How have castles evolved over time? Did castles across the world during medieval times look the same and were they used for similar ideas? Castles have a surprisingly long history and some of the earliest castles date back to around 6500 B.C.E. Of course, the castles built in the 500-1500 C.E look much different and have many more technological advances since ideas have come and gone since the early castle times. Castles were adapted all over Europe and can be found from England to Latvia. Ireland, Scotland, France, and the Netherlands have castles inside their countries borders also. It was a commonly found structure in the medieval era. We will delve into castles had and their features such as defense mechanisms, designs, sizes, shapes, purposes, and much more as the paper progresses. Some may question what a castle exactly is, and Merriam-Webster describes a castle as 1a. “A large fortified building or set of buildings” 1b. “A massive or imposing house” 2. “A retreat safe against intrusion or invasion”. (11) Surely by the definitions above pictures may pop to mind. New castles can be found today, but the type of castle that will be put under the spotlight here will be the medieval castles of the post-classical era. Castles were important to a community during the medieval times because they were very useful staging points for conquests. Although, castles were mostly used for fighting purposes, which is not the only use they had. Not all, but a lot of castles were used as a shelter for towns is times of conflict, which kept residents safe. Castles were a large utility that proved most advantageous over time. (4) Though most castles that people see today are from the post classical era, circa 500-1450, the history of castles co... ... middle of paper ... ...stles.’” HowStuffWorks. N. p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.< http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/castle7.htm> 8. “HowStuffWorks ‘History of Castles.’” HowStuffWorks. N. p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.< http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/castle1.htm> 9. Nardo, Don. The Medieval Castle. San Diego, Calif: Lucent Books, 1998. Print. Building History Series. 10. Sancha, Sheila. The Castle Story. 1st Harper colophon ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1984. Print. Harper Colophon Books. 11. Somerset Fry, Plantagenet. The David & Charles Book of Castles. Newton Abbot, Devon ; North Pomfret, Vt: David & Charles, 1980. Print. 12. "Castle." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. 13. "Moat." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir told from the perspective of a young girl (the author) who goes through an extremely hard childhood. Jeannette writes about the foodless days and homeless nights, however Jeannette uses determination, positivity, sets goals, and saves money, because of this she overcame her struggles. One of the ways Jeannette survived her tough childhood was her ability to stay positive. Throughout The Glass Castle, Jeannette was put in deplorable houses, and at each one she tries to improve it. “A layer of yellow paint, I realized would completely transform, our dingy gray house,” (Walls 180).
A typical feature of a concentric castle is the protective wood work at the top of the walls. We cannot tell whether this was a feature of Portchester Castle because any evidence would have rotted away.
Royal monarchs did not start living on the grounds until several hundred years after its construction. In 1220 Henry III began to largely expand on the royal palace and increased the castle defenses. When the tower did become a common place for monarchs, it also became a new stage for climatic events in England. The palace became a place for royal ceremonies and drama. The casual attributes of the tower like the armory, treasury, temple, the castles green and even an added Jewel house were all made mo...
The Castle, directed by Rob Sitch, is an Australian comedy, which delves into the lives of a stereotypical Australian family, the Kerrigans. The film touchs on issues close to home in a humourous way. The audience is introduced to the classic Aussie family, narrated in the viewpoint of the youngest of the Kerrigans, Dale.
- - - The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History. London, England, Penguin Books, no publication
The Castle is a movie primarily about a family sticking together and their fight for the right to live in their own home. The Castle’s portrayal of family is both positive and negative.
The novel The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls, brings to the surface many of the the struggles and darker aspects of American life through the perspective of a growing girl who is raised in a family with difficulties financially and otherwise. This book is written as a memoir. Jeannette begins as what she remembers as her first memory and fills in important details of her life up to around the present time. She tells stories about her family life that at times can seem to be exaggerated but seemed normal enough to her at the time. Her parents are portrayed to have raised Jeannette and her three siblings in an unconventional manner. She touches on aspects of poverty, family dynamics, alcoholism, mental illness, and sexual abuse from
Prose , Francine. "The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review > 'The Glass Castle':Outrageous Misfortune." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 13 Mar 2005. Web. 31 Jan 2011. .
Primary source: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls pages (68, 112, 280, 180-181, 225, 212-213)
Of course with the new design of castles came new ways to attack. Some effective ways to attack these castles, but also rare ways to attack, were by surprise, by storm, or by treachery. The most common way to attack the castles were long term engagements that consisted of either surrounding the castle or getting in close enough that the castles guns would be ranged over the position. The long-term methods consisted of starving out the population, forcing surrender, or by mining and bombardment from close range.
Mr. Donn. "Middle Ages for Kids - Medieval Castles." Middle Ages for Kids - Medieval Castles. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a harrowing and heartbreaking yet an inspiring memoir of a young girl named Jeannette who was deprived of her childhood by her dysfunctional and unorthodox parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Forced to grow up, Walls stumbled upon coping with of her impractical “free-spirited” mother and her intellectual but alcoholic father, which became her asylum from the real world, spinning her uncontrollably. Walls uses pathos, imagery, and narrative coherence to illustrate that sometimes one needs to go through the hardships of life in order to find the determination to become a better individual.
Roger Babusci et al. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1994. 115-136. Print. “The Medieval Period: 1066-1485.”
York: Facts on File, Inc., 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts on File, Inc.
Witcombe, Chris. Art History Resources on the Web. 24 October 1995. Art of the Middle Ages. 17 January 2002.