The Medieval House

Going back to a medieval house, I believe is important these days. Before our modern home securities people kept their houses secure the way they knew how, which is what we do today. I thought a lot about the security we lean towards today and most of it scares me. I have known a few shady people in my earlier days and basically any security measure that goes through a digital source, that source can be deceived.

When you unlock doors and windows and control cameras and alarms through the internet or even from a private intranet you are in danger of someone else being able to do the same thing. You can ask any security sales company and they will tell you that your security system could get hacked. They do take a lot precautions but it can still happen. The only consoling words they can give is that the chance of getting hacked is low.

Wanting to secure my home for my family I started looking at alternate methods. The reason I started the article with people who lived before our modern securities is because I found some very useful things they did. These practices can’t be hacked by a cyber hacker and someone wanting to use brute force will have a hard time getting through them. I am going to list the best five medieval house security ideas; and I do some of these in my home.

1 – Security Door Bar:

This is simply a 2 x 4 that is placed in the middle of the door on brackets. All you need to get is a 2 x 4 x 6 foot long; you can trim it down to the length you need. The next thing is the brackets. You want to get the heavy duty brackets. Most come with screws, but I recommend buying lag bolts that are 2″ to 2-1/2″ long. They are more heavy duty and only costs a couple of dollars. You can buy the brackets here.

You can place your brackets about a foot above your door knob. One on each side of the door jamb trim. There you should hit a 2 x 4 wall stud. After they are mounted, trim the 2 x 4 where you have 2 to 3 inches of the board passed the bracket on each side.

I have seen videos where cops have tested this. They used their battering ram to try and break through the door and it took a lot of time and many hits before they were able to get through. I don’t think someone trying to break in quietly will go this route to gain entry. If they do their intentions are not good and you have plenty of time to get a weapon and call the police.

2 – Securing Your Windows Part 1:

There are two good ways you can secure your windows, that’s why there is a part 1 and a part 2.

The first way is to install shutters for the inside of your windows. They are called solid plantation interior shutters or solid panel shutters. They are mounted inside the window trim and can be opened to let the sun in and air when the window is raised. You can then shut the shutters and it closes off the entire window. This is great for people wanting privacy or those who work the night shift and want a dark room to sleep in. Also these shutters cancel out a lot of outside noise. But back to the reason for these being in a medieval house design.

When you need to you can shut these interior shutters and they do have a lock to keep them closed. This is pretty good security for your windows, but you can also make this a little better. You can install brackets on either side of the window trim about half way up and use a 2 x 4 for extra security.

It’s basically just like the first medieval security idea for your doors. If they want to try to kick it in they would have to break the window and still they would have to kick and kick continuously on the reinforced shutters and possibly still not be able to get in. If they do continue to get inside you would be ready with all that noise and time.

These shutters are actually quite nice. They really accent the wall and the window, and the brackets and 2 x 4 can be painted to a nice decorative touch. It’s what any medieval house interior should look like.

3 – Securing Your Windows Part 2:

The second way is to get some 3/4″ diameter wooden dowel rods. Go to your window and measure from the top side of the bottom window pane frame to the top of the window trim. Cut your dowel rod just a hair longer and gently tap the rod in place on one side of the window. Now if someone unlocked your window from the outside they are not going to be able to open it.

There is still the chance of them breaking your window and getting inside pretty quickly, but a step can be taken to resolve this. Now this remedy isn’t very medieval, but it’s effective. What it is, is shatterproof and security window film.

The thickness of this film ranges from very thin to thick. In all of these you can still see through your windows like it wasn’t even there. I have watch several videos with someone taking a baseball bat and a prybar to try to break through these. Of coarse they were using some of the thickest material. It would crack and splinter where it was hit but it would not break. They had to keep beating it and finally the window pane distorted enough where it came out of its frame and was pushed in.

The wooden rods along with this film will deter most criminals because of the noise they would have to make. But if they are persistent this will give you the time you need to get prepared for their arrival into your home.

4 – Get A Dog:

Dogs and other animals have been protecting and defending people and their property for a long time. Geese were used by the romans. The geese would make a ruckus and pounce on anyone that came close to where they were at.

The size of the dog would matter depending on how you intend to use them. A small dog can alert you to any noise they hear and with your medieval home in place you will have plenty of time to be ready. A larger dog can alert you as well, but they do have the added benefit of being able to defend you.

With that being said a larger dog can also turn on you or others. I see it all the time on the news and on social media. So you need to weigh the good with the bad for each kind of dog.

5 – Build or Have A Fence Built:

The word fence comes from the old English word “fens” which means to protect or defend. Fences has been used for a long time, but in modern times they are used more for decoration or a type of privacy. There are fences still made today that can be used for protection.

Security fences are available but you do need to check the regulations in your area. Like an eight foot high fence is great but some residential areas limit the height of a fence to six foot.

Welded wire mesh fences are great because you really can’t climb them and they would be hard to cut with wire cutters because of the pattern being close together and the mesh being made out of 6 gauge or thicker wire.

Another good fence type that you can have in most residential places are Palisade fences. These fence are made of a strong steel construction with the top of the fence strongly angling to the outside of the perimeter. This fence would be very hard to climb since it pushes you back as you get close to the top.

Final Thoughts:

I believe you can make your home a lot safer with these methods than a modern security system. Security system companies try their best to secure their information and the technology that works their products. I believe this, but people are the ones creating this technology and it’s other people who keep adapting and developing the technology to overcome it.

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