Slighting

Slighting is the act of deliberately damaging a high-status building, especially a castle or fortification, which could include its contents and the surrounding area.

[7] In some cases, it was used as a way of punishing the king's rebels or was used to undermine the authority of the owner by demonstrating his inability to protect his property.

[8] As part of the peace negotiations bringing The Anarchy of 1135–1154 to an end, both sides agreed to dismantle fortifications built since the start of the conflict.

[9] Similarly, in 1317 Edward II ordered the dismantling of Harbottle Castle in Northumberland in England as part of a treaty with Robert the Bruce.

[13] In the Levant, Muslim rulers adopted a policy of slighting castles and fortified towns and cities to deny them to Crusaders; Sultan Baybars, for example, instigated the destruction of fortifications at Jaffa in 1267, Antioch in 1268, and Ashkelon in 1270.

[24] The impact of slighting ranged from almost complete destruction of a site, as can be seen at Deganwy Castle, to a token gesture,[25] for example damaging elements such as arrowslits.

[29] In 1648, Parliament gave orders to slight Bolsover Castle but that "so much only be done to it as to make it untenable as a garrison and that it may not be unnecessarily spoiled and defaced.

[32] Documentary sources for the medieval period typically have little information on what slighting involved, so archaeology helps to understand which areas of buildings were targeted and how they were demolished.

[33][34] For the English Civil War, destruction accounts are rare but there are some instances such as Sheffield Castle where detailed records survive.