In the following essay I am going to compare the functions and forms of Bodiam and Bolton castles. The two castles were built in the second part of fourteenth century and their builders were granted a license to crenellate from Richard II. As they are both part of a transition in the history of castle building, I will try to illustrate their functions as both defensive systems and comfortable and sophisticated residences. By analysing their plans, I would examine the differences and similarities in the arrangement and the design of the two castles.
Bodiam Castle is a late medieval castle was built in East Sussex between 1385 and 1386 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge (Fig. 1). Bolton castle was built by Sir Richard le Scrope in 1379 (Fig. 2). Both castles were made at a developmental stage of the history of castle building. They were constructed at a time when nobility were looking for comfortable residences that offered them not only security, but also spacious and agreeable places to live in. As a result of the invention of guns and gunpowder, which made many of their defensive measures impractical, castles at that time were in decline. Moreover, the weakening of military feudalism granted the king with greater authority at the expense of power, possessed by the lords and barons. Hence, military castle structures were no longer as appropriate as they used to be. A newfound desire emerged in the lords to demonstrate the authority they still had; thus, castles became comfortable residences that display wealth, rank and status .
The massive towers of the remarkably beautiful Bodiam castle and the broad moat surrounding it appear as the perfect example of the medieval castle. Nevertheless, this fortress functioned both as a stronghold an...
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...g about castles. They impress with their sense of symmetry. Although the two castles were genuinely different in terms of size and planning, they both impress with their sense of symmetry and are centred on a courtyard and served as housing not only for their lord, but also for their households and visitors.
Works Cited
Curzon,. Bodiam Castle, Sussex: A Historical and Descriptive Survey (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925);
Goodall, J., The English Castle (London: Yale University Press, 2011)
Jackson, G., The Story of Bolton Castle (Clapham: Dalesman Publishing Company Ltd., 1966);
Morris, M.,Castle (London: Pan Books, 2004);
Platt, C., The castle in medieval England & Wales (London: Secker & Warburg, 1982);
Thackray, D., Bodiam Castle, (London: The National Trust, 1991);
Toy S., The Castles of Great Britain (London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1953);
Q: Use St Peter’s basilica and Donato Bramante’s Tempietto in Rome, in opposition to John Balthasar Neumann’s Pilgrimage Church of Vierzehnheiligen in Bamburg, Germany, to argue that a rational engagement with architecture is a more effective means to comprehend and understand architectural form.
CATAPULTS The catapult, was invented by the Romans, and plays a large role in the siege of any castle. Besiegers could fire 100-200 pound stones up to 1,000 feet. The catapult was used to destroy buildings and walls inside and outside of the castle walls, it could also destroy an enemies moral by throwing severed heads of comrades, they could spread disease by throwing shit and dead animals in, and they could destroy wooden building by throwing bundles of fire in.
Queen Anne architecture can not be defined easily. It's architectural style has many different characteristics. In this paper, I will show how the Queen Anne style evolved from the architecture that was common during the reign of Queen Anne herself and also show how it evolved in America in the late 1800's during the Industrial Revolution. I will then show how the Queen Anne style is incorporated into today's architectural design.
During the middle ages, most buildings and structures were constructed for a specific purpose, for example, houses, churches, statues, etc., but a castle’s main purpose, on the other hand, was very dependent on the occupier. Castles have been used throughout history as a military base, stronghold, household, and as a seat of government, and have been built over many generations and time periods. They have also been found all throughout the world. How have these monuments changed over time and how does the architecture of these castles compare to others of during the middle ages?
In the Medieval ages, everyone wanted to live in castles, not because they were beautiful and magical, but because they were safe and the most protective place to be during war. Every aspect of the castle was planned out strategically to defend themselves from attackers. Even the smallest of details were made so that the castle could be protected with efficiency. For example, windows near the ground were very narrow so that an enemy soldiers could not penetrate the...
But these contrived differences give rise to esthetic difficulties too. Because inherent differences—those that come from genuinely differing uses—are lacking among the buildings and their settings, the contrivances repre...
Castles in the Middle Ages were built primarily for defense in war. They were constantly being attacked so they had to be built very strong and almost impenetrable. Castles were very large to protect from invaders, but they were definitely not made for comfort. They were very dirty inside, but their main purpose was for defense. Castles were built with very strong walls. Some of the castles had walls that could be as big as thirty feet thick. They also had multiple walls so that if invaders got past the outer wall they still had to get past one or two more, this made defending the castle much easier. The walls were constructed with narrow, wedge-shaped slits in them for archers to shoot arrows at invaders. The outer walls also had holes in the floors for defenders to drop rocks down on invading people who had gotten through the first wall. These holes were called murder holes. Inside the castle were many knights, archers, and soldiers prepared to defend against anyone who breaks all of the way through the walls and gets inside of the castle. Castles also had very large gates and gatehouses to let people into the castle. There was a gatehouse for each wall. Each gatehouse usually had a very large metal and wooden gate that could be lowered into the opening to stop an enemy from getting in or it could be raised to let friends in. Besides huge gates, outer gatehouses also had drawbridges, which could be lowered across moats to let people into the castle. They were also raised to prevent people form getting across. Castles were also built in strategic places so that they could use natural defenses. For instance, some castles were built on the sides of mountains. Others were built in places with many trees surrounding them. Some were built near lakes and rivers, but most of them had moats dug around them.
Wilson, Christopher. "Thirteenth-Century Gothic." The Gothic Cathedral: the Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530. Reprinted ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2008. 91-120. Print.
Clark, George Thomas. "The castles of England and Wales at the Latter part of the Twelfth Century",
Once you see the Medieval Times Knight battle you will have a whole new appreciation for knights; a castle garden. It all started with the stairs. When it was time for the show to begin my family and I went to the grand staircase. Once we got there two trumpet players dressed in baggy pants and shirts started playing. Their trumpets were unusually long with banners on them. One banner had a lion's head on it and the other had a shield. The trumpet players played the most crisp and majestic sound I have ever heard. The sound rang through the castle and all of the crowds fell silent.
Inside of this retaining wall enclosure, the monks built the necessary structures for the monastery – churches, living quarters, a hermitage, cisterns, and even a cemetery. Almost all of the construction is dry-stone construction made from the rocks on t...
Architecture in the Carolingian period made good use of wood just as the Celto-Germanic period did. A major difference between the two was that Carolingian architects used stone only for important buildings such as churches and castles. Their buildings and plans for unfinished buildi...
The variety of articles, books and opinions pertaining to the New Palace of Westminster were quite interesting. While it is well known that there is confusion around the roles and work of Barry and Pugin on this famous piece of architecture, the range of opinions and there supporting resources were intriguing. Robert Dell published an article filled with supporting resources that really supported the fact that A.W.N. Pugin was the “true” architect for the Houses of Parliament while Roland Quinault defended quite the opposite, barely mentioning Pugin in his work. The book titled the The New Palace of Westminster provides a very different description of the building and its history than The History of Parliament organization article on the New Palace of Westminster.
The first castles built (Motte and Bailey) were made of wood and quick to build, but they were burnt and worn down easily, so the next castles were made of stone. (Square keeps) They were tall, strong, large and lasted long, but attackers would surround the castle and wait for ages for the people inside to come out. The third castles (Shell Keeps) were even stronger, but because they were made of heavy stone, they might collapse. So finally, the fourth castles (concentric) were built and they were the strongest, largest most defensive and most expensive castles built.
With the need for war came the need for protection. Castles surrounded the king for his protection against enemies. In addition,...