Battering rams were one of the many siege engines used in siege warfare in the middle ages, from catapults to siege towers, from underground mines to scaling ladders, sieges were probably some of the toughest fighting there was. Battering rams were probably the oldest form of siege equipment, as all you needed was a big trunk of a tree ( they could even leave the branches on the trunk as grip), sharpened on one end and a couple of men and they could batter down the gates of most prehistoric forts.
By the middle ages however, these were more advanced, and not only used on wooden gates but also on masonry walls. When this was done, they would reinforce the tip with metal in order to make it sharp enough to cause damage. The battering ram was often coated with hides to protect the ram from incendiary arrows and was also housed in order to protect it and its users when it was in use at the walls themselves. Some were known to have no wheels too and be pulled along wooden sleepers to their destination, sometimes with the help of cows to pull it.
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