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Medieval society and knights in Europe
Medieval society and knights in Europe
Medieval society and knights in Europe
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BRITISH CASTLES
Great Britain’s castles exemplify artistic characteristics and were essential elements in the lives of kings, lords, nobles, and chieftains. The word castle means a building or group of buildings usually intended as a residence of a king, lord, noble, or chieftain. There are many different types of castles, and the features about them are simply amazing. Warfare was also an important issue involving castles. They had to have some means of protection.
The castles reached their fullest development in the medieval period, even though fortified building had been around much earlier. The castles created a feudal system, which gave them their greatest importance. The feudal system was divided into three classes: the knights and nobles, clergy, and peasants. The knights and nobles’ job was to defend society, the clergy was to pray, while the peasants had the duty to till the soil and support other classes (Collier’s Encyclopedia 532). The origin of has been traced back to the late Roman times when men placed themselves under a man stronger and wealthier than themselves (Rowling 31). The knights lived in castles built upon hilltops or in the bend of rivers. There they received vessels, held meeting: and upon occasion, defended themselves from rivals.
There are many different general styles of castles in Britain. One of the styles is a motte and bailey, which was one of the first types of castles built. The castle was made of a motte, which was a large man-made mound of earth. The top of the mound was surrounded by wooden palisades, which were like logs. Within those logs was a wooden keep. This was used as a lookout tower and a last refuge or keep (Farndon 7). The only way to get into the motte was across a sloping bridge, placed on high pillars. The bailey was next to the motte, and wooden palisades also surrounded it. A ditch of water protected the bailey. The motte and bailey were connected by a flying bridge that could be torn down if the bailey was not needed anymore. Since the motte and bailey were made of wood and earth none of the castles have survived completely today (Remfry 1). Norman’s were few so they must have had to force people to help build it (Farndon 6). By the eleventh century the motte and bailey form of castle was widely spread (Alistair 3).
Another type of castle is a shell keep.
Others were more like slaves. They owned nothing and were pledged to their local lord. They worked long days, 6 days a week, and often barely had enough food to survive”(“Middle Ages History”). Knights were above the peasants and they were given land granted by the barons in exchange for their military services if the king needed it. They were responsible for protecting the baron who granted them land as well as the baron’s family and the manor they lived at. The knights were able to keep any amount of land they were given, and they gave out the rest to the serfs. The lord, or baron, was above the knight in the social class divide. They were given land by the king and in return they showed loyalty to the monarch. They provided the king with fully equipped knights if the king needed some to serve. If the baron “did not have an army, sometimes they would pay the king a tax instead. This tax was called shield money”(“Middle Ages History”). The king was at the top of the feudal system and held the most power and wealth. The king could not maintain control over all the land in England so he divided the land up to the barons which eventually
What factors influenced the design and construction of Portchester Castle? During Roman times, Portchester Castle was an important link with the Roman Empire as it was situated on the coast. When the Normans arrived Portchester Castles was considered to be important as it provided a link to Normandy. The Normans did not have the sophisticated technology, the resources or the amount of men that the Romans had had.
Is the architectural design of modern homes slowly changing back to the architectural design of castles in the Middle Ages? If design of homes is changing back to design of castles is it a reflection on our society that castles of the Middle Ages were built primarily for defense. Does this mean that as a society we are tying to pull away from each other? There are many similar characteristics and features between modern homes and castles that are incorporated into the design specifically for defense reasons.
Australia has the terrible condition of having an essentially pointless and prefabricated idea of “Aussiness” that really has no relation to our real culture or the way in which we really see ourselves. We, however subscribe to these stereotypes when trying to find some expression of our Australian identity. The feature film, The Castle, deals with issues about Australian identity in the 1990’s. The film uses techniques like camera shots, language and the use of narration to develop conflict between a decent, old fashioned suburban family, the Kerrigans and an unscrupulous corporation called Airlink. Feature films like The Castle are cultural products because they use attitudes, values and stereotypes about what it means to be Australian.
From my own knowledge and looking at the castle I can tell that it was
Before knights were created, the defense on the borders was low. Europe was being invaded from the north, east, south, and west. Knights were meant to protect their king and their land. The “invasions of the Magyars from the east, Muslims from the south, and Vikings from the north struck western Europe,” which allowed knights to show their power and defeat enemies (met museum).
Manor House also has a moat, the rare thing about this most is that it
As time progressed the feudal system was created. It was designed to divide the lands and protect from attack. The king first gave a fief or a piece of land to a royal vassal. As proof for this exchange in land a vassal would swear to the lord to be his man all the days of his life and protect him against "all men who may live or die." Next came investiture. Investiture was a symbolic gesture when a King or a lord presented a royal vassal or a vassal a stick, a small rod, or a clod of earth to show that he has given him a fief. Now this royal vassal was in charge of a huge piece of land. In order to defend it he would then divide his land into smaller pieces. He would take these smaller pieces and give them to warriors or who agreed to be his own vassals. Thus, the royal vassal became a lord to other vassals. The vassals now under this lord would now divide their lands and grant fiefs to warriors of their own. Last in the dividing of land was the knight whose parcel of land was too small to be divided.
Constructing the Whittington castle in 845, the builders designed it after the Motte and Bailey style castles. But it was later remodeled in 1221 replacing the old structure with stone. Originally, the castle was assembled with seven towers, each about 18 meters high, with wall 3.7 meters thick, and a drawbridge over 12 meters long. Now, only the gatehouse remains. Around the castle, extensive marshlands acted as protection in medieval days. The remnants of Whittington castle are situated in the small village of Whittington, a few miles outside of Shrewsbury, England.
Knights and their role in medieval society. Knights were an integral part of medieval society. They originally began with primitive warriors such as the Mongols who fought on horseback for added speed and power, but quickly advanced to chivalrous gentleman such as the Normans. Much has been written about medieval knights, with the most famous being a series of legends about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Arthur and his knights were the ultimate example of what a perfect knight should have been.
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.
Castle Vale was built in between 1964 to 1969 to accommodate 20,000 people (Mornement, 2005). In the early days, the estate was comprised of 34 tower blocks alongside a mix of maisonettes and houses. This area was initially redeveloped throughout the 60s to provide houses to the people who had to be relocated through slum clearance in Birmingham City Centre.
Military architecture like castles and forts were built for mainly defence. They helped defend the region by having a place to watch over the land to see if any tribes or Vikings were invading. This protected the land and therefore the people were more prepared for
The Tower of London is a 900-year-old castle and fortress (Jarus). William the Conqueror created the first fortifications after the conquest of London in A.D. 1066 (Jarus). The Tower of London is not just one large tower; it is made up of 13 structures on the inside of the fortress, and 6 structures on the outside (McGillick). The entire fortress stretches across 12 acres of land (Jarus). On the outside of the Tower of London there is a large ditch and palisade on the north and west sides of the fortress (McGillick). There are four large turrets at the corners of the fortress. The dome shape of the turrets made it a great place to have first royal observatory in one of them (McGillick).