified castles were the centers of medieval life, politics and power. To hold a castle was to effectively control the land and the people around it. If conflict occurred - and it invariably did - castles were the prime targets for attack.

Between the Kingdoms of England and France lay the Duchy of Normandy, ancestral home of the English kings. Normandy's strategic position as well as its rich farm land made the tiny principality a prize worth fighting for. The feud between the two countries for control escalated into an almighty one hundred years war. As a result, the most advanced castle designs were developed - and - the most sophisticated methods of bringing them down. Siege warfare became a very serious business.

This world of perpetual conflict was vividly chronicled by the 14th century poet and historian, JEAN DE FROISSART. His first hand accounts of the battles and sieges during this war make him history's FIRST EVER WAR CORRESPONDENT. SIEGE! CASTLES AT WAR will bring Froissart back to life and place him in the front line where he reports live on the events that take place when a Norman castle is besieged by an invading English army.

The pageantry of medieval warfare will be played out before the viewer's very eyes - just like a game of chess, we will witness moves and counter-moves, bluff and brawl, with Froissart as our impartial guide. This will not be a reconstruction of an historical event. By creating a fictional siege, the film will give a broader

feel of the various and devious tactics employed in medieval warfare.

Froissart stands alongside the French commander as they espy the approaching English army and the standard call for surrender. Froissart turns to camera and reports:
"There were at least three thousand men in armour, knights and squires, mounted on good coursers, and twenty thousand other brave and warlike men, armed each in his own fashion." A messenger is sent with the message: calling for a swift surrender. The French commander rejects the call and prepares for a long siege. The English commander first orders his men to surround the castle so as to starve the French into submission. Then over the course of the next months, the English escalate the level of violence against the castle - siege engines are assembled, catapults and battering rams bombard the walls probing for weaknesses. Tunnels are dug to undermine foundations.

But to no avail, the French hold firm, and are eventually rescued by a relief army. The dead and wounded are innumerable - no side the winner - only the castle remains unscathed - proof that it could do the job medieval man designed it for.

SIEGE! CASTLES AT WAR! will recreate these turbulent scenes at a number of surviving strongholds and combine these with manuscript illustrations of the time. The film will be cut to maximise excitement and suspense, for medieval sieges were not battles of glory, they were battles of cunning, patience and nerve. The viewer will experience the immediacy and urgency as Froissart interprets the events of this fundamental turning point in European history.